Oriol Oliver wraps up the title in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup at the penultimate event. Lyonel Reichl claims a surprise brace of wins in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125. Áron Katona triumphs in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85.

The junior classes in the ADAC MX Masters crowned the first champion of the season at the race weekend in Holzgerlingen. Oriol Oliver (E/WZ-Racing) lived up to his billing as favourite at the penultimate event of the year: the Spaniard took just two races to wrap up the title in summery temperatures. Lyonel Reichel (LI/MX-HANDEL Racing) shocked many of the 12,000 spectators at the Schützenbühlring by winning two races in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125. Áron Katona (HU/HTS KTM) kept his hopes of winning the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 title alive with overall victory in Holzgerlingen. The cross-class Team competition was won by Kosak Racing Team.

ADAC MX Youngster Cup: Oliver is the new champion Oriol Oliver arrived in Holzgerlingen with a sizeable lead and promptly set the fastest time in qualifying, leaving his rivals in no doubt that he had his sights set firmly on wrapping up the title. His closest rival in the table, Cato Nickel (D/WZ-Racing), was returning from injury, but Oliver took two of three Red Bull Holeshots and won all three races in Holzgerlingen, where he led for all but one lap. When Nickel crashed out at the start of race two, it was confirmed: Oliver is the new ADAC MX Youngster Cup champion for 2023. Ryan Alexanderson (AUS/WZ-Racing) impressed as a guest rider, claiming three comfortable second places. Valentin Kees (D/Kosak Racing Team) had a strong weekend and made it onto the podium in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup for the first time after two fourth places and third place in race three. Jens Walvoort (NL/KTM SB Racing) finished third in race two and ended the weekend in fourth place overall, ahead of his former team-mate Nico Greutmann (CH) in fifth. Constantin Piller (D/Meyer Racing Team) Missed out on the top five, despite having claimed a fine third place in the opening race on Saturday. Behind the new champion Oliver, second-placed Nickel extended his advantage in the table over Mike Gwerder (CH/WZ-Racing), who was again ruled out of the race by injury. Waalvort and Marnique Appelt (D/Becker Racing) climbed into the top five in the championship standings.

“Last season, I was injured, but the WZ-Racing team stuck by me. I am very grateful for that. We won the title together. My results have said it all. It is a while since I last won a title, so I am very happy. As always, I gave it my all in the three races. Now I have the title in the bag, I may start in the ADAC MX Masters class in Dreetz. Let’s wait and see,” said a delighted Oliver, reflecting on winning the title with races to spare.

ADAC MX Junior Cup 125: Maiden win for Lyonel Reichl He came, he saw, he conquered: Lyonel Reichl surprised many with a brace of wins in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125. The youngster from Liechtenstein had to work hard for his two victories, but emerged triumphant against the top riders in the championship. Vitezslav Marek (CZ/Cermen KTM Racing Team) took the Red Bull Holeshot in Saturday’s opening race, but was overtaken by Reichl around the halfway point of the race and had to settle for second place. In race two, Marek first had to work his way through the field before overtaking Maximilian Werner (D/Fantic Factory Team Maddii) to take second place on lap five. A such, he ended the weekend in second place overall. Championship leader Mads Fredsøe (DK/STC Sturm Racing) produced two solid and controlled races, finishing third on each occasion, and also made it onto the overall podium in third place. Werner also performed consistently with two fourth places, but dropped back over the course of race two, having initially taken the Red Bull Holeshot. Behind him, Maximilian Ernecker (A/AMX Racing) rounded out the top five in the overall standings with a sixth and a fifth place. He was tied on points with Gyan Doensen (NL/WZ-Racing), who achieved the same results but in reverse order. Fredsøe retains the championship lead ahead of Werner and Marek, who are now level on points, Doensen and Nicolai Skovbjerg (DK/Yamaha Scandinavia/Wozniak Racing).

“An awesome weekend! I was ill in the winter and had issues with the bike at the start of the season. I am now fit again and was finally able to show in Holzgerlingen what I have been doing in training. It was incredibly tough here. I was really struggling at first. Then I found my rhythm and won both races,” said a beaming Reichl after his first overall victory.

ADAC MX Junior Cup 85: Katona fights back It was clear to see that Katona felt comfortable in Holzgerlingen when he claimed pole position on Saturday. In the opening race on Sunday, he found himself behind Dani Heitink (NL/DH-MX) in the top five on lap one, but then crashed and was forced to rejoin the race in the midfield. He then ploughed through the field, setting the fastest lap times of all the riders, and managed to pass Ryan Oppliger (CH) to take second place with four laps remaining. Oppliger surprised many by leading for the first half of the race, before Dean Gregoire (NL/Schmicker Racing) took first place. Heitink also overtook the Swiss. In the end, Gregoire took victory ahead of Katona, Heitink, Oppliger and Red Bull Holeshot winner Moritz Ernecker (A/AMX Racing).

Oppliger got away fastest in race two, followed by Heitink and Gregoire. Heitink took the lead on lap four, but Oppliger fought back one lap later. Halfway into the race, Gregoire bid farewell to the leading group with two crashes within one lap. That allowed Katona to climb into third place. However, the Hungarian was not finished there and was the fastest rider in the field. He overtook Heitink with four laps remaining, and Oppliger one lap later, before going on to take the race win and overall victory. Oppliger finished runner-up in the overall standings, ahead of Heitink, who was level on points. Gregoire ended race two in 13th place and was fourth in the event standings, ahead of Ernecker. Heitink continues to lead the championship, while Katona leapfrogs ahead of Gregoire into second place. Travis Leok (EST/MX HANDEL-Racing) and Ernercker rounded out the top five.

“I am thrilled with this win. I have had some crashes and poor starts this year, but everything went great today,” said Katona, celebrating his second overall victory of the season.

“I did not feel good on the track in race one, and the deep ruts were tough for me. I changed my mindset for race two, got out of the start gate well and coped better. It still looks good in the championship. I will take that with me to Dreetz,” said Heitink.

Team competition: Kosak Racing Team takes the lead The Team competition takes into account a team’s best result in each class, with the result of the ADAC MX Masters class counting double. Kosak Racing Team again came out on top in Holzgerlingen, ahead of KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek and the Becker Racing team. KTM Sarholz Racing Team and Team Bauerschmidt MB33 completed the top five at the Schützenbühlring. Kosak Racing Team moves to the top of the overall standings for the first time this season, followed by Team KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek, KTM Sarholz Racing Team, Becker Racing and SixtySeven.

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 .