Kay Karssemakers takes victory in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup in Gaildorf. Mads Fredsøe wins the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125 to extend his championship lead. The ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 races fall victim to the weather.
The junior classes in the ADAC MX Masters treated fans to some thrilling racing in Gaildorf, despite being faced with challenging conditions. After the two races that took place in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, Kay Karssemakers (NL/Husqvarna BT-Racing Team) brought an end to the run of victories by WZ Racing riders. Oriol Oliver (E/WZ Racing) continues to lead the championship. Mads Fredsøe (DK/STC Sturm Racing) extended his lead at the top of the table in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125, thanks to overall victory in Gaildorf. The races in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 had to be cancelled on Sunday, due to extremely muddy track conditions. Áron Katona (HU/HTS KTM) was the fastest in this class in qualifying on Saturday.
ADAC MX Youngster Cup: Karssemakers ends the WZ Racing dominance
When the event was aborted after just two races, it was Karssemakers who took overall victory on his first appearance of the season in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup. The Dutchman made his first statement of intent on Saturday, when he was the fastest rider in qualifying. He then led the opening race, which took place in dry conditions, from the first to the penultimate lap, when he was passed by championship leader Oliver. By race two on Sunday, the track had become very muddy. As he had on the previous day, Marnique Appelt (D/Becker Racing) took the Red Bull Holeshot. However, he was promptly overtaken on lap one by Karssemakers, Oliver, Peter König (D/KTM Sarholz Racing Team) and a number of other riders. Despite a small crash, Karssemakers held onto the lead until the race was suspended after about 15 minutes due to poor weather and track conditions. In doing so, he finally ended the run of overall victories by WZ Racing riders, which stretched right back to the opening round of the season. Oliver hit the deck several times in the mud, but fifth place and Saturday’s victory were sufficient to earn him second place on the overall podium. That saw the Spaniard extend his championship lead over Cato Nickel (D/WZ-Racing), who completed the overall podium after fifth and second place in the two races. König was classified in fourth place, level on points with Nickel, after finishing fourth and third. Appelt rounded out the top five in Gaildorf. Oliver still leads the championship, ahead of Nickel, Mike Gwerder (CH/WZ-Racing), König and Jens Walvoort (NL/KTM SB Racing).
“I am happy with the overall victory. It was not an easy race on Sunday and I tried to get round the track as cleanly as possible. On Saturday, I had a bit of a problem with stiff forearms, which allowed Oliver to pass me at the end,” said Karssemakers.
“After battling my way to victory yesterday, I switched to survival mode in the mud today. After a crash, I had problems with wet gloves and visibility. Given that, fifth place was okay. My goal is to win the title. I extended my lead this weekend and am on course to achieve that goal,” said Oliver, summing up his weekend.
ADAC MX Junior Cup 125: Fredsøe keeps his nerve
In the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125, championship leader Mads Fredsøe showed strong nerves. On Saturday, he took the lead with the Red Bull Holeshot and then refused to be knocked out of his stride when Vitezslav Marek (CZ/Cermen KTM Racing Team) moved to the head of the field. He regained the lead shortly before the end of the race, and went on to take victory ahead of Marek and Julius Mikula (CZ/MJC Yamaha Official EMX 125 Team), who passed Maximilian Werner (D/Fantic Factory Team Maddii) in the closing stages to take third place. In race two on Sunday, Werner claimed a superb lights-to-flag victory in muddy conditions. Mikula and Fredsøe, who joined him on the podium, were unable to challenge the German at any point during the race. In the overall standings, Fredsøe ended the weekend with the most points, ahead of Werner and Mikula. Marek and Markuss Ozolins (LVA) completed the top five in Gaildorf. In the championship, Fredsøe extended his lead over Werner, Marek, Gyan Doensen (NL/WZ-Racing) and Nicolai Skovbjerg (DK/Yamaha Scandinavia/Wozniak Racing).
“Leading from start to finish on Saturday was perfect. On Sunday, it was very difficult to get round the track in the rain and mud. As such, I am very happy with the overall victory here in Gaildorf,” said a beaming Fredsøe at the presentation ceremony.
ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 falls victim to the weather
In the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85, Áron Katona secured pole position in qualifying on Saturday, ahead of Nicolò Alvisi (I/Team Calstellari) and Dani Heitink (NL/DH-MX). However, the two races on Sunday were cancelled, as the track conditions were too extreme for the smaller bikes. As such, Jarne Bervoets (B/Bervoets Racing Team) continues to lead the championship, ahead of Katona and Dean Gregoire (NL/Voss KTM Racing).
Team competition: KTM Sarholz Racing Team wins
The best result from each team counts towards the Team competition, whereby the result of the ADAC MX Masters class scores double points. KTM Sarholz Racing Team emerged victorious in Gaildorf, followed by the Kosak Racing Team and KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek. In the season standings, KTM Sarholz Racing Team has leapfrogged ahead of KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek, with the Kosak Racing Team third.
All the races from both days of the event can be watched in a full replay or as individual races via the free ADAC MX Masters Playlist on the ADAC Motorsport YouTube channel. You can find all the weekend’s results online at adac.de/mx-masters.
