Loud engines, highly motivated riders and adrenaline-fuelled action. The six-month break finally came to an end as the 13th ADAC MX Masters season got underway at MSC Fürstlich Drehna's circuit to the south of Berlin. There were no fewer than 233 entrants from 27 different countries - 77 in the ADAC MX Junior Cup, 86 in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup and 70 pro riders contesting the top echelons of the sport. The qualifying sessions on Saturday, however, soon sorted out the men from the boys as all the riders in the three classes fought their way around the extremely sandy 1,650 metre circuit to secure one of the 40 places at the starting gate in the races on Sunday. Spanish world championship rider Jorge Prado (16, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team) was the fastest in the ADAC MX Masters. The young Galician, who made headlines just a few weeks ago with a podium at the world championship in Argentina, secured best time of 1:48:268 minutes. The young MX talent can now choose his place at the gate on Sunday in front of Danish rider Nikolaj Larsen (26, KTM) and the Belgian, Cedric Grobben (21, KTM). "I rode in Fürstlich Drehna for the first time five years ago, and it was my first outing on sand. Even though I liked the track very much at the time, it's been improved even more since, which I think is great. The track is quite tough but also safe for riders, so riding here is great fun, and I'm able to gain plenty of experience for my world championship outings," said Prado.

Local rider Christian Brockel (33, KTM GST Berlin) is being cheered on by his wife Annett, his two children and his friends here at Fürstlich Drehna. He will line up in P8 for the races at his home track but is not really happy with that result: "I wanted to post best time in my group to show that I'm a prime candidate for a podium in the races on Sunday. Unfortunately, I hampered myself in the end by wanting to deliver a fine performance come what may, which didn't work out. One small consolation, though, is that I've never been that good in qualifying but have nevertheless always been among the front-runners in points-scoring races," said the 2014 and 2015 German champion.

ADAC MX Youngster Cup

The Finn Miro Sihvonen (18, Diga Junior Racing Team, KTM) was impressive in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup. The 18-year-old, who joined the ADAC MX Masters race series as a rookie last year and immediately shone by finishing championship runner-up in Class 2, had everybody talking about him again with a best time of 1:49:390 minutes. And so, things could hardly have gone better for the Scandinavian during this first race weekend from a total of seven. "The track here at Fürstlich Drehna is one of my favourites in the Masters race series. Although I wasn't able to push really hard today, because my bike is new and I've yet to contest a race on it, I'll do my best to make up for that on race Sunday and really open the throttle wide, because I now feel good on my bike after free practice and qualifying. Plus, I feel more secure than I did last year, as I already know what lies ahead here," said the 18-year-old, adding, "I can promise you this much right now. I don't intend to allow myself to be pushed off the top rung of the podium again this year. I'm on course to take the title right from the start." Sihvonen led the standings in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup throughout 2016 but was narrowly beaten at the end of the season by Dutchman Bas Vaessen (18, Team Suzuki World MX2). Danish rider Nichlas Bjerregaard (20, Team Classic Oil, SHR Motorsports, Yamaha) placed second in qualifying for the ADAC MX Youngster Cup at Fürstlich Drehna, while French teenager Zachary Pichon (16, Team Suzuki World MX2) was third. Local riders Nico Adler (18, ADAC Sachsen eV, KTM) and Maximilian Spies (13, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg eV, Husqvarna) failed to qualify.

Seeing the two-stroke competitors giving it their all in Class 2 was really great, particularly as they did not have an easy time riding their 125cc two-stroke bikes on this extremely sandy, challenging circuit. Some twenty young MX talents were entered on their two-stroke machines for the season opener of this year's ADAC MX Masters, 15 more than last year, which is a terrific result for the two-stroke initiative. As of the start of this season, instead of only six riders being able to qualify for race Sunday via the Last Chance race, the five best two-stroke and five best four-stroke riders will now be given the chance to rock up at the starting gate for the points-scoring races.

ADAC MX Junior Cup

Swedish rider Max Palsson (14, KTM) won through in qualifying for the ADAC MX Junior Cup. Posting a time of 2:01:493, the 14-year-old KTM driver was around two seconds faster than his rival, Nick Domann (14, KTM) thus securing pole position for the races on Sunday. "This is my first year in the ADAC MX Masters series, so I'm really pleased that I was able to impress right away. I really like the many jumps and combinations of turns, and sandy circuits suit me, so I felt very comfortable straightaway," said the young Scandinavian. Danish rider Rasmus Pedersen (13, KTM) placed third.

Programme

Founded in 1979, MSC Fürstlich Drehna has traditionally organised the ADAC MX Masters opening weekend since 2006. Some 300 helpers were deployed at this year's meeting to turn the club's grounds into a motocross festival. There's plenty to do for children with the ADAC Young Generation Suzuki Quad circuit, the ADAC MX Academy stand and the ADAC Insurance bouncy castle, while adults are well catered for away from the action out on track. There's a party in the marquee during the evening and various food stands with delights to tickle the taste buds plus other stands for fans. There will also be an autograph signing session on Sunday from 12.15 to 12.45 pm with the top ADAC MX Masters stars. World champion Jorge Prado, local rider Christian Brockel, three-time ADAC MX Masters champion Dennis Ullrich and the two young MX talents, Angus Heidecke (26, KTM Sarholz Racing Team) and Henry Jacobi (20, STC Racing), will be there taking part. A ticket for Sunday costs 25 euros for adults and teenagers aged 16 and over. Fans under 16 have free admittance when accompanied by a paying adult.