Tom Koch takes overall victory in the ADAC MX Masters without winning a race. Max Nagl extends his championship lead ahead of the summer break. Jordi Tixier claims his first race win of the season.
Tom Koch (D/KTM Kosak Racing) became the first rider this season to claim a second overall victory in the ADAC MX Masters in Bielstein. The race wins at the “Waldkurs” went to Jordi Tixier (F/KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek) and Max Nagl (D/KMP Honda Racing powered by Krettek). Nagl extended his championship lead at round four of the season.
In Saturday’s opening race, it was Noah Ludwig (D/KTM Sarholz Racing Team) who sprinted over the Red Bull Holeshot line in first place. However, he was soon passed by Jordi Tixier and Tom Koch on the first lap. Max Nagl crashed at the start and launched his fightback from the rear of the field. In the first three laps, Adam Sterry (GB/KTM Sarholz Racing Team) overtook Jakub Teresak (CZ/Enduro Koch Racing) and Ludwig to climb from fifth to third place. The top five went on to finish in that order. Tixier claimed his first race win of the season, ahead of Koch, Sterry, Ludwig and Teresak. Over the course of the race, Nagl battled his way back to sixth place, despite suffering another crash. Henry Jacobi (D/KTM Sarholz Racing Team), who underwent a shoulder operation earlier in the week, took part in qualifying but was unable to start the race.
On Sunday, Nagl led both races from start to finish, with Tom Koch and Tixier completing the top three. The positions at the front were decided early on, but there was plenty of action further down the field. In race two, Nico Koch (D/Becker Racing), who had secured pole position in qualifying, initially found himself behind the leading trio. However, he was pushed back to fifth place by Sterry. Shortly before the halfway point, Teresak took fifth place and went on to finish in that position. In race three, Tim Koch (D(VisuAlz Production) was in fourth place behind Nagl, his younger brother Tom and Tixier from the word go, ahead of local favourite Lukas Platt (D/KTM Sarholz Racing Team), who was returning from injury. Sterry crashed on the first lap of the race and retired with an injured hand. Boris Maillard (F/stielergruppe.mx Johannes-Bikes) moved into fifth place on lap four, after which the top five did not change.
In the overall standings, three second places earned Tom Koch a narrow victory over Nagl and Tixier, who ended the weekend level on points. In the championship, Nagl extended his lead and, as the season reaches the halfway point, is now the only rider to have scored points in every race. Koch climbed into second place on the back of his victory in Bielstein, ahead of Sterry. Meanwhile, Tixier leapfrogged Maximilian Spies (D/KTM Kosak Racing) into fourth place.
“I may not have won a race, but I was consistent, and that paid off. I led on Saturday, but then stalled the engine and did not get it running again fast enough. There was definitely a bit of luck involved in taking overall victory in Bielstein, but I am very happy to have now won twice in a row. I want to take this momentum into the second half of the season,” said a delighted Koch.
“As in previous races, I still had a few issues here on Saturday. However, I think I have now found a solution and will now be strong from day one at the remaining events. It was a great weekend and I want to pay the organisers a big compliment on the good conditions, despite the high temperatures. I will first use the summer break to rest and then to prepare for the second half of the season,” said Nag, summing up his weekend.
“In recent weeks, I have only been practicing Supercross. That seems to be a good recipe. I made good progress at the event here, with my first race win of the season, and I am satisfied with that – although I am also a little disappointed, as I could have been looking at an overall victory,” said Tixier.
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.
