Built in a rock quarry the circuit of Uddevalla brought fourth a new challenge for the riders of the EMX250 with the terrain being incredibly hard to read, a little loose and stoney on top with a hard pack base. While race one saw Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Adam Sterry look the most smooth and steady on the slippery surface as he took home his first ever EMX250 race victory, a few errors and a shocking start in race two early this morning saw his chance at a podium quickly diminish.
Meanwhile, with the dawning of a new day and the start of the second race, it was Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Ben Watson who took the advantage of riding with a clear track when he took the holeshot ahead of Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Sullivan Jaulin and Kemea Yamaha Racing Team’s latest edition Nick Kouwenberg. While the trio up front kept each other honest, there was also a cluster of possible race winners following closely behind which included the likes of HSF Logistics Motorsports Ceriel Klein Kromhof, KTM Bodo Schmidt’s Calvin Vlaanderen and CNC Doors KTM’s championship points leader Steven Clarke. As always, the young lads rode wheel to wheel providing fantastic racing for the thousands of Swedish fans that swarmed the rocky hillsides. Gnarly square edged bumps riddled the circuit leaving no room for a lapse in concentration, which Watson soon learnt after leading the first half of the race before catching a kicker, which allowed both Jaulin and Kouwenberg through to take over the top two positions. A few turns later the Dutch youngster, Kouwenberg caught a sniff of the lead and made a risky yet clever pass on the Frenchman Jaulin to steal it away. Kouwenberg, coming from a sand surface background, looked surprisingly comfortable up front and managed to lead the remainder of the race for his first ever EMX250 race win. With the blended results from two very peculiar races it was the Dutchman HSF Logistics Motorsports Brian Bogers who landed himself on the top step of the podium for his career best finish. Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Sullivan Jaulin used his sixth and second place finishes for second overall while Kemea Yamaha Racing’s Nick Kouwenberg will be pumped with his “more or less” debut appearance, rounding out the top three. Meanwhile the Brits, race one winner Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Adam Sterry and the red plate holder CNC Doors KTM’s Steven Clarke rounded out the top five.
Download here FIM Europe Press Release 107/2014
