FIM Europe News

The European Cross Country Cup was held at Lathi (Finland) in front of around 1000 spectators in nice, sunny weather. The track was around 15 kms long and very well prepared, no big holes, stones and other difficult, dangerous zones. After 9 laps and 3 hours of hard race there were no dramatic situations or accidents (7 laps for Women’s class). Created with Nokia Smart Cam The winners were Joakim Ljunggren from Sweden in the Senior Class, Antti Ahtila from Finland in the Junior Class, Marko Leponiemi from Finland in the Veteran Class and Marita Nyqvist from Finland in the Women’s Class. Full results on FIM Europe website: http://www.fim-europe.eu/events/535  

Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) took the first win of his short career in the European Superstock 1000 Championship, after a blistering run which saw him start from the third row, before methodically picking off every single one of his rivals, and resisting a late revival from Roberto Tamburini (Berclaz Racing Team SA). Running only his fifth STK1000 race, his third at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola, Ferrari passed Maximilian Scheib (Aprilia Racing Team) at the end of lap 9, and kept his distances from then on. It could have been close if the race had been any longer, however, with Tamburini mounting an incredible comeback from thirteenth in the second half of the race. Championship leader Markus Reiterberger (Alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW) quickly made his way up to fifth in the first lap, but then struggled to find the same pace he had at Aragon and

The Semi-Final 1 of the Individual Grasstrack European Championship was held at Wittstock, in Germany, in front of around 1500 spectators. It was a spectacular meeting with lot of overtakes and in really nice, sunny weather. Considering that the meeting was taken over on short notice, the organisation was smooth and well prepared and the event had a duration of 2 h 12 min. The track was well prepared and all the riders had a good chance to qualify for the final round in Tayac (France) – which was possible only for the first 9 riders. In most of the races there was tight fight and the final positions were not defined until the chequered flag. The winner was Josef Franc from Czech Republic ahead of Mathieu Tressarrieu, and Dimitri Berge, both from France. Behind them, the 4th place went to Romano Hummel ahead of Max Dilger, 6th position for

Maximilian Scheib (Aprilia Racing Team) survived the rain and the Italian cavalry to grab the first pole position of his career in the European Superstock 1000 Championship.  Scheib defied the wet conditions to record the fastest lap of the day, under constant pressure from Alessandro Delbianco (Gulf Althea BMW Racing Team) and Luca Salvadori (BMW Berclaz Racing Team SA), second and third respectively. With the first raindrops falling throughout the WorldSSP Superpole, by the time the STK1000 riders were ready they faced a drenched track, much different from the perfect conditions on Friday. Teams struggled to find the correct set-up, with up to 14 seconds between the times set by the first and last riders. Most of those who did find their feet at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola were the local riders, with four Italian riders in the top 5 and six in the top 8.

The venue for the 2018 European Championship Mini Bike Road Racing has been decided - it is the Autodromo di Franciacorta in Castrezzato, East of Milan, in Northern Italy. The event will take place with a duration of three days from 3rd to 5th August 2018 and will cover Mini Moto with 5 classes, Mini GP with 1 class and Honda NSF100 as well as the Ohvale 110, 160 and 190, as announced in press release 319/2017. Details about entry forms, and supplementary rules will follow shortly. The Franciacorta venue is of very high standard. The complete area hosts a 2.591 m race track reserved for Mini GP – Ohvale – Honda NSF100 and a Mini Bike 850m racing circuit. The compound also has an indoor kart track for collateral events and an off-road track. Access to the track from the airport in Milano is easy with a travelling time

In the weekend from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th May, the follow­ing European races will be held: 11-12 May - Cross Country Cup at Lathi/Finland 11-13 May - Superstock 1000 European Championship and Superstock 600 Cup at Imola/Italy 12 May - Vintage Enduro European Championship at Champagnat/France 12 May - European Individual Grass Track Championship at Wittstock/Germany 12-13 May - EMX125 2 Stroke and EMX250 Championship at Kegums/Latvia 12-13 May - EMX65 and EMX 85 NE Zone and EMX Open Championship at Kovel/Ukraine

Belgian motocross legend Eric sadly passed away on 6 May in a tragic accident on a lake in northern Belgium. The legendary multi-time motocross champion is reported to have drowned while attempting to rescue his dog. Eric Geboers was one of the many Belgian motocross icons and youngest member of the “Geboers clan” the eldest of whom, Sylvain, was the arch-rival of fellow countryman Joël Robert in the 250cc class, finishing runner up in 1969 and 1970 and third in 1968, 1971 and 1972. Actually, the young Eric started his racing career on the same day Sylvain participated in his last race. It was also the only time that all five brothers raced together at one same event. Eric’s FIM World Championship career was launched in 1980 by Sylvain, who was the Suzuki factory team manager. He claimed victory in France during his second GP, becoming the youngest winner ever

The beautiful track of Chernivtsi in Ukraine hosted the third round of the 2018 EMX Quad European Championship. Around 8.000 spectators packed around the track to welcome and enjoy their favorite riders, as to feel the spirit of the race. The weather, despite all forecast, turned out to be perfect during the whole weekend. Even though, the organizer did a massive job to maintain the good quality of the track. Polish rider Roman Gwiazda took a full advantage in the Qualifying Race and was leader the whole time. The fight was on for other two spots. Harry Walker from Great Britain managed to finish second and Kevin Saar from Estonia secured the third place. Sunday began with a chill, but turned out to a perfect day for racing. Estonian rider Kevin Saar did his best and went ahead to win the first race. Second and third places went to Christopher

The first round of European 300 Supersport Cup was held from this weekend at Slovakiaring and 15 riders from three different CONUS took part at this event. The track conditions were perfect and the first round with a new promotor, LUTEC Racing, was a big success and a step forward for all, riders, teams and spectators. The races had live coverage on the website www.lutecracing.com. In qualifying, the fastest rider was Samuel Aaron Lochoff of  Samurai-Yart Racing team - the same team which partecipates to World Supersport 300, too. Second best time for his team-mate Thomas Alonso, from Portugal, ahead of Taric Van der Merwe, from South Africa, same as the poleman.   The first race on Saturday was exciting, with riders swapping positions up to the finish line. The winner of race 1 was Samuel Aaron Lochoff from South Africa, ahead of Thomas Alonso from Portugal and Taric Van

Emil Sayfutdinov won the SEC Challenge, which was held in Terenzano, Italy, in front of around 1.300 spectators, in a sunny day. The Russian rider is one of 5 riders, who got promoted to this year’s Speedway Euro Championship series and this list included also Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark), Jozsef Franc (Czech Republic), Andrey Kudriashov (Russia) and Peter Kildemand (Denmark). The first two series of the meeting were a chain of crashes and exclusions. However, fans gathered at the MC Olimpia Terenzano venue, couldn’t complain about lack of fight on the track. There were some spectacular clashes with Antonio Lindbaeck and Kai Huckenbeck, but none of them was able to reach the promotion. In the end it was the German rider, to end up as 6th, only one spot below the ones securing the spot for the Euro Championship. On the other hand, there were had some really big surprises, such