It's now been some six weeks since the ADAC MX Masters finale in Holzgerlingen, and the 2017 race calendar has just been announced. Once again, the schedule holds the promise of plenty of adrenaline-pumping action. Seven ADAC MX Masters events will again be staged next season from April to September, as was the case this year, and will all be held in Germany. The international motocross elite traditionally open the season at MSC Fürstlich Drehna eV (8th - 9th April., and riders will face the first test of their skill on the 1,650-metre deep-sand 'rund um den Mühlberg' circuit. It was Danish rider Thomas Kjer Olsen (19, Bodo Schmidt Motorsports, Husqvarna), who impressed as winner on the day right at the start of the season in 2016.
The riders then met again on 29th and 30th April at Jauer in Saxony to demonstrate their skills on the 1,700-metre 'am Hahneberg' clay track some 50 kilometres northeast of Dresden. MC Jauer eV debuted as an ADAC MX Masters venue in 2013 and is very popular with riders because of its many spectacular jumps. The third event on the new race calendar is scheduled for the weekend of 13th and 14th May when MSC Mölln eV will host an ADAC MX Masters event for the first time. The club has already made a big name for itself as an ADAC MX academy centre and by running the ADAC MX training programme for deaf children and teenagers, which is the only one of its kind in the world. The Schleswig-Holstein club has been busy with rebuilding work this year and has done a great deal to get the 1,600-metre sand track in trim for the ADAC MX Masters. Not only will sand experts be better catered for in 2017 with the addition of this new club to the ADAC MX Masters schedule, the race calendar will now feature another attractive circuit in the north of the Republic.
After a four-week break, the ADAC MX Masters will then be hosted by MSC Drabenderhöhe-Bielstein eV on 17th and 18th June. This well-established club to the west of Cologne, founded in 1952, has staged 26 world championship races over the years. The 1,830-metre hard-ground circuit has lots of steep ascents and descents. Many motocross riders in the ADAC MX Masters and ADAC MX Youngster Cup find the steep section of track immediately after the start especially challenging. The ADAC MX Junior Cup riders will not be racing that weekend. However, the ‘young guns’ will be back in action around one month later when they line up at the gate on the 1,850-metre sand track of MC Tensfeld eV on the 15th and 16th of July. The circuit near Plön in Schleswig-Holstein is one of the most challenging on the race calendar. Germany’s largest MX 'sandpit' will prove a very tough nut to crack for many riders.
Still, those who prefer hard-surface tracks can then look forward to the final two ADAC MX Masters dates calendared for 2017, both of which will take place on firmer soil in Baden-Württemberg. On the 26th and 27th of August, the circuit at MSC Gaildorf eV will be turned into one big event area for spectators, who will have free access to the paddock, as they do at all ADAC MX Masters events, and can chat with the amateur riders and privateers as well as with team bosses and mechanics. The club in south-west Germany, whose 1,650-metre 'auf der Wacht' circuit is a favourite of many riders, has regularly organised Europe's most popular motocross racing series since 2008 and has won several awards in the past for 'best organising club' and 'best circuit'. The finale will be held on 23rd and 24th September and will again take place in Holzgerlingen, as in 2016, when high flyer Dennis Ullrich (23, KTM Sarholz Racing Team) triumphed, winning his third title. The Kraftfahrervereinigung Kalteneck eV took a year's break in 2015 in order to revamp their 1,800-metre clay track and carry out improvements to the paddock. As of 2016, riders at the Schützenbühlring circuit have raced in the opposite direction, enabling spectators to enjoy an action-packed start charged with adrenaline. By the way, it will be the turn of MSC Eiserne Hand eV at Aichwald to take a 'sabbatical' in 2017 in order to update the 'in den Horben' circuit.
Registration for the 13th season of the racing series opens on 1st December 2016. Riders can enter online for one of the three ADAC MX Masters classes at www.adac-mx-masters/online, stating their age and their bike's capacity. Young riders aged from 10 to 15 compete in the ADAC MX Junior Cup on 85cc two-stroke motorcycles. The ADAC MX Youngster Cup is for riders aged between 14 and 21 on 125cc and 250cc bikes. The ADAC MX Masters is contested by pro riders from 15 years of age on bikes with a capacity of 250cc and upwards. Privateers can, of course, enter the series and have their own separate class.
2017 ADAC MX Masters schedule
8th - 9th April 2017, Fürstlich Drehna
29th - 30th April 2017, Jauer
13th - 14th May 2017, Mölln
17th - 18th June 2017, Bielstein (no ADAC MX Junior Cup)
15th - 16th July 2017, Tensfeld
26th - 27th August 2017, Gaildorf
23rd - 24th September 2017, Holzgerlingen