The Austrian hosts had things very much their way in the ADAC MX Masters weekend in Ried. Current MX 3 world champion Matthias Walkner (betsafehillinger mx racing) from Kuchl near Salzburg secured the win on the day in front of 8,500 spectators at this fantastic natural track. "I made hardly any mistakes and very quickly found my rhythm, which proved quite advantageous," said the 26-year-old KTM rider. 19-year-old Swiss rider Jeremy Seewer (Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe) from Bülach was second. The cup for third place went to Frenchman Sébastien Pourcel (KTM Sarholz Racing Team) from Foetz. The result means a change at the top of the championship standings. Former leader Max Nagl (KMP-Honda-Racing-Team) slips down two places into third position on 138 points. The new leader in the ADAC MX Masters rankings with a total of 159 points is German rider Dennis Ullrich (KTM Sarholz Racing Team). Sébastien Pourcel is in second place on 143 points.
The 1.90km track utilised for the fifth of eight ADAC MX Masters race weekends is quite something: a start straight that is more than 120 metres long with a section that goes downhill to begin with and then leads into an extremely sharp right-hander. The riders are faced with a particular challenge as, directly ahead of the first turn, they must hit the braking point correctly and reduce speed from around 120 to 30kph. Walkner did that the most consistently in both heats, securing the win on the day when the results were aggregated. Austrian ski ace Marcel Hirscher was there to provide some VIP support. The 24 year old slalom world champion came to Ried especially in order to wish his friend Matthias good luck. Other well known sports persons to be seen at the event included ex-grand prix star Peter Öttl and superbike rider Michael Ranseder.
ADAC MX Youngster Cup
Austrian fans had plenty to cheer about in the ADAC MX Youngster cup as well this weekend. 20 year old Lukas Neurauter (Cofain Racing Team, KTM) from Sautens in Tirol secured victory on the day. The rider was applauded loudly as he received his trophy. "I am truly overwhelmed. The result is much more than I ever dreamt of and I am, of course, very proud as an Austrian to win here at this track," said Neurauter. Frenchman Boris Maillard (Monster Energy Kawasaki Elf Team Pfeil) took second place from the Rumanian Cabal George (Kosak Racing Team, KTM). 20-year-old Lars Reuther (KTM Sarholz Racing Team) leads in the standings on 175 points, followed by Maillard on 140. Belgium Brent van Doninck (KTM Scott Racing) has the same 140 points total, but is in third place due to a less favourable race average.
Ladies Race
28-year-old German rider Steffi Laier (Rabbit-Racing, Kawasaki) won the victory on the day in the Ladies Race, ahead of Italian Francesca Nocera (Francy Racing Team, Suzuki) and Dutch rider Marianne Veenstra (Mitterbäck Racing Team, KTM). "I'm very pleased to do so well here in Ried," said Laier. Her strongest opponent, Italian Kiara Fontanesi (Yamaha), dropped out during the second race, leaving the way free for the German to take the top rung on the podium.
Support programme
In Saturday evening's traditional motocross long jump event, 19-year-old local rider Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT/HSV Ried, KTM) set a new world record. He jumped 66.8 metres, beating the previous record set by Daniel Siegl (Kawasaki Monster Energy Elf Team Pfeil). At the last event in 2009, Siegl jumped 61.3 metres. 20 riders in all tried their hand at the long jump extra event this weekend.