Three weeks after the first Semi-Final in Romania, the Lithuanian Federation hosted and organized the second semi-final of the EMX65 / EMX85 European Championship at Aleksandrija Motocross Track in Siuliai. About two hours from the capital, Riga, the city welcomed riders from the Central Europe and North Europe Zone to compete in the prestigious Loket Final, which will be held in July.
In perfect weather conditions, riders from 16 European countries showcased their skills in a thrilling competition.
On the first day, practice and qualifying races narrowed the field to 40 riders in the EMX85 class and 40 in the EMX65 class, selected from 46 and 49 participants, respectively.
EMX85
Estonian rider Lucas Leok (Husqvarna) dominated the first race, and despite a crash in the second race, he impressively climbed back to finish eighth. Marten Raud (Husqvarna) from Estonia and Moritz Ernecker (GasGas) from Austria finished second and third in Race 1. The second race concluded with Jekabs Hudolejs (GasGas), Hayden Statt (KTM) and Ernecker leading the pack. In the end, young British racer Hayden Statt would take a fantastic overall victory with a 4-2 scorecard over Ernecker and Leok.
Blake Ward-Clarke was the next best British racer, finishing a solid 12th, while Bryan Gyles, Lucas Moncrieff and Casey Lister also raced and would have learned loads from the experience. Gyles finished the weekend in 23rd, Lucas was 38th, and Casey was 39th.
Hayden Statt: “It was a good race, got my own rhythm, pushed through it and got my way to the second place to get the overall win. I learnt that I need to put more work over the win, to push more and try harder”
EMX65
Race 1 saw British rider Cohen Jagielski (GasGas), Luca Nierychlo (Husqvarna) from Germany, and Rasmus Naar (KTM) from Estonia take the top three positions. A collision by Haakon Ronning in the first corner of the second race caused a massive crash of riders behind him, leading to a shake-up in the standings. Nierychlo, Britain’s Jett Gardiner (KTM), and Kristofer Valk (GasGas) led at the finish. Overall, Nierychlo claimed first place, followed by Gardiner and Valk.
Second overall was a tremendous achievement for Jett and bodes well for the final in Loket. Cohen was involved in the big crash in moto 2, which resulted in a non points scoring finish, but with his Moto 1 race win points in the bag, he still managed a superb seventh overall.