Nagl ends the season with three race wins and the title. Tom Koch finishes third in Dreetz to take second place in the championship. Jordi Tixier brings the year to a close with second place in Dreetz.
Max Nagl (D/KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek) emphatically defended his ADAC MX Masters title with three race wins at the season finale in Dreetz. This is the 36-year-old’s fourth title in the ADAC MX Masters and his sixth in the international German Motocross Championship. Jordi Tixier (F/KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek) was runner-up at the event, ahead of Tom Koch (D/Kosak Racing Team), who took second place in the table ahead of the Frenchman.
Max Nagl ended the ADAC MX Masters season as he began it: with three race wins, including two lights-to-flag victories. Victory in the opening race on Saturday laid the foundation for his successful title defence. Nagl was first across the Red Bull Holeshot line and soon opened a lead ahead of Adam Sterry (GB/KTM Sarholz Racing Team), Lars Van Berkel (NL/KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek), Tom Koch and new ADAC MX Youngster Cup champion Oriol Oliver (E/WZ-Racing). Oliver was making his debut in the ADAC MX Masters class, having wrapped up his title with races to spare in Holzgerlingen. Nagl’s rival in the title race, Koch, struggled to get past Van Berkel and dropped back to fifth place behind Oliver after making a mistake. By the middle of the race, Koch had made his way back to third place. Excitement came in the second half of the race, when Nagl hit the deck of his own accord. However, he was far enough in front to hang on to the lead. Koch consistently closed the gap to Sterry and put the Welshman under pressure towards the end of the race. With two laps remaining, Koch took second place. Tixier overtook Van Berkel on the final lap to finish fifth.
Nagl was again the first to emerge from turn one in race two on Sunday, and he again set about steadily pulling away from the chasing pack, which included Sterry, Oliver, Tixier, Van Berkel and Koch. Koch made it into the top five on lap four, while Oliver battled his way past Sterry and into second place on lap six. Three laps later, Sterry was powerless to prevent Tixier from passing him, and the Frenchman then set off in pursuit of Oliver. Max Nagl had another worrying moment when he went to ground after a highsider, but was again able to hold on to the lead. Koch did manage to reduce Sterry’s advantage in the closing stages, but without ever really being able to threaten him. Tixier overtook Oliver to climb into second place with three laps remaining. Nagl initially had to wait at the finish, before celebrating as Koch crossed the line fifth behind Tixier, Oliver and Sterry. That result meant Nagl had opened an unassailable lead and was crowned the 2023 ADAC MX Masters champion with the final race of the season still to come.
With the destination of the title decided, Sterry raced out of the start gate to take the Red Bull Holeshot in race three, ahead of Nagl, Van Berkel, Tixier, the fastest man in practice Gert Krestinov (EST/Motoextreme Honda) and Koch. However, Nagl was back at the front of the field on lap two and again pulled away from his rivals on a sandy track that was deteriorating rapidly. Koch moved through from fifth to third on lap five, followed by Oliver. However, both Koch and Oliver were then overtaken by the advancing Tixier in the second half of the race. The Frenchman continued to apply pressure and also passed Sterry to take second place one lap later. Koch refused to be left behind and leapfrogged ahead of Sterry into third place. Nagl concluded his successful weekend with a third race win, ahead of Tixier, Koch, Sterry and Oliver.
“Mega, what an awesome weekend. They were not easy races, but my good starts were the key to my success. The pressure in the title race meant I struggled to focus a little in race two and crashed again, as I had done on Saturday. That pressure disappeared once I had wrapped up the title. In race three, the scrap with Adam at the start was a lot of fun. This year’s battles with Tom were good and always fair. It could well be that I come back for more next year,” said a beaming Nagl at the presentation ceremony.
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. All the weekend’s results can be found online at adac.de/mx-masters.
