Emil Weckman, 2015 Champion and current red plate holder, took the race one victory in the deep sand of Lommel today in dominant style.
Weckman initially powered into the lead aboard his CRF150R, taking the holeshot, before Estonia’s Henry Vesilind got the better of the Finn in the early stages of the race. However, it didn’t take the defending champion long to find his rhythm and regain the lead.
The pair then opened a sizeable gap to the rest of the field, before a mistake by Vesilind resulted in a crash and dropped him to sixth. Unfortunately, the Estonian was unable to make any places up but maintained his sixth place at the chequered flag.
A stunning ride from both Andrea Adamo (ITA) and Luis Outeiro (POR) saw the pair battling hard throughout the second half of the moto for second place. Although Outeiro looked to be holding off the Italian, Adamo was able to pass the Portuguese rider as they started their last lap. Despite riding hard Outeiro was unable to regain his position and finished third behind Adamo.
Hakon Fredriksen and Carl Jorgensen, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, rounded out the top-five. A strong performance was also seen by wildcard rider Matheo Miot (FRA), who finished in seventh.
Race two for the Honda 150 European Championship at the MXGP of Belgium (Lommel) will commence at 11hr10 (local time) tomorrow.
Emil Weckman stated: “The race was pretty good today. I got a good start but I didn’t get the flow to begin with and Henry passed me on the first lap: he jumped the double, I didn’t. I saw him jump it though so the next lap I start jumping it and then I got the flow. The track was good today, I could jump the bumps, and I really enjoyed it. I’m feeling good for tomorrow, of course, but we’ll see”.
Davy Dousselaere, Honda Europe Off-Road Manager, commented: “It was another good performance from our defending champion today and we can see that he has adapted well to the sand of Lommel. I am very impressed with Andrea Adamo and Luis Outeiro. They were both riding with us last year and we can see how much they have improved, so it is really good to see them battling for second and third. The changing nature of the deep sand of Lommel can prove to be a tricky track for the riders but they have all adapted well and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in their race tomorrow.”
