The third round of the ADAC MX Masters at Mölln in northern Germany was a real challenge for man and machine with temperatures nudging 33 degrees in the shade. However, the riders in the four classes of the ADAC MX Masters braved the heat and thrilled spectators with plenty of exciting racing and exciting action on the Grambeker Heidering track. In the ADAC MX Masters class, Tanel Leok (A1M Husqvarna) from Estonia was able to post the fastest lap in qualifying on Saturday with a masterly performance. On Sunday, he then did even better, securing victory on the day with a second and first place. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get away to a good start in the first race and had to fight my way forwards from way down the field,” said the veteran rider. While Leok rode in quite a restrained manner over the initial laps, he really turned up the heat in the second half of the race and was able to improve to take second place after making a superb charge up the field. “Getteman was already too far away in the lead, so I decided to save my energy for the second race and settle for second place,” said Leok. It was a tactic that was to turn out well in the second race, as Leok reached the first corner in P1 and remained in that position until the finish line. “I was able to take two points out of Getteman with my victory on the day. That might not sound like much, but the front-runners are bunched close together and every point will count at the end of the season.”
25-year-old Jens Getteman (Monster Energy Kawasaki Elf Team Pfeil) showed amazing fighting spirit at Mölln and was not slowed down even by a fall in the second race. The Belgian rider improved to take a well deserved second place in the championship standings with his win in the first round after making a sensational charge and securing third place in the second race. As you can imagine, he was very satisfied with his performance. “I was only tenth after the first lap,” he said. “But I felt really good and was able to set a cracking pace. I gave it everything I’d got and wasn’t satisfied until I’d taken the lead. What a fantastic race I’ve had.” However, the Belgian made life difficult for himself in the second round with a weak start. “I took a bit of a tumble, going down briefly,” said Getteman annoyed with himself. “After that, I felt like heading for the paddock, but giving up was never really an option, so I opened the throttle and was able to storm up the field back into third place. All the effort was really worthwhile ultimately, because I was able to improve my position in the standings to second place overall.”
Third place on the day went to guest entrant, Calvin Vlaanderen (HRC Honda MX2), who made an impressive return following enforced absence through injury. “I broke my ankle a few weeks ago and was not on top form by any means,” said the Honda works rider. “But I like riding in the ADAC MX Masters and had a great weekend. Of course, my performance at the start was handicapped by the 250cc machine, which made itself noticeable, but I was able to move forwards quite well in both races and am very satisfied with my podium finish.“ Dennis Ullrich (Bodo Schmidt Motorsport/Husqvarna) made strong starts in both races but was unable to maintain his place in the leading group. Coming home sixth and fifth, he was only fourth on the day and dropped back down the provisional championship standings into third place.
ADAC MX Youngster Cup
Jeremy Sydow (DIGA-Procross Husqvarna) was able to seamlessly continue his run of wins in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup. The German struggled on Saturday on the sandy track and had to settle for sixth on the grid, but then things went much better for him in the two races on Sunday. “I had a great start and was able to take the lead right away,” he told us. “When Bogh Damm overtook me, though, I stayed calm, because I had the feeling that he was riding a bit over his limit.” In fact, the Dane crashed a little later, clearing the way for Sydow’s victory in the first race. In the second round, the start did not go so well and Sydow had to be satisfied with third place. “I knew it was enough to give me victory on the day, so I kept within my limits over the final segment. I’ve secured a decent haul of points in the championship and am now only 15 points behind Rene Hofer, giving me a good starting point for the next races.”
Rene Hofer (KTM Junior Racing) had travelled to Mölln as leader in the series and was able to defend the top spot but lost a lot of points to the opposition with only P20 in the first round. “We don’t really need to discuss it. It was a disaster,” said the Austrian dismissively. However, second place in the second round enabled him to close the gap again to some extent, and he certainly felt a lot happier as a result. Husqvarna works rider Mikkel Haarup (Rockstar Ice One Husqvarna Racing) was in strong shape for his guest start in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup and was pleased to take second place overall from fellow Dane, Bastian Bogh Damm (WZ-Racing/KTM).
ADAC MX Junior Cup 125
Simon Längenfelder (WZ-Racing/KTM) from Southern Germany continued his impressive series of wins in the ADAC MX Junior Cup. He had taken the lead in both races by the end of the first lap at the very latest and showed no signs of weakness thereafter. “Yes, that was a pretty good performance”, said Längenfeld, downplaying his triumph. “It wasn’t as easy as it might have looked, but I really enjoyed riding and savoured every moment. I hope things go on like this in the next race at Tensfeld!”
Längenfelder’s arch rival, Swiss rider Mike Gwerder (Kini KTM Junior Pro Team), also set a cracking pace at Mölln but did not start either of the two races well and had to settle for third place and twelve points fewer than Längenfelder. “My starts were nothing to shout about. I even slid a little in the first race,” he said. “That’s why today was all about damage limitation.” Second place on the day went to the Russian, Maksim Kraev (Garin MX Team/KTM), who was able to surprise at Mölln with a very strong performance.
ADAC MX Junior Cup 85
The winner of Saturday’s second race in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 met with some bad luck on Sunday. Cas Valk (DIGA Procross Husqvarna) had confidently won the first race and in the second round, it looked like the Dutch rider would again emerge as the clear winner until the last lap when he dropped back with technical problems and had to settle for eighth place. The main beneficiary of his misfortune was Sacha Coenen (Grizzly Yamaha Junior Team), who inherited the win and with it, victory on the day. “We made a small change to the engine for today and I got a much better start than yesterday,” said the 12-year-old. “That’s why I was up there with the leaders right from the start and was finally able to win the race and secure victory on the day.” Edvards Bidzans (MX Modules Husqvarna) took second place from Andreas Krogh Jensen (BvZ Racing Team/KTM). Edvards remains unchallenged at the top of the championship standings with a 37-point lead.
The best scenes from the ADAC MX Masters will again be shown worldwide on TV and Internet in 2019. Motorvision TV is featuring highlights from the seven race weekends in a 25-minute magazine programme in more than 100 countries. Sport1+ will broadcast highlights from the ADAC MX Masters at Mölln for the first time on 6th July at 10.00 am while Motorvision International will show the magazine for the first time on 7th July at 1.30 pm. Round-ups from the races are also available online at adac-mx-masters.de, youtube.de/adac and Facebook.com/adacmxmasters.