The penultimate race weekend of the ADAC MX Masters at Holzgerlingen in Baden-Württemberg could not have got off to a more thrilling start. In temperatures of 24 degrees and with sunshine all the way, 217 riders of 28 different nationalities waged a series of nerve-racking battles for advantageous starting positions in the ADAC MX Masters, ADAC MX Youngster Cup and ADAC MX Junior Cup races to be contested on Sunday. The standout performance of Saturday was delivered by France´s Grégory Aranda (Sturm Racing Team, Kawasaki) who recorded the fastest qualifying lap in the Masters class. "I am absolutely delighted to taken pole position for tomorrow, because I´ve been having hardly any success in recent races," said the 24-year-old. "Qualifying has shown me that I can still get up amongst the front-runners, and I´ll now be going all out for the win."

The second-best time was posted by Dennis Ullrich (KTM Sarholz Racing Team) who clinched the title last year in Europe´s most popular motocross racing series at this self-same venue. The Schützenbühlring is a 1,845-metre circuit run by the KfV Kalteneck club near the village of Holzgerlingen, 30 kilometres south of Stuttgart, and counts as Ullrich´s home track. "It gives me a tremendous boost to know that I basically have a double advantage over the opposition," said the 21-year-old, summing up his weekend so far. "Firstly, I feel completely at home, because I practise here regularly and am totally familiar with all the corners and tables. Secondly, of course, it´s a great feeling to know that I wrapped up last year´s championship at Holzgerlingen and that I had such a major success here." The fact that his nervousness caused several slip-ups last year is no longer an issue for Ulle. "I lacked the experience in 2013 of riding right at the front. Now I know my strengths and feel in complete control." Third position at the starting gate will be selected by French rider Sébastien Pourcel (KTM Sarholz Racing Team). Marcus Schiffer (Team Suzuki Waldmann), Ullrich´s fiercest rival for the title, qualified seventh.

ADAC MX Youngster Cup

In the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, it already became apparent in the qualifying session that Sunday´s race is set to be a motocross thriller for the fans. Calvin Vlaanderen (KTM Bodo Schmidt Motorsports), the 18-year-old Dutch rider with South African roots, set a time of 02:07.707 to secure pole position. "The track is just perfect and exactly to my liking. I also feel strong on the bike, and I have a good feeling about the race on Sunday. The contest with Henry (Jacobi) will be a tough one, because he excels in start technique, but I´m faster on the track and I was also practising my starts last week with Dennis Ullrich who ranks as the master of the holeshot. He´s given me some useful advice."

Championship leader Henry Jacobi (KTM Sarholz Racing Team) was also in impressive form, qualifying in second position, but he was guarded about his chances against his strongest rivals, Vlaanderen and Thomas Kjer Olsen from Denmark (Yamaha Motor Deutschland, AC Motec by STC): "I currently hold the championship lead by mere two points ahead of Calvin, and Thomas is just six behind," said the 17-year-old from Bad Sulza. "This has turned out to be an extremely close affair between us three, and with the finish almost in sight, the pressure is obviously increasing. I have to switch off mentally on Sunday and simply not even think about it." Third fastest was Mika Kordbarlag from Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock (Team KTM GST Berlin), who celebrated his 18th birthday on Friday.

ADAC MX Junior Cup

Jeremy Sydow from Chemnitz (Falcon Motorsports / ADAC Sachsen) can look forward to the races on Sunday with some degree of confidence. The 14-year-old ADAC Sports Foundation protégé opened the throttle on the final qualifying lap and managed to post the best time of 02:18.338 just before the session expired: "Here on the Schützenbühlring, you have a real opportunity to prove your motocross abilities. There are some deep furrows that not everyone can cope with, and that´s actually the main attraction for me. On Sunday, I´ll be trying to narrow the points gap between me and championship leader Mikkel Haarup (MEFO Sport Racing Team, KTM) and to finish on the podium." The surprise package of Saturday was Slovenia´s Luka Milec (Husqvarna-Pilot) who claimed the second starting spot on his very first outing in the ADAC MX Junior Cup. Third overall was Italy´s Gianluca Facchetti (Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe).

Programme

Fans attending Sunday´s races are in for a real treat. From 12.15 to 12.45pm, there will be the customary autograph signing session next to the ADAC Truck. On this occasion, the stars wielding their pens and chatting to fans will include defending ADAC MX Masters champion Dennis Ullrich, Marcus Schiffer, who is currently placed second in the championship, World Championship rider Pascal Rauchenecker (Cofain Racing Team) and France´s Boris Maillard (Monster Energy Kawasaki Elf Team Pfeil) who won the 2013 ADAC MX Youngster Cup in the same fixture at Holzgerlingen last year.