Mathis Valin continues to lead EMX250

Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Mathis Valin maintained his points lead in the FIM European EMX250 Championship with a fifth place despite a mid-race fall in the first moto of the German round at Teutschenthal.

The French teenager swept through turn one seventh but was quickly up to fourth at the completion of the first full lap as all of the series top-guns distanced the pack. A clever line-choice on lap four saw him sweep around his closest championship rival for third and he immediately sprinted clear with his sights set on second. A simple error accelerating out of a slippery turn cost him two positions on lap six and he was content to retain fifth to the chequered flag after a cloud-burst demanded caution. He continues to head the series points-standings by fifteen points.
 
Mathis Valin: “It was not an easy day, but overall not so bad! I showed good speed in the timed practice, but my start was not so good as I slid on the metal plate and had to pull in the clutch. I made some quick moves to be fourth after a few corners and then I passed Valk, who is one of the strongest guy in the class, for third so that was positive; but then I made a small mistake and crashed. I was fifth when I got up but the crash cost me my rhythm so I was content to keep this position until the end and save good points for the championship. »
 
Benjamin Garib joined his Bud teammate in the top-ten off the start to finish ninth, thus equalling his best result of the season to date.
 
Benjamin Garib: « My starts have been costing me this year so we’ve been working on that and I finally got a top-ten start again today. I rode a solid race – no crashes – and I maintained my pace to stay on two wheels when the rain came to finish ninth. Everything was positive, and I enjoyed it, so we can keep on building from here. »
 
Bike It Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team’s Billy Askew withdrew from the event after breaking a finger during free training.

(Source et photos : Kawasaki Racing)

MIKKEL HAARUP IMPRESSES AT CHALLENGING MXGP OF GERMANY WITH SIXTH OVERALL

Sun 02 Jun 2024

Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Mikkel Haarup has continued his impressive run of strong and consistent results in the 2024 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship with a hard-fought sixth at round eight of the series in Teutschenthal, Germany.

Haarup began the weekend in good stead with fourth in the MX2 Qualifying Race on Saturday. However, heavy rain then fell overnight, which added an extra layer of difficulty to the already technical race track.

In race one, the Danish star didn’t enjoy the best of starts and then fell just a few corners into the moto. With a considerable amount of work to do, Haarup began a race-long charge in difficult conditions and moved into 10th on lap 10. From there, he was able to slowly reel in Oriol Oliver in ninth but couldn’t find a way by and ultimately placed 10th.

Eager to rebound in race two, Mikkel did exactly that and after a strong start, he engaged in an intense fight for position just outside of the podium places. After battling with Rick Elzinga for a handful of laps, the TF 250-X racer moved into fourth on lap six and began to reel in the leaders. A late race charge brought him onto the back wheel of Simon Laengenfelder in third on the final lap and he chased his rival over the finish line. Claiming fourth, Haarup ended his weekend with sixth overall.

With Thibault Benistant absent through injury and Mikkel collecting more vital championship points in Germany, Haarup now moves up to sixth in the MX2 World Championship standings ahead of round nine in Latvia next weekend.

Mikkel Haarup: “We’re wrapped up here in Germany and it’s been a good weekend. I had a solid qualifying race on Saturday with fourth and picked up some good points. Then in race one today I crashed early on, and then the track was really difficult after the rain we had. For the second moto I had a much better start as I started a litter further out on the gate and I had good speed all race. I felt great on the bike and all in all, I’m happy with my performance.”

Vincent Bereni – Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team Manager:
“This weekend was quite challenging with the conditions. Because of the rain the track was always changing. On Saturday, Mikkel rode really well and he had a great qualifying race. A crash in race one wasn’t ideal, but he fought hard for 10th and then in race two he was fourth, so that was a good end to the weekend.”

Results – MXGP of Germany

MX2 Race 1

1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 35:07.874      
2. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:11.538         
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:32.949
4. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 36:02.634
5. Rick Elzinga (Yamaha) 36:07.012
6. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (Kawasaki) 36:17.937
10. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 36:45.061

MX2 Race 2

1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 35:45.714      
2. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:55.219         
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:56.893
4. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 35:58.580        
5. Rick Elzinga (Yamaha) 36:12.081
6. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 36:28.616

MX2 Overall

1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 50pts
2. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 44pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 40pts                        
4. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 33pts
5. Rick Elzinga (Yamaha) 32pts
6. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 29pts

MX2 World Championship Standings

1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 396pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 337pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 333pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 304pts
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 299pts
6. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 252pts
11. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 126pts