The fourth race meeting in the successful ADAC MX Masters series, the only one taking place outside of Germany this season, will be held on the weekend of 14th/15th July at Möggers, not far from Lake Constance in the border area between Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Most of the riders are already familiar with the 1,670-metre circuit in Vorarlberg, as this year will mark the fourth time that the ADAC MX Masters has been staged there. As was the case at the last meeting in Bielstein, the Austrian track is mainly on clay, which will make for a very hard surface in dry weather.
The terrain should suit local favourite, Lukas Neurauter (Cofain Racing Team/KTM), who was knocking on the door of the podium with a P4-finish earlier this season at Bielstein. "I'm on pretty good form at the moment," said the Tyrolean. "The Möggers track really suits me, and I like to ride there. Also, I only live about an hour-and-a-half away, so a few of my friends and other people I know will definitely come to cheer me on. That should give me a bit of a boost, but the class I compete in has some terrific riders and the competition never sleeps, so a top-five finish would be great."
Neurauter can expect to face some really tough competition in the ADAC MX Masters class in his home race and not just from Max Nagl (TM Factory Racing) and Henry Jacobi (STC Husqvarna Racing). He will have another very tough opponent at Möggers, because Jeremy Seewer (Wilvo Yamaha MXGP) has signed as a guest entrant. He was MX2 world championship runner-up and is currently enjoying great success in the MXGP World Championship. He has also shown his class in the ADAC MX Masters on many previous occasions in recent years. So, we should view Seewer as a definite candidate for the podium in the race at Möggers close to his native Switzerland.
In the run-up to this fourth round, Max Nagl is already 25 points up on Jacobi, who is in second place. Nagl would just love to take another big haul of points home from Möggers. How the two German ADAC MX Masters stars will fare in the top class against their Swiss counterpart will be one of the weekend's most interesting questions.
For local fans, the two ADAC MX Youngster Cup races will also, no doubt, be one of the day's highlights, as quite a number of Austrians have been top contenders in this extremely strong junior class recently. Apart from Rene Hofer (KTM Junior Racing), who leads the series by six points from New Zealander Dylan Walsh (Team Diga-Procross/Husqvarna), two more Austrians - Roland Edelbacher (Dimoco Europe Racing/KTM) and Michi Sandner (Thermotec Racing KTM/Mefo Sport Racing Team) - are waiting in the wings, ready to do their bit, and are always good for a win.
"I may not live all that close," said Hofer with a chuckle; he's from Alberndorf, almost 500 kilometres away. "Nevertheless, Möggers is, of course, my home fixture, and I hope the fans there will spur me on to achieve maximum performance. I would like to defend my lead in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup on home territory, and even extend it, if possible." Apart from riders, whose names have already been mentioned, Richard Sikyna (JD Gunnex KTM Racing Team) will also be out to stop him in his tracks. The Slovakian rider narrowly missed the podium at Bielstein and is currently third in the championship table.
ADAC MX Junior Cup 125 riders did not compete at Bielstein, so this will be only their third race in Austria. However, there has been no let-up in the excitement. Filip Olsson (Team Diga Procross/Husqvarna) is just five points up on Raf Meuwissen (Raths Motorsports/KTM) in the overall standings. Emil Weckmann (KTM) in third place is just eleven points behind the leader while Raivo Dankers (Team RD10 by Mefo Sport) in fourth place is only twelve points adrift. As a result, racing in this class should also be very close.
The three-way battle between Camden McLellan (Cossack Racing Team/KTM), Liam Everts (KTM) and Constantin Piller (Mefo Sport Racing Team/MSC Freisinger Bär/KTM) looks set to continue in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85. South African rider McLellan has not shown any weakness so far, but ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Piller did really well, especially in the last two races on hard ground, and should therefore be a contender for victory again at Möggers.
The Möggers meeting is well-known both for terrific organization and its beautifully situated circuit that winds through meadows and can easily be viewed by spectators. But the atmosphere at the circuit and in the marquee is also mega too. On Saturday night, pop-rock band High-Voltage will have fans rocking and rolling from 8:30 pm onwards and will also play at the after-race party. There's a large campsite at the circuit for all those wanting to stay the night at Möggers, and football fans will not be left out either, as the World Cup final will be shown live in the marquee immediately after Sunday afternoon's final race. Families with children will be pleased to see the ADAC Insurance bouncy castle and the ADAC Young Generation Suzuki quad course in attendance again while avid autograph hunters will also be well catered for during an autograph-signing session next to the ADAC truck on Sunday afternoon at 11:45 am with Max Nagl, Henry Jacobi, Jeffrey Dewulf, Lukas Neurauter and Jeremy Seewer.
A weekend ticket for adults costs 26 euros and just 16 euros for teenagers aged 15-17. The price of a day ticket on Sunday is 16 euros for adults and 10 euros for teenagers (15-17). Children under 14 are admitted for free when accompanied by an adult.