Race Sunday in Fürstlich Drehna, Brandenburg, was a real challenge both for the ADAC MX Masters field of 221 international motocross riders from 25 different countries and for the 10,500 spectators, who faced very variable weather, ranging from sun and snow to hail and rain. Nevertheless, the cold temperatures did not put a dampener on the super atmosphere at the 1,650-metre Rund um den Mühlberg sandy track. Spectators were gripped by a thrilling chase between two German World Championship riders, Dennis Ullrich (22) and Angus Heidecke (25, both KTM Sarholz) in the very first round of the Masters class. For Heidecke, it was enough ultimately to give him third place in the daily standings and a podium. ‘Ulle´ placed sixth.

The best rider of the opening weekend turned out to be, not as expected, MX superstar Ben Townley (31, Team Suzuki World MXGP) from New Zealand, but his Danish rival Thomas Kjer Olsen (19, Bodo Schmidt Motorsport). Olsen secured second place in both races and with it, the win on the day in the ADAC MX Masters. "It feels amazing to be able to take the Red Plate home with me today. I trained an awful lot over the winter and am very pleased to be so successful here," said the 19-year-old, who won the ADAC MX Youngster Cup in 2014.

New Zealander Townley was less successful, however. Although he had had a clear lead in the first race and won by a margin of almost twelve seconds on Olsen, he was forced to retire with a technical problem in the second round and finished tenth in the daily standings. Local rider Christian Brockel (32, KTM GST Berlin) achieved a top-ten finish in both races and was extremely satisfied with eighth position: "The result is actually more than I ever expected from this weekend here in Fürstlich Drehna. I haven´t been able to train much in recent weeks due to illness, so I´m delighted that I was able to perform so well here," said the father of two, who had been cheered on by the crowd, especially in the first race, when he fought his way up into P10 from P27 after a fall on the first lap.

ADAC MX Youngster Cup

A rookie won both races to start the season in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, clinching victory in the daily standings as a result. Finnish rider Miro Sihvonen (17, Diga Junior Racing Team) is competing in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup for the first time this year and now leads the rankings with a full score of 50 points: "Actually, I was aiming for a place in the Top Three and am, of course, really pleased to have scored maximum points here. That has given me the confidence not just to ride in an ADAC MX Masters event but to contest the whole series," said the Scandinavian. Stefan Ekerold (20, Bodo Schmidt Motorsport) and Dutchman Luca Nijenhuis (21, Monster Energy Kawasaki Elf Team Pfeil) made nail-biting charges up the field to place second and third respectively. While Ekerold dominated the first points-scoring race, Nijenhuis beat him in the second round to take second place in the overall standings. His German rival was mightily disappointed in the end with third place but has already announced his intention to get even at the next race weekend.

ADAC MX Junior Cup

Austria´s René Hofer (14, MSC Imbach by MEFO Sport/Kini KTM Junior Team Pro) made a big impression in the ADAC MX Junior Cup, just as he had done the day before. The 14-year-old comfortably won the first race with a twelve-second lead and the second round by a margin of 15 seconds and was pleased with his well-deserved victory on the day: "This is the first time that I´ve stood on the top rung of the podium in the Masters, and I must first take it all in. While I did indeed finish third overall in the ADAX MX Junior Cup in 2015, I think it´s just terrific that I´m able to repeat last year´s success straightaway here. That gives me an enormous boost and makes me feel very confident about forthcoming events in the ADAC MX Junior Cup," said the youngster. Second place went to Russian rider Maksim Kraev (13, Garim MX Team, KTM). Estonian Meico Vettlik (12, KTM EST) joined the party on the podium in third place.

The second ADAC MX Masters race weekend takes place on 21st/22nd May in Möggers, Austria, close to Lake Constance. Numerous jumps and a steep drop at the start make this 1,850-metre clay track particularly spectacular and will produce another top-class motocross event after the opener in Fürstlich Drehna.