Tixier wins ADAC MX Masters event standings in Jauer. Tom Koch takes first race victory of the year. Max Nagl defends championship lead despite suffering from a cold.
Jauer. 7,000 fans enjoyed three exciting races when the ADAC MX Masters returned to MC Jauer e.V. at the weekend. Jordi Tixier (F/KTM Sarholz Racing Team) won two races on his way to overall victory on the Hahneberg hill. Race three saw Tom Koch (D/KTM Kosak Racing) come out on top for the first time this season, leaving Max Nagl (D/Krettek-Haas-Racing-Team) in third place in the event standings. Despite this, Nagl continues to lead the championship.
Jordi Tixier was the LS2 Best Qualifier on Saturday – a clear statement that he has not yet given up hopes of winning the ADAC MX Masters title. In race one, Jorge Zaragoza (E/KMP Honda Racing) took the Red Bull Holeshot ahead of Max Nagl and Tom Koch. However, Koch applied plenty of pressure and led the field round the track on the Hahneberg from lap two. On the third lap, the Spaniard was overtaken by Nagl and Stefan Ekerold (D/Team Bauerschmidt MB33). One lap later, they were followed by Tixier, who had found himself sixth at the end of the opening lap. An impressive Ekerold passed Nagl on lap five and then set about pressuring the leader Koch, until he was stopped in his tracks by a broken frame on his bike on lap eight. One lap later, Tixier had passed Nagl to take second place and set off in pursuit of Kochs. As the race drew to a close, the reigning ADAC MX Masters champion closed the gap to the German and went on the attack. Koch finally succumbed to the pressure on the final lap, leaving Tixier to take victory ahead of Koch, Nagl, Zaragoza and Lukas Platt (D/DW-Racing KS Performance Fantic), who claimed his best result of the year.
Zaragoza again took the holeshot in race two on Sunday, but was replaced at the head of the field by Tixier on lap one. Martin Krç (CZ/Osicka MX Team) found himself in second place from lap two. There then followed a fierce battle for this position, until Koch and Nagl passed the Czech driver and relegate him to fourth place on lap six. Shortly before the middle of the race, Nagl moved ahead of Koch and into second place, while Tixier controlled the race comfortably from the front. Krç was also overtaken in the second half of the race by Ekerold and Adam Sterry (GB/KTM Sarholz Racing Team), who rounded out the top five behind Tixier, Nagl and Koch.
Zaragoza claimed his third Red Bull Holeshot of the weekend in the final race, but was again overtaken by Tixier on the opening lap. On the fourth lap, Ekerold attacked Tixier, who was suffering with blisters on his hands, and took the lead. Just a few corners later, Koch also came past the Frenchman and proceeded to attack Ekerold at the head of the field. Around the midway point of the race, Nagl leapfrogged ahead of reigning ADAC MX Masters champion Tixier to take third place. He then passed Ekerold to move into second place on lap ten. Koch was not to be denied his first race win of the season, and came home ahead of Nagl and Ekerold. Tixier finished fourth, followed by his team-mate Sterry.
Tixier won the event standings for the first time this year, followed by Koch, Nagl and Sterry. Platt ended the weekend in fifth place, his best result of the season. Nagl continues to lead the championship. However, his lead over Tixier has been reduced slightly: Nagl now has a 47-point advantage, with Koch a further 24 points back in third place, followed by Sterry. Ekerold climbed back to fifth place in the table, ahead of Tim Koch (D/Team AB-Racing by Zweiradsport Schmitz).
“After a bit of a low in recent weeks, I took a short break from training on my bike. That did me some good and I am back enjoying my riding again. I struggled with blistered hands in the third race and so was not able to push as hard as I did in the two race wins. I am thrilled with my first overall victory of the season,” said a beaming Tixier at the presentation ceremony.
“I was very frustrated to have missed out on the race win on the final lap on Saturday, having led for much of the race. I was then much more relaxed in race three, and knew I had the pace needed to get the win. It all came together nicely. Let’s hope it continues this way in the coming races,” said a happy Tom Koch.
“It was a tough weekend for me. I was ill on Thursday, and my race bike broke on Sunday morning, which hampered my starts. On the whole, however, I did a good job of damage limitation and still have a comfortable lead in the championship,” said Max Nagl, exhausted.
Replays of all the races from both days of the event can be watched as a complete livestream or as individual races, free of charge, via the playlist ADAC MX Masters Jauer. All the results of the weekend can be found online at adac.de/mx-masters.
