Heavy rain earlier in the day left the iconic red soil of Agueda deeply rutted and treacherous, setting the stage for a test of skill, patience, and bike preservation. Words: MXGP
At the gate drop, it was Fantic Factory Racing EMX125’s Simone Mancini who grabbed the early lead and quickly opened a sizeable gap on the rest of the field. Behind him, the start was chaotic – Venum BUD RACING Kawasaki’s Jake Cannon, who had a strong jump, crashed heavily in the second turn and did not rejoin the race, while others struggled with visibility and grip.
Mancini looked in control through the opening laps with Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors’ Gyan Doensen and Bike It Kawasaki’s Bobby Bruce in pursuit, but positions quickly shuffled as Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna’s
Nico Greutmann, Venum BUD RACING Kawasaki’s Francisco Garcia, and the red plate holder Janis Reisulis worked their way forward. Greutmann made a strong charge into second, while Garcia and Reisulis also pushed through the pack, capitalising on mistakes from others, including a crash from Bruce that ended his race early.
By lap 5, Reisulis, despite having no goggles in the deteriorating conditions, had moved into second place with a brilliant pass on Garcia and began hunting down the leader. With just under three laps to go, the Latvian made a decisive and clinical move down the inside of an unsuspecting Mancini to take the lead. From there, he extended his advantage with authority, crossing the line more than 10 seconds clear.
Garcia claimed third after a late crash dropped Greutmann to fifth. JM Honda Racing’s Noel Zanocz rode consistently to secure fourth place.
A torrential downpour moments before the Race 2 gate drop turned the already rutted Portuguese clay into a treacherous battleground.
Zanocz took the holeshot with Reisulis right on his rear wheel and Bruce in third. Mancini and Garcia also slotted inside the top six, keeping all the key contenders in the mix from the start.
Reisulis wasted no time. A bold move in the early corners saw the Latvian tag Zanocz and take the lead. While Zanocz stayed upright, the jolt clearly unsettled him. Behind them, Bruce was holding strong in third with Mancini applying pressure.
Conditions were deteriorating lap by lap. As the race unfolded, a mistake from Mancini opened the door for Bruce to briefly regain second, but the Italian fought back, until a slip dropped him to fourth behind Greutmann. Meanwhile, Garcia was steadily working his way into contention.
With Reisulis out front by over 10 seconds, disaster struck – the red plate holder went down and had to restart the bike, allowing Zanocz to momentarily take over the lead. The two front-runners then engaged in a brief battle, but as quickly as he lost it, Reisulis retook control after a crash from Zanocz on a downhill reception.
As the laps ticked down, the fight for the podium intensified. Greutmann and Zanocz exchanged second place multiple times, while Garcia surged forward and capitalised on late mistakes from both Mancini and Bruce to climb to fourth. When Greutmann went down with just a few laps to go, Zanocz reclaimed second and secured his spot on the overall podium.
Reisulis, despite two crashes, took the win with a perfect 1-1 scorecard. Zanocz’s resilience earned him second overall with 4-2 while Garcia’s consistency 3-4 sealed third. Greutmann, who had been in the podium hunt, settled for fourth overall.
Image: Cat Moto
