The weather could not have been better for the fourth weekend of the 2017 ADAC MX Masters at Bielstein in North Rhine-Westphalia. On Saturday, in ideal ambient temperatures of around 16°C, the 80 ADAC MX Youngster Cup contestants and 66 ADAC MX Masters riders from some twenty different countries competed for the 40 highly coveted starting places in Sunday's races. In the senior category, it was Austria's Lukas Neurauter (21, Cofain Racing Team, KTM) who set the pace. His time of 01:48.394 minutes was around two seconds faster than that set by Belgium's Jeremy Delince (26, KMP Honda Racing Team) and easily good enough for pole position. "The circuit is technically very demanding, as it is hard to get into a constant rhythm, but I am very impressed by the commitment made by the club who have done a lot of work on upgrading the track. I am very satisfied with my own performance here today - it was a tough but thrilling battle against my opponents who were exerting considerable pressure from behind at times." For Neurauter, whose day job is as a carpenter, it was a second qualifying victory of the season, his first pole position having come in a brilliant Saturday session during the ADAC MX Masters event at Jauer. The third-fastest time was clocked by Filip Neugebauer (20, Monster Energy Kawasaki Elf Team Pfeil) from the Czech Republic and the fourth best by Jeffrey Dewulf (25, Desmet KTM Motorshop) from Belgium. The current championship leader Dennis Ullrich (23, KTM Sarholz Racing Team) qualified fifth.

ADAC MX Youngster Cup

In the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, Czech rider Martin Krc (21, Sturm Racing Team, KTM) prevailed over French rival Adrien Malaval (19, Diga Procross Team, Husqvarna) and his fellow countryman Jakub Teresak (18, CZE, KTM). The 21-year-old, who went fastest with a top time of 01:51.325 minutes, had already won admirers for a P3 finish to the third ADAC MX Masters weekend of the season at Mölln. The Sturm Racing rider was delighted with his latest result: "The track here at Bielstein is perfect for me because, in my home country, we have similar tracks on which I train at least once or twice a week. That's why I feel very much at my ease here, which in turn has had a very positive effect on my performance." Local favourite Lukas Platt (20, DW Racing Team, KTM) was also very happy with his Saturday. The joiner's apprentice from Mönchengladbach lives about 100 kilometres from the track and has been a member of the MSC Drabenderhöhe-Bielstein club for the past four years. "This weekend is a very special one for me, as my whole family are here to give me support. My target is to get into the Top 15, so a P15 in qualifying is a promising start." The 20-year-old currently ranks twelfth in the championship table and is the leading German rider in the 250cc class.

Ladies Cup

The ADAC MX Junior Cup is missing from the schedule for the ADAC MX Masters weekend at Bielstein - its place has been taken by a round of the Ladies Cup. The qualifying session was contested by 29 female riders from seven different countries. Among them are a number of star names such as current world championship leader Courtney Duncan from Dunedin in New Zealand and Nicky van Wordragen from the Netherlands, as well Germany's Larissa Papenmeier and Kim Irmgartz. It was Courtney Duncan from Dunedin who came out top in the quali, setting a time 2.5 seconds faster than Larissa Papenmeier who is currently running fifth in the world championship. Third was Dutch woman Nicky van Wordragen, who is currently sixth in the world rankings. "The track is pretty tough," said the 20-year-old New Zealander. "But I think it's great because I see the event here as a good warm-up for the world championship. There are a lot of us girls here, and we're having a great deal of fun. I really enjoy that."

Programme for the weekend

MSC Drabenderhöhe-Bielstein has featured on the ADAC MX Masters calendar since 2015. Around 200 voluntary helpers have been involved in the preparatory work for this year's event. They have not only assisted in reconfiguring some sections of the circuit but have also worked hard to get the club premises ready for this festival of motocross. In addition to the action on the racetrack, a lively supporting programme of entertainment for children and adults is being laid on. This includes the ADAC Unfallschutz bouncy castle and the Suzuki quad bike track for the younger members of the family. Catering more for the adults is the evening Rock am Waldkurs Open Air party. On Sunday, there will be a half-hour autograph session with the top names from the MX scene in front of the ADAC Truck. ADAC MX Masters championship leader Dennis Ullrich, second-placed Jens Getteman, Australian MX rider Hunter Lawrence and female world championship rider Larissa Papenmeier will be signing posters and posing for selfies between 12:15 and 12:45. Adult tickets for Sunday's racing costs 16 euros. Youngsters aged twelve to 15 pay half price, and children up to twelve years of age accompanied by an adult are free.