The MXGP of Portugal has crowned many round winners and the first riders to stand atop of the podium in Agueda were those of the European Championship classes of EMX250 and EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing. In EMX250 the overall was taken by the American BUD Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tristan Charboneau and in EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing it was Gianluca Facchetti. In Honda EMX 150 the winner was Anton Nordström Graaf.
All photos ©Youthstream
EMX 250
BUD Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tristan Charboneau started the weekend by qualifying with the fastest time to earn the first gate pick. The gate choice proved valuable as he would strong in both races. Charboneau led every lap of the weekend to put in the perfect result and in dominant fashion.
The Italian rider, Yamaha SM Action’s Simone Furlotti, also had identical race results as he finished 2nd in each. In Saturday’s race 1, Furlotti started 4th but had a strong mid race passing 2 riders in 2 laps. Race 2 he again first crossed the finish 4th but his charge came early in the race making his 2 passes on lap 2 and 3.
With his consistent result and 2nd overall, Furlotti takes the points lead from Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Morgan Lesiardo. Lesiardo in fact had a weekend he would prefer to forget with a 13th and 12th taking 10th overall.
Charboneau’s American teammate, BUD Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Marshal Weltin was comfortable on the Agueda circuit putting in two 3rd place finishes for 3rd overall. In race 1 he would chase his teammate for two laps while in second until being passed on lap 3 and again on lap 7 before fighting his way back into 3rd. Although in race 2 he didn’t see the same luck, off of the start, he battled his way forward passing several to get into third.
Honda Redmoto’s Mathys Boisrame struggled in the heat last weth a fifth. Combining his 5th with 9th in race 1 he scored 28 points and took 5th overall.
EMX 125
Gianluca Facchetti stood atop the podium for the first time in his European Racing career today. Facchetti took the overall after charging hard in race 1 to finish 3rd even after crashing twice, once while attempting to pass for the lead. During race 2 he moved into the lead after only a few laps but then he made a mistake missing a corner and dropping back to second. By the end Facchetti found his way back into the lead scoring one point over second.
BUD Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Strubhart Moreau battled with Facchetti throughout race 2 after grabbing the holeshot. After being passed by Facchetti, Moreau rode consistent and even made it back by the Italian before eventually finishing 2nd in race 2 and the overall. Moreau maintains the red plate before heading to Lommel in 1 month.
Last weeks winner IceOne Racing Husqvarna’s Mikkel Haarup started the weekend the same as he finished the last when he won race 1. In race 2 however Haarup instead finished fourth after having to battle his way back from 6th due to a mistake whilst running 3rd. His 1-4 took the 3rd spot on the podium.
One rider who struggled in the previous round in Lombardia is Creymert Racing’s Kevin Horgmo. Horgmo went 5th and 36th in Italy but came back on a mission this weekend. He battled at the front of race 1 leading 5 laps before eventually dropping to 4th. In race 2 he started 3rd then dropped a position before taking it back with 4-3 scores he took 4th overall.
The last spot among the top 5 was taken by the Italian Emilio Scuteri. Scuteri took a 7th and a 6th scoring 29 championship points for 5th which ties his best race finish and gives him his best overall result of the season.
EMX150
The Honda 150 European Championship riders gained more experience earlier, as a challenging surface put the skills that they have acquired thus far to the test. The Portuguese circuit gave a lot of emphasis on throttle control this morning.
Anton Nordstrom Graaf (in the photo) was unfazed by the testing conditions. A faultless outing allowed him to take advantage of an issue that Andrea Adamo encountered and claim his first victory of the season. That result, when paired with his runner-up finish from the first encounter, gave him the overall victory also.
The fact that Nordstrom Graaf adapted to the conditions as the race progressed was a large part of his success. The Swedish star recorded his fastest lap right at the end, along with the quickest time of the race in sector four, and now trails Adamo by eight points in the series standings. A puncture restricted Adamo in the second half of the race, hence why he had to settle for third and second overall on the day.
Adamo still led more laps than anyone else in the twenty-minute race, as he slid into first position entering turn two and immediately established an advantage of three seconds. Nordstrom Graff and Luis Outeiro still prevailed in the second half, despite that. Outeiro improved on his ranking from race one, much to the delight of those who travelled to Agueda, but now faces a deficit of nine points in the standings.
Kjeld Stuurman concluded a consistent weekend with another fourth place and occupied the same position in the overall classification. Toa Kishi took a step forward also to record a season-best finish of fifth. Lynn Valk, Nikolay Malinov, Magnus Vassgaard, Milan van de Bunte and Rasmus Moen completed the top ten.
The CRF150R riders will undoubtedly face their toughest challenge yet at the beginning of August, as the third round of the Honda 150 European Championship will take place in the bottomless sand of Lommel. An additional training camp will take place prior to that to ensure that the riders have the tools to tackle the event.
Andrea Adamo, Honda EMX150 Championship Leader said: “I had a good weekend. I had a good feeling with the track and my bike. I won the first race, but then during the second race I had a puncture. I am very happy, because I am the leader of the championship. Thank you to my sponsors and family.”
Gordon Crockard, Honda Europe Off-Road Manager stated: “We had a new winner, Anton Nordstrom Graaf! It was great to see. I think he deserved the win. Andrea Adamo was leading and it looked like the result was going to be the same as yesterday; he was strong, fast and looked good. Unfortunately, he received a rear-wheel puncture and lost two positions. Luis Outeiro was second place and I am very happy for him. I am sure that he felt a lot of pressure, he had a big fan club here. It was the first time that he has dealt with that situation. I was pleased with everyone, as they all did very well. We had a different winner, but it was not Andrea’s fault really. That was sad to see, but it was fantastic that Anton was awarded the win for being the first guy over the line. That is what it is all about”.
Full results on FIM Europe website: http://www.fim-europe.eu/events/388
