Photos @Youthstream – The first overall race finishes to be decided at the Fiat Professional MXGP of Belgium were those of EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing and EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing. Over two days of racing GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mikkel Harrup came out ahead of the rest winning their respective classes.
EMX125
At the beginning of the weekend the 125cc class had 74 racers entered and only 40 making it through qualifying. Saturday’s Race 1 started with BUD Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Strubhart Moreau leading Gianluca Facchetti and Alessandro Manucci but on the third lap mistakes took all of them out of the top 3.
The one rider who didn’t have any costly errors was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup who moved into the lead on lap 4 and stayed in the top spot the remainder of the race to take the win.
Behind Haarup was Creymert Racing’s Kevin Horgmo and Facchetti, who after crashing twice in one lap fought his way back from 11th on lap 3 passing 8 riders in 8 laps including points leader Moreau to take third.
Race 2 Facchetti and Moreau were up front again with Facchetti leading the French rider. The Italians lead was short lived though as he made a mistake in the corner before the start straight letting Moreau and Horgmo by.
The podium of EMX125 , with FIM Europe President Dr Wolfgang Srb (the third from the left)
Later on the 5th lap Facchetti went over the bars hard but managed to escape unscathed. Facchetti’s fall assisted Haarup’s charge forward from 7th on the first lap. Haarup caught Horgmo, passed him, and set his focus on catching Moreau.
5 laps later he was on the back wheel of the #225 and ended up launching by the frenchman to take the lead on the SIDI step down. While in the background Facchetti was working his way back from 7th and the big crash in a valiant effort.
Haarup took the double race victory for the overall as Moreau took second in both race 2 and the overall. 2nd through 4th were all decided via the better second race though as each were tied with forty points. 5th and 6th also tied with 27 points but it was Jeremy Sydow who took the final spot in the top 5.
EMX 300
Aboard the bigger more powerful 300cc bikes GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras led race 1 early with Brad Anderson in a close second. The pair of KTM riders rallied back and forth in a battle for the race win.
Micheal Hool had a front row seat to the entire race as he ran third behind them. The final result was Anderson crossing the finish first with Kras 2nd and Hool 3rd. Rounding out the top five was Dutch rider Rick Satink after he passed Belgian local Kenny Vandueren around the half way point of the race.
Race 2 started perfect for Greg Smets as he led the first lap after not finishing race 1. Smets fought to stay at the top but dropped the lead to Kras. Smets continued to battle for position as Kras led the remaining laps.
Race 1 winner Anderson started around 4th and was one of the riders who Smets faced as the race went on. Andero Lusbo shifted between 2nd and 3rd with Smets before he was passed by Anderson. Anderson then went on to drop Smets to third and try to catch Kras who had opened up a gap.
Smets then faced Lusbo for a second time who would make the pass stick this time around. Meanwhile Vandueren and Satink raced to the front both getting Smets but only Satink would get Lusbo. At the finish Kras took the race win ahead of Anderson, Satink, Lusbo, and Vandueren.
EMX 150
Andrea Adamo was eager for redemption entering the second moto at the Grand Prix of Belgium, held in the bottomless sand of Lommel, following the bitter disappointment that he suffered in the first encounter. The final moto took place this morning beneath sunny skies and in front of a capacity crowd.
Lynn Valk gave the Dutch fans, who have made the short trip across the border, a lot to cheer about when the CRF150R riders charged up the start straight, as she led a complete lap for the first time. Adamo was focussed on claiming the lead though and pushed past Valk on the second lap. Managing the race was then a priority and he did that brilliantly, so the experience that was gained on the first day of racing was seemingly put to good use.
A handful of battles raged on behind Adamo, as both Anton Nordstrom-Graaf and Luis Outeiro charged forward after bad starts. The pair actually shadowed each other for much of the race, in what was also a tussle for the overall victory, so most were focussed on that. Outeiro eventually disposed of Rasmus Moen to secure second in the race, but missed out on the overall victory by just a single point. Moen was having the ride of his life, which undoubtedly garnered some attention, but also lost a position to Nordstrom-Graaf in the closing stages.
After starting fifth, Nordstrom-Graaf did enough to finish in third and consequently claimed his second overall victory in succession. The Swede stood alongside Luis Outeiro and Kjeld Stuurman, who had another consistent outing in the second moto, on the podium. Moen narrowly missed out on a spot inside of the top three, but was undoubtedly satisfied with such a strong showing in the second moto. Adamo salvaged enough points, thanks to that victory in the second moto, to finish fifth overall.
Nordstrom-Graaf now holds an advantage of just two measly points over Outeiro in the series standings, with Adamo four points further back. The title fight in the Honda 150 European Championship is heating up as attention turns to the Grand Prix of Sweden.
Full results on FIM Europe website: http://www.fim-europe.eu/events/415
