Nagl wins first ADAC MX Masters race from Töndel and Jacobi. Nicolai Skovbjerg wins ADAC MX Youngster Cup after chase through the field. Ryan Oppliger takes victory in opening ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 race.
The 20th season of the ADAC MX Masters got under way at Fürstlich Drehna on Saturday in changeable weather and good but demanding race conditions. Max Nagl (D/KMP-Honda-Racing powered by Krettek) won the three races held in the ADAC MX Masters, while Nicolai Skovbjerg (DK/Wozniak MX Racing Team) was the winner in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup and Ryan Oppliger (CH/Oppliger Racing Sàrl) won the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85. Aron Katona (HUN, HTS KTM) will start the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125 races on Sunday from pole position.
ADAC MX Masters: Max Nagl takes commanding race win
Reigning ADAC MX Masters champion Max Nagl began the season in the same way as he ended the last one, taking the Red Bull holeshot and leading the first of three races at the weekend from Noah Ludwig (D / KTM Sarholz Racing Team), Cornelius Töndel (NO / Schmicker Racing), Henry Jacobi (D / KTM Sarholz Racing Team) and Adam Sterry (GB / Schmicker Racing). Ludwig had to let Töndel pass on the first lap and Jacobi and the LS2 Best Qualifier Maximilian Spies (D/Kosak Racing Team) on the second. On the third lap, Spies took third place from Jacobi, but a crash saw him drop back to seventh position. Töndel was among the frontrunners for a long time, but in the second half of the race, Nagl worked his way up to a lead of around 16 seconds over the Norwegian. Spies launched another attack on Jacobi in the final phase, but had to settle for fourth place ahead of Sterry. Jordi Tixier (F, KMP-Honda Racing powered by Krettek) did not compete in the first race after suffering an injury in qualifying.
‘I took a big risk at the start, which paid off with the Red Bull holeshot. Even though I took a lights-to-flag victory, it was not an easy race, because I was initially unable to distance the opponents behind me. I also had to battle with a bit of arm pump, as probably most of us did. I'm happy with the start,’ said Nagl in the winner's interview.
ADAC MX Youngster Cup: Nicolai Skovbjerg surges to the top
In the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, Dave Kooiker (NL/Schmicker Racing) was the first rider to take the Red Bull Holeshot with the number twelve start. He was followed by Jan Krug (D/SixtySeven Racing Husqvarna), Maxime Grau (F/WZ-Racing KTM), Bradley Mesters (NL/Kosak Racing Team) and William Kleemann (DK/Schmicker Racing). Nico Greutmann (CH/Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna) sprinted into fourth place after the first lap. On the third lap, he pushed Mesters out of third place, but went down shortly afterwards. Mesters moved into second place on the fifth lap, ahead of Krug, and quickly closed the gap on the leader Kooiker. In the first half of the race, Skovbjerg had worked his way up from 13th place to sixth position, only to take the lead from Mesters just two laps later. Kooiker quickly fell back from the lead in this phase of the race. Edvards Bidzans (LV/KMP-Honda-Racing powered by Krettek) made up a lot of ground after starting from twelfth place, and like Skovbjerg, he pushed his way up the field and took second place from Mesters with two laps remaining. Grau and Rasmus Pedersen (DK/Rhino Racing Team) rounded off the Top Five.
ADAC MX Junior Cup 125: Katona on pole position
The ADAC MX Junior Cup 125 was held on Saturday to determine the field for the two races on Sunday. Aron Katona set the fastest time in qualifying and will be first to choose his starting position tomorrow, ahead of Maximilian Ernecker (A/F4E Gasgas Junior Racing) and Jonathan Frank (D/Becker Racing).
ADAC MX Junior Cup 85: Ryan Oppliger beats Lucas Leok
Lucas Leok (EST/Team #111) sprinted to a clear Red Bull holeshot lead ahead of Moritz Ernecker (A/HSV Ried Racing Team), Kenzo Jaspers (NL/AK-Bouw Hutten Metaal Junior Team), Ryan Oppliger and Storm Maymann (DK/Maymann Motorsports). But on the third lap, he lost the lead to Oppliger, who then steadily pulled away from the rest of the field to win with an advantage of almost ten seconds over Leok. Emil Ziemer (D/Motobike Racing Team) leapt up from 18th place to fourth within four laps of the start. At the halfway point, he took third place from Ernecker. From this point on, the positions in the top five did not change. Oppliger won ahead of Leok, Ziemer, Ernecker and Oliver Jüngling (D/ADAC Hessen-Thüringen MX Rookie Team).
A replay of the first day of racing is available on the ADAC Motorsport YouTube channel at youtube.com/live/LdF2DEskKxg. The livestream of all Sunday's races starts at 09.50 am and can be viewed at youtube.com/live/cNk8L7SCeOU. The digital programme booklet, timetables and entry lists are available for download at adac.de/mx-masters.
