EMX Open and EMX 2T European Championship:
the final round at Garda Trentino
The European round of Garda Trentino has concluded and with it we saw the final stage of the EMX2t Presented by FMF Racing and EMX Open Championships, which saw Karel Kutsar claim the EMX Open title in the second race of the day.
Meanwhile in EMX2t Presented by FMF Racing, with the Brad Anderson of Verde Substance KTM crowned champion at the previous round here in Italy, all was left was the battle for second and third in the championship, which made for some very interesting racing.
EMX2t Presented by FMF Racing races saw Nicholas Lapucci of Fantic Racing dominated the races once again, as he was victorious in both heats with quite an impressive margin, over the newly crowned 2020 EMX2t Presented by FMF Racing Champion, Brad Anderson of Verde Substance KTM. With two second place finishes, Anderson ended the season with his 5th podium of the series. While, JK Yamaha Racing’s Manuel Iacopi was the third rider on the podium today, with some nice battles in the races with Anderson, which saw him finish 4th and 3rd in heats one and two. With Anderson securing his third EMX title at the previous round of Pietramurata, this shifted the focus onto who would occupy second and third in the championship standings. Two 5th place finishes, were enough for Husqvarna Junior Racing Maddii’s Federico Tuani to claim the silver medal, after races that saw him battle with Kade Tinkler-Walker and his teammate, Eugenio Barbaglia. Tuani completed the season with 3 podiums, with his best result in Faenza during the opening round of the championship, where he finished 2ndoverall. Though it was the fight for the third spot that was the main focus in the second race, as there was nothing in between Walker and Loris Freidig. Walker rode a strong race and had some nice battles to claim 5th, while Freidig had a much tougher time and only finished the race in 13th. Eventually, Walker secured third in the standings with a 7-point advantage over the Swiss. Looking back on the season, Anderson dominated the first three rounds in Faenza, as he took 5 race wins and 3 overall victories. His lowest point scoring results came here in Pietramurata, as he finished the two rounds second overall, behind Lapucci, who dominated the last two stages of the championship, winning all 4 races. Apart from Anderson and Lapucci, the only other rider, to win a race, during the 2020 campaign, was Freidig, who was victorious during the first race at the round of Italy.
EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, Fantic), 29:09.002; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), +0:24.588; 3. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, Suzuki), +0:28.366; 4. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:28.760; 5. Federico Tuani (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:40.323; 6. Loris Freidig (SUI, Yamaha), +0:40.948; 7. Eugenio Barbaglia (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:45.696; 8. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), +0:46.259; 9. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), +0:54.480; 10. Paolo Ermini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:55.830
EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, Fantic), 29:35.389; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), +0:12.792; 3. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:16.207; 4. Eugenio Barbaglia (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:26.144; 5. Federico Tuani (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:27.580; 6. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, Suzuki), +0:44.162; 7. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), +0:48.799; 8. Paolo Ermini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:54.574; 9. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), +0:56.291; 10. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), +1:15.469
EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, FAN), 50 points; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, SUZ), 35 p.; 5. Eugenio Barbaglia (ITA, HUS), 32 p.; 6. Federico Tuani (ITA, HUS), 32 p.; 7. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Paolo Ermini (ITA, HUS), 24 p.; 9. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Loris Freidig (SUI, YAM), 23 p.
EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 235 points; 2. Federico Tuani (ITA, HUS), 167 p.; 3. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, SUZ), 154 p.; 4. Loris Freidig (SUI, YAM), 147 p.; 5. Eugenio Barbaglia (ITA, HUS), 143 p.; 6. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, YAM), 140 p.; 7. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), 131 p.; 8. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), 131 p.; 9. Marco Lolli (ITA, YAM), 117 p.; 10. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), 105 p.
EMX Open action saw Karel Kutsar become the very first European Champion in the brand-new category, as he claimed his maiden EMX title. It was a tough day for the Estonian, who rode tight all day to place 5th and 10th in the races, to miss out on the podium. Though this didn’t matter, as he took to the podium anyways, to pick up his championship winning gold plate and medal. Entering today’s races, Kim Savaste of 137 Motorsports KTM was the main championship rival, but unfortunately, we did not see the rider from Finland line-up for the races, due to an injury this morning. With no points scored, this pushed Savaste down to third in the standings, while Toms Macuks moved into the silver medal scoring position. Macuks had two strong races, finishing 2nd and 3rd, despite a small get-off in the second heat that lost him a position or two. These results also handed the Latvian his 5th podium of the season, which was a positive way to end the season. While Kutsar claimed the title, it was Jimmy Clochet who stood on the top step of the podium, after a race win in the opening heat and a second in race two. Clochet had a much tougher second heat, after getting another good start, the Frenchman had an off on one of the corners, then fought back to second, to crash in the same spot once again. He could only manage to fight back to P2, while Cornelius Tøndel of JWR Honda took the race win in the second heat. Finishing the day second overall was Macuks, while Martin Michek was the third rider to make it onto the box. It was Michek’s first visit to the EMX Open podium this season, and it was a 4th in race one and a 5th in race two that helped him on his way to a trophy scoring overall. Looking back on the first season of the all-new EMX Open, things started in Latvia, for the first triple header of the season. That time around it was Macuks who was victorious on home soil, as he won both races and became the early championship leader. Though this didn’t last long, as during the second round he didn’t score any points, as Savaste and Kutsar took a race win each, though it was Kutsar who was the overall winner. The Estonian then became the new series leader by the second round, and he held on to the red plate until today’s final round when he swapped the red plate for a gold one. He held on to the red plate through his consistent results, as the champion ended the season with 4 podiums, 2 race wins and one overall victory. In terms of overall victories, Macuks and Clochet were the most successful riders, with two overall victories each, while Kutsar and Savaste were on one each, as they took to the top of the box during the round of Riga and Kegums.
EMXOpen – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, Kawasaki), 30:27.920; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), +0:13.743; 3. John Adamson (GBR, KTM), +0:17.862; 4. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:26.050; 5. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:31.442; 6. Dan Thornhill (GBR, Honda), +0:46.543; 7. Petr Rathousky (CZE, KTM), +1:03.834; 8. Stefan Ekerold (GER, Suzuki), +1:05.844; 9. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, Honda), +1:09.384; 10. Petr Michalec (CZE, Honda), +1:10.944.
EMXOpen – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), 29:14.052; 2. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:01.970; 3. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), +0:04.117; 4. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, Honda), +0:16.402; 5. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:17.064; 6. Dan Thornhill (GBR, Honda), +0:41.913; 7. Stefan Ekerold (GER, Suzuki), +0:49.182; 8. Domantas Jazdauskas (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:54.584; 9. Mathias Gryning (DEN, Yamaha), +0:59.718; 10. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +1:02.344.
EMXOpen – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 47 points; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), 34 p.; 4. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, HON), 30 p.; 5. Dan Thornhill (GBR, HON), 30 p.; 6. Stefan Ekerold (GER, SUZ), 27 p.; 7. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 25 p.; 9. Petr Michalec (CZE, HON), 21 p.; 10. Domantas Jazdauskas (LTU, HUS), 20 p.
EMXOpen – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 230 points; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 216 p.; 3. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 192 p.; 4. Stefan Ekerold (GER, SUZ), 161 p.; 5. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 134 p.; 6. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 130 p.; 7. Domantas Jazdauskas (LTU, HUS), 113 p.; 8. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, HON), 101 p.; 9. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, HUS), 101 p.; 10. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 93 p.
