204 riders from 26 different nations, a challenging grand prix race track and a great deal of nervousness in all three classes. The last race weekend of the ADAC MX Masters season held the promise of pure excitement on Saturday. The best positions at the starting gate for Sunday´s races in the ADAC MX Masters, in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup and in the ADAC MX Junior Cup were hotly contested during qualifying at the 1.635 km hard surface Teutschenthal track in Saxony-Anhalt. World championship rider Max Nagl (KMP Racing Repsol Honda) in particular, who was participating once again as a guest rider in the ‘basins´, produced an excellent performance in the 30-minute qualifying. He was just marginally faster than Swiss rider Jeremy Seewer (Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe) with a lead of three hundredths of a second but was still very happy with the result. "I´m physically fit, in good shape mentally and have a motorcycle that is set up to perfection, so I can guarantee good results. Anyway, I always aim to win," said the 27-year-old proudly. Dutchman Brian Bogers (HSF Logistics Motorsports, KTM) won through to finish third.
ADAC MX Masters champion Dennis Ullrich (KTM Sarholz Racing Team) placed eighth in qualifying. The 21-year-old didn´t want to take any risks after his earlier, successful title defence at the last ADAC MX Masters event in Holzgerlingen in Baden-Württemberg. "My focus is now clearly on the Motocross of Nations in Latvia on September 27th-28th. There´s no way I would want to get injured and jeopardize my chances of participating," he said. Marcus Schiffer (Team Suzuki Waldmann), who is considered favourite to take the runner-up spot in the Masters class, didn´t appear to want to overextend himself in qualifying. The 27-year-old is currently 48 points up on third-placed Pascal Rauchenecker (Austria/Cofain Racing Team) and has the trophy as second overall in the race series practically in the bag. However, the Saturday of this race weekend was disappointing for local rider Leon Ast (Yamaha rider). The 16-year-old failed to qualify for Sunday´s races.
ADAC MX Youngster Cup
As was to be expected, the qualifying session in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup was a thrilling three-way battle for the best times between the current leader Thomas Kjer Olsen from Denmark (Yamaha Motor Germany, AC Motec by STC), Calvin Vlaanderen from the Netherlands (KTM Bodo Schmidt Motorsports), who is placed second in the standings and Henry Jacobi from Bad Sulza (KTM Sarholz Racing Team). At the end of the 25-minute session, the championship leader posted a time of 1:38:022, proving on Saturday that he is well placed to call on all his reserves to ensure a cracking performance in the final rounds on race day. "Of course, I definitely want to become champion in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, so I´m pretty nervous, but the speed is certainly there and the entire family has come all the way from Scandinavia to support me," said the 17-year-old. His opponent Vlaanderen was struck with emotion. The 18-year-old had intended to secure pole position in qualifying but was slightly slower than Olsen and so only gets to choose the second best place at the start gate on Sunday. "I´m fit and extremely quick, which is why I´m annoyed that I´ve not been able to impress by finishing on top," said the Dutchman with the South African roots. Jacobi, who finished third fastest in qualifying, securing one point once again, said: "It´s crunch time in Sunday´s race here in Teutschenthal. We have to fight with all the means at our disposal, because all three of us want to win the title."
ADAC MX Junior Cup
In the ADAC MX Junior Cup, outsider Roan van de Moosdijk from the Netherlands (Team WVH, KTM), who made his debut this season at the last ADAC MX Masters event in Holzgerlingen, posted the fastest lap. Consequently, on race day, the 13-year-old can select his position at the start gate ahead of current leader Mikkel Haarup from Denmark (MEFO Sport Racing Team, KTM) and the second title favourite Jeremy Sydow from Chemnitz (Falcon Motorsports / ADAC Sachsen). "There´s already a lot of pressure connected with the finale, as beating Haarup will be tricky. I went up against him in the European Championships and we had an exhausting battle back then, but I hope he wins victory overall in the championship. He has earned it," said van de Moosdijk. 14-year-old Sydow was second fastest on Saturday. He seemed quite wound up about race Sunday but didn´t want to let the pressure show. "No way do I want to make any stupid mistakes, so I´ll try to approach the finals calmly and exploit any potential errors on the part of my strongest rivals to my best advantage," said the 14-year-old, setting out his goal for the race weekend. Italian high-flyer Gianluca Facchetti (Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe) was pleased to place third in the 25-minute qualifying session.
Programme
The top stars in the motocross scene will take questions from fans for one last time this season on Sunday. They will be kept busy from 12:00 to 12:30 signing posters during an autograph signing session at the ADAC Truck, enjoying lively exchanges with everyone interested in motorcycling. A number of riders will be in attendance this time: two-time ADAC MX Masters champion Dennis Ullrich, Marcus Schiffer, the favourite to clinch the runner-up spot, Pascal Rauchenecker, who is currently third in the standings, the two world championship riders Max Nagl and Jeremy Seewer and Husqvarna works rider Todd Waters from Australia (Red Bull Iceone Husqvarna Factory Racing).