AGUEDA (Portugal) 30 April 2023 – What a third round for the EMX250 Championships in Agueda, Portugal were both classes put on the show. We are now starting to see clear favourites performing rounds after rounds.

In EMX250, the Red Plate and favourite Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Andrea Bonacorsi won in a formidable manner after dealing with problems on his bike in race 2. It was in front of BT Racing Team’s Kay Karssemakers and VRT KTM Factory Juniors’ Ferruccio Zanchi

Race 1 in EMX250 saw an eventful first lap where it was Ferruccio Zanchi who came out of the first turn leading the pack right in front of Championship leader Andrea Bonacorsi. A tight battle ensued as Bonacorsi took the lead early to see Zanchi taking it back few turns later.  Eventually, Bonacorsi’s power was too much for Zanchi on lap 2 as Bonacorsi made his pass stick to keep the lead until the end of the race comfortably. Zanchi finished solidly 2^nd.

Behind them Kay Karssemakers also showed his speed as he was in contact with the front two early on in the race along with Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Alexis Fueri. In the end Karssemakers had to settle for a good 3^rd place while Fueri did not maintain the speed until the end as he went from 4^th place on lap 11 to 6^th in the end.

It was the opposite for Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Quentin Prugnieres and RFME GASGAS MXJUNIOR TEAM’s Samuel Nilsson who both gain positions. Prugnieres went from 7^th in lap 1 to get several overtakes to find himself on lap 8 behind RFME GASGAS MXJUNIOR TEAM’s Gerard Congost who was 5^th at the time. Congost then had a big crash as he tried to overtake Fueri for 4^th and had to retire form the race. Prugnieres found himself 5^th after that incident and kept going to overtake Fueri for 4^th on lap 11. Nilsson was 10^th on lap 1 and also kept charging up to get to 5^th in the end.

Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Cas Valk had a strong race too and stayed within the top 10 throughout the race to get finally finish 7^th. It went similarly for WZ RACING TEAM’s Cato Nickel who went from 6^th on lap 1 to end up at a good 8^th place.

The good operation was for KTM SB Racing’s Nico Greutmann who showed determination to move up the leader board after getting an average start and get to 14^th on lap 1. The young Swiss methodically kept overtaking riders in front of him to finish 9^th at the checkered flag. 

The winner of the Trentino Round, KTM Beddini Racing Team’s Valerio Lata could not show the same spark nor find the same rhythm as two weeks ago and had to settle for 10^th in the end.

In race 2, It was Team VRT KTM Factory Juniors’ Marc-Antoine Rossi who showed all his talent to win the race and make clever passes as he went from 4^th on lap 1 1^st on lap 11. He overtook Karssemakers, solid leader up to that point and kept the lead until the end. Karssemakers settled for 2^nd.

Bonacorsi who ended on the 3^rd position had an eventful second race as he got some clutch problems due to being overtaken by M-A Rossi and having the bikes touched. However, Bonacorsi showed all his mental throughout the whole race and amazing talent. Bonacorsi had to race a major part of the race with a clutch problem as mentioned earlier and while he was 3^rd on lap 11, the Red Plate stalled in a turn and moved down to 5^th with 4 laps to go. 
However, heroically made few passes to get back up to 3^rd overtaking his teammate Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Karlis Reisulis. It was synonymous of overall win for Bonacorsi. 

Reisulis who led over the first three laps finished in an encouraging 4^th place. Prugnieres continued his good weekend as he made a good start in 5^th to keep the same position until the end. Zanchi had to battle to get up the rank as he found himself 8^th on lap 1 to then show good speed and ending up at an important 6^th place to get on the podium. 

It was also a solid performance for Meico Vettik who manged to get into the top 10 on lap 8 and even managed to get to 7^th in the last couple of laps as he overtook Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Ivano Van Erp and Valk successively. Van Erp who was not on his best form finished the weekend with a 21-9 while Valk stayed solidly in the top 10 with a 7-8. 

It was damage control for Lata as he managed to get to 10^th in this race to score some important points in the Championship Standing but still lost his 2^nd spot to Karssemakers. 

In the end, Andrea Bonacorsi managed with a strong will and talent to get his second overall win of the season while Kay Karssemakers made a good operation with his solid racing getting second on the podium and second in the Championship Standings. Ferruccio Zanchi also rode very well in Portugal getting a well deserve back-to-back podium.

Andrea Bonacorsi: “In the second race I lost my clutch leveller in a collision with Rossi which happens in motocross. With that leveller broken I couldn’t use it but I kept going, I forgot about my bike problem which made me stall. But in the end I am very happy with the result and happy with the races. I showed again who is the fastest and for that I want to thank all my team, Yamaha and Monster. See you in Spain!”

Main Photo: Andrea Bonacorsi

Bottom Photos: 1. Kay Karssemaker; 2. Ferruccio Zanchi
 

MXGP OF PORTUGAL QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1630m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 23°

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 26,000