The start of EMX250 @ Youthstream
The first round of the European Championship EMX250 and European Championship EMX300 resented by FMF Racing took place this weekend on the treacherous circuit of Valkenswaard, The Netherlands.
Stormy skies darkened the atmosphere ever so slightly as rain came and went, and wicked winds gusted, but the real storm that is the depth of racing in the European Championship was enough to put a smile on everyone’s faces as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s duo of Conrad Mewse and Yentel Martens reigned supreme here at the opening rounds.
EMX250 – When the gates slammed into the sloppy sand of Valkenswaard Norway’s Even Heibye was the quickest to react and took the holeshot with the two EMX250 rookies, Conrad Mewse and Maxime Renaux, in tow.
Mewse was looking right at home on the roughness of Valkenswaard as he hang right off the back of his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, keeping the front wheel light, and wheel tapped his way past Heibye on the rhythm section after the waves to take over the lead.
Day1’s runner-up, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Hunter Lawrence didn’t do himself any favors with a mediocre start, but it didn’t bother him too much, he just got creative with his lines and put in two jaw-dropping laps to be on the heels of the leaders by the end of lap two.
Mewse started to inch away as Lawrence bashed bars with Heibye for second, eventually the Aussie made the pass and went after the race one winner Mewse. In no time at all, Lawrence, who was pinned beyond belief, blitzed past Mewse to take over the lead.
With ten minutes to go, Heibye hooked a gear and got right on Lawrence. Lawrence ended up handing the Norwegian, Heibye, the lead when he got too hard on the gas and spun out at the bottom of a hill. Mewse then took second back four seconds adrift of Heibye while Lawerence remounted in third, ten seconds back.
Lawrence was the fastest rider on the track by a full second but a race riddled with sketchy moments saw the ambitious youngster drop back to fifth with Bodo Schmidt Motorsports Thomas Kjer Olsen and Team Suzuki World MX2’s Dutchman Bas Vaessen taking third and fourth respectively.
In the final stages of the race Mewse regrouped and knuckled down to make a pass on Heibye for the lead and rode it home for a hard fought win over Heibye, Kjer Olsen, Vaessen and Lawrence.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Conrad Mewse was the dominator this weekend while Even Heibye stood on the podium for the first time in his EMX career. Bodo Schmidt Motosports Thomas Kjer Olsen was sick all week and was stoked with his performance for third overall.
The podium of EMX300 @Youthstream
EMX 300 – Forty 300cc two-strokes on a gate is music to the ears of most genuine race fans. The tinny sound is like a shot of adrenalin that pumps everyone up right before the gate falls. When the gates dropped for the final race of the weekend it was Day1’s runner-up Yentel Martens who took the holeshot ahead of the race one winner Mike Kras who slid out on the exit.
With Kras down, Martens, who was coincidently last year’s dominator here in Valkenswaard, checked out and cruised home for an easy victory. Meanwhile, behind the leggy Belgian, GL12’s Lewis Gregory wasted no time in muscling his way forward and was in a comfortable second on lap two. Gregory’s GL12 teammate Brad Anderson was also flying in the opening stages of the race but stacked it on lap three.
Dutchman Patrick Vos soldiered his way from eighth all the way to third ahead of Belgian Mike Vanderstraeten and Kevin Van Geldorp. As for the Race One winner Mike Kras, he had a disastrous first lap where he went down in the first corner and then tangled with another rider a lap later. Despite losing his front fender the Dutchman dug deep and managed to come home in sixth.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Yentel Martens went 2 – 1 for the overall and the first red plate of the season while GL12 Yamaha Racing’s Lewis Gregory replicated his result of last year with second overall. Dutchman Mike Kras rounded off the podium after his outstanding recovery from two crashes in the final race.
Full results of Youthstream website: www.mxgp.com
