Round seven of the EMX250 and EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing championships have concluded in Pietramurata with Cornelius Toendel of Riley Racingsecuring his first ever win in the 250 category, while Italian Valerio Lata from MRT Racing Team KTMcelebrated a victory on home soil.
Much like the previous round, this time around the racing was just exciting, with the podium being decided on the final laps of the races.
In the first EMX250 race, it was Nicholas Lapucci of Fantic Factory Team Maddii who start at the front with Mike Gwerder of WZ Racing, Rick Elzinga of TBS Conversions Racing Team and Kevin Horgmo from SM Action Racing Team YUASA Battery just behind.
Horgmo then made a quick move on Elzinga for third and set his sights on Gwerder, while Lapucci pulled away. Elzinga then dropped to fifth as Toendel got around then Dutchman.
Horgmo then caught onto the back of Gwerder as he planned to make a move, but he’d have to wait a couple more laps before finally getting around the Swiss.
Emil Weckman of Honda Racing Assomotor and Jorgen-Matthias Talviku from No Fear / BT Jumbo Racing Team collided together, and both went down. As Horgmo went around Gwerder, Toendel was looking to do the same as he pushed past the WZ Racing rider, leaving Gwerder on the ground.
Lapucci then edged out by 14.410 seconds with more than 8 minutes to go, as Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Andrea Bonacorsi fought his way towards the top 10. The Italian caught onto the rear wheel of Honda 114 Motorsports’ Joel Rizzi who ended up going down with the Yamaha rider.
Liam Everts of KTM Liamski was having a good race in fourth as he set his fastest lap of the race. The Belgian was able to close in on Toendel and have a chance of going after third in the final few laps.
With two laps to go Lapucci was 15.790 seconds ahead of Horgmo, as Toendel continued to come under pressure from Everts for the third spot. In the end Lapucci went on to win the opening heat ahead of Horgmo and Toendel who managed to keep hold of third.
In race two, we saw Bonacorsi take an early lead from his teammate Jeremy Sydow of Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Maxime Grau. Lapucci meanwhile started the race in around 11th position, while Elzinga and Horgmo were 22nd and 25th.
Bonacorsi led Sydow, Grau and Yann Crnjanski, as Lapucci made his way inside the top 10 while Horgmo got into the top 20.
Grau then started to apply the pressure onto Sydow for second and by the third lap was ahead of the German. Behind the pair was Weckman who was having another solid race in fourth.
Lapucci managed to pick up a couple of positions to get himself into eighth, but then made another mistake which saw him drop to 15th, just behind Horgmo.
Sydow then lost another position, that time to Weckman who fought his way into third. The German then was caught by Toendel, as Everts started to close in too.
After passing Horgmo for 12th, Lapucci went down again and caught Elzinga with him too.
On lap eight, Everts got around Sydow, as Horgmo did the same not too long after that. And then further up the order, Weckman was ready to launch his attack on Grau for second place. He made several attempts before making a pass stick.
With 3 laps to go, Weckman, Grau, Toendel and Everts were nice bunched up, as Grau started to come under pressure from the guys behind him.
In the end, Bonacorsi secured his first ever race win in the EMX250 class, as he crossed the line ahead of Weckman and Toendel, with Grau eventually falling to fifth place. Meanwhile Lapucci managed to come back to 12th.
Toendel went on to win the overall for the first time ever, as he finished the day on 40 points, ahead of Horgmo who had 37 and Bonacorsi who had 36.
Lapucci continues to lead the championship with a 33-point advantage over Horgmo, with Elzinga third with 234 points.
Cornelius Toendel: “It feels great to win. I got a bad start and had to work my way to the top. I got under pressure from Nicholas then I got to pass the guy in front. I managed to pull through which allowed me to drive my own laps. Everts was riding really strong in the end, I really felt the pressure. I felt like I needed to get passed Maxime, I got passed him and put pressure on Emil. It was difficult and I couldn’t pass him though. For sure this is a confidence boost, I’ve had my ups and downs this season. I’ve been sick a lot, just working my way back into fitness. I’m finally feeling 100%, I was feeling good the whole day, so I am happy”.
Kevin Horgmo: I was 4th or 5th out of the gate in the first race. I managed to pass quite quickly into third but I struggled a little bit with getting past Mike. When I was finally able to pass him, I was more or less alone. Cornelius was behind me but he made a mistake, so I was riding mostly all alone. I felt quite good. Then in the second race I had a really bad start, but I was also much better with passing. I was able to pass many riders quick. I was also battling with Nicholas a little bit. I then picked off riders one by one and kept going. I don’t know what position I was in, but I got up to 6th. So, I was happy with that. I just need to take it race by race without thinking about the championship. I just need to push as hard as I can, try to enjoy it and have a good feeling like I did today”.
Andrea Bonacorsi: “I feel like I am getting better race by race. In the first race, I made it hard for myself with two crashes and a bad start. In the second race, I started in front and was smiling under the helmet because it was the first time that I could start up front. I kept going and won this second race here which led to a third overall, so I am really happy. My goal is to enjoy every race and to give my best and have fun. Then for sure the results will be there”.
Nicholas Lapucci: “Two opposite races today. The first one was just perfect with the holeshot and then the lead in the race. The second one, I made too many mistakes. Nothing to say about it. We will reset the mind and come stronger for the next one”.
As the gate dropped for EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing heat one, it was Lata with the holeshot ahead of Cas Valk of Husqvarna SKS Racing NL, 9MM Energy Drink Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Lucas Coenen and Bobby Bruce from ASA United GasGas Racing Team. While a couple of riders caught up in the first corner, one of them being, the fastest rider from time practice, Ferruccio Zanchi of Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC.
Lata then dropped to third which meant that Valk was the new race leader with Coenen in second. Bruce then managed to get onto Lata and take third from the Italian, as Coenen took over the lead from Valk.
A rider who didn’t quite get the start was last rounds’ overall winner Ivano Van Erp of Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC. He started in around 14th position.
Meanwhile at the front of the field, Bruce was looking to launch an attack on Valk for second place and after a few attempts, the Brit was able to get the job done. Lata was next to follow in his footsteps as he took third from the Dutchman.
Coenen then stretched out his lead to 9.454 seconds as he continued to stay ahead of Bruce and Lata. Meanwhile Van Erp was making his way up the order as he was able to get inside the top 10 with plenty of time left on the clock. A few laps later, Van Erp got by Kay Karssemakers of Husqvarna SKS Racing NL for seventh and set his sights on Alexis Fueri of Fantic Factory Team Maddii.
Lata then made a nice move as he dived on the inside of Bruce for second position, as Coenen continued to dominate 17.129 seconds ahead of the Italian.
Van Erp then climbed a few more positions as he got around Fueri, then Karlis Alberts Reisulis of Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC and Valk. And then in the later stages of the race caught onto Bruce and Lata. Eventually the Dutchman was able to get into third after squeezing past Bruce.
Coenen went on to win the race 14.062 seconds ahead of Lata.
In race two, it was Janis Martins Reisulis who led Coenen, Julius Mikula and Lata. Van Erp started the race in fifth but went down shortly after, dropping to last.
While Coenen was quick to take the lead, he didn’t hold onto it for long as he went down, which meant that Reisulis was back in the driving seat ahead of Lata and Valk. Coenen managed to get going again in sixth place.
Further down the order, Bruce was trying his best to make some good passes after starting around 16th place. It took the Brit a few laps to get inside the top 10.
And as it seemed that Coenen was going to make his comeback after the crash, he went down once again, falling even further down the order.
On lap four we saw another change for the lead, as Reisulis tipped over allowing Lata to take over the lead. Valk was having a fantastic ride in second position and was on track for a podium spot at that point in the race.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Coenen continued their climb back inside the top 10 as Van Erp made progress to get into 22nd. Bruce then took sixth from Scott Smulders of No Fear / BT Jumbo Racing as Coenen moved past Joe Brookes for ninth.
Mikula then came under pressure from Bruce who passed him for fifth, with the Czech rider then burying the front and falling further down the order. Bruce continued his charge up the field as he got by Karssemakers and set his sights on catching Reisulis and Valk.
Valk then crashed out of third which put him off the podium, as Van Erp got by Bence Pregel for 15th.
Lata went on to win the race ahead of Janis Reisulis and Bruce who got by Karlis Reisulis for third. The race win in the second heat gave Lata the overall victory in front of his home crowd, as Coenen occupied the second step of the podium and Bruce was forced to settle for third.
With just two rounds to go, Lata continues to lead the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing by 29 points over Bruce with Karssemakers third.
Valerio Lata: “A positive day today. Good start in the first race and I finished in the second position. Also, a good start in the second race and I finished it off with a win. I am very happy for these races at home. I am now ready for that last round in Pietramurata. Thank you everyone for the support”.
Lucas Coenen: “First race was a good one. I started behind Valerio but was then able to pass him. I was in the lead and made a big gap. I ended up winning the race. I also had a good start in the second race. I was in the lead then lost my front wheel. Then I think I was tenth. Then I lost my wheel again and crashed another time. So, it was not a good race for me, but I still managed to get second overall. We will try better for the last one here in Trentino”.
Bobby Bruce: “It wasn’t really a good points day today. I feel like we are consistent, but that’s not all we want. We want to be inside the top 2 or 3 and grab any chance for this championship. Coming around the first turn in 30th wasn’t ideal. It was good, we salvaged some good points at least but we want some more this weekend”.
