In difficult and demanding conditions, it was the Netherlands that delivered the good once again when they stormed to victory in the UEM Motocross of Nations for the second year running in Sevlievo, Bulgaria. Team France would follow them home for second, just five points adrift of the flying Dutchmen, but the surprise result of the weekend was that of Slovakia. Placing a distant 12th in Saturday’s qualification, the tricky conditions played right in their hands as they fought their way onto the third step of the podium.
RACE 1 (EMX1 & EMX2)
The first race of the UEM Motocross of European Nations started with a big tangle in the first corner, where most of the riders were involved. The Dutch rider Brakke managed to take the holeshot, but he made a small mistake and he was down to the fourth position already in the first lap. Croatian Sipek was leading the race when he made a mistake and went down the floor and home rider Petrov took advantage of it and he claimed the lead. The Bulgarian rode safe during the rest of the heat and he crossed the finish line 25 seconds ahead Dutch Brakke. His teammate Bastemeijer did a superb first race coming from the back of the pack, as he was involved in the crash at the start, to finish third, ahead of Slovenian Gajser.
Miko Potisek crashed from 2nd to 5th
Favourites Team France did not have a good beginning in the UEM Motocross of European Nations, as Potisek crashed when he was riding second – he finished in an eventual fifth position – and Tixier had to pull out because a rider landed on his back and he could not stand the pain (no pun intended!).
The Slovakian riders, Kohut and Kulhavy, finished sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Moldavian Cociu, Bulgarian Kumanov and Polish Lonka. Italian Monni, winner of yesterday’s EMX1 qualifying race, was involved in the crash at the start and had to pull out because his bike was heavily damaged. The Germans were not lucky either and while Laier crashed at the beginning of the race, Baudrexl did it in lap two.
Tixer got used as a landing ramp during race 2... it hurt!
RACE 2 (EMX OPEN & EMX2)
Simko from Slovakia took the holeshot from Tixier, Ullrich and Petrov, but he lost the lead after lap two when Frenchman Tixier and home rider Petrov overtook him. The French and the Bulgarian riders opened the gap over the rest of the field and disputed the lead until the last four laps, when Petrov made the move over Tixier at the end of the pit lane straight. The third position was for the runner up of the UEM 125 Champion Ferrrandis, who managed to come up to the front after starting from one of the last positions. With a 2-3 result France was second in the Nations classification and everything would be decided in the last and final race with Ferrandis and Potisek.
Dylan Ferrandis topped the Open class
Fourth was Slovakian Simko, who managed to ride with the top riders until the end of the race, but Ferrandis overtook him in the very last lap and he had to settle down with the fourth position, while his teammate finished eleventh. Gajser from Slovenia obtained a solid sixth position and thanks to the tenth place of his teammate Gercar, Slovenia was third in the Nations classification after the second heat. Bernardini could only be seventh as he struggled a lot with his goggles, as well as his team-mate Zecchina who had to enter the pit lane to get a new pair of goggles and crossed the finish line in the 13th position. Ullrich from Germany finished eighth, followed by Zerava from the Czech Republic.
RACE 3 (EMX1 & EMX OPEN)
Petro stops for an interview!
The third heat started with Monni taking the holeshot from the Dutch Kromhof, the Czech Zerava, other Dutch Brakke and the French Potisek. All these riders kept their initial position until the chequered flag, so the Netherlands were the virtual winners of the UEM European Motocross of Nations during the whole heat. Once more, Ferrandis from France was not lucky at the start and had to give all his best to finish sixth after starting from the 16th position. Ukranian Pashchynsky was seventh, followed by the Czech Michek, and Slovakian Simko completed the top ten and helped his team to be on the third step of the podium thanks to his two solid results. Brakke (NED) took the individual EMX1 victory, Petrov (BUL) won the EMX2 and Ferrandis (FRA) won the EMX Open class.
Results: The Netherlands, France, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Germany.
Images: Youthstream