The Finnish track of Hyvinkaa hosted the very final round of the EMX125 European Championship. Cas Valk and the Fantic Factory Team Maddii were the stars of the GP and were crowned European Champions!
The young Dutch rider showed up at the event holding a solid margin on rivals and could have taken the title already at the end of the first moto. For the qualifying, Cas joined Group1 and set the fifth fastest time. Alexis Fueri was in Group2 and took the ninth position despite the track was not suitable for his riding style.
In the first moto Cas knew he did not want to compromise the race, so he did not take risks at the start. Valk’s race pace was solid and after the first laps reached the third spot. Cas Valk was very wise and managed the race greatly. The rider classified third and immediately after that could celebrate the victory of the European Championship, joined by the whole team. Alexis Fueri faced a tough start and worked his way up throughout the race till the ninth spot.
With the title in his hands, Cas felt no pressure in the second moto where his performance was exemplary and granted him the second position. Alexis Fueri classified 12th because of a few mistakes and a slip.
Cas Valk classified second overall and Alexis Fueri came home with the ninth position.
Finland was also backstage of the EMX250 European Championship. Hakon Osterhagen classified sixth in the qualifying and Tondel was eighth.
Hakon Osterhagen was phenomenal at the start of race1 where he took the hole shot and battled it out with rival Coenen. Hakon eventually overcame his rival and took the leadership, but with four laps to go he reduced his race pace and classified third. At the beginning of the race Cornelius could not find a good feeling with the track, but after a few laps he recovered several positions and eventually ended up fifth.
Cornelius Tondel was the author of an excellent start in the second moto and classified third at the end of it. Hakon Osterhagen could not repeat the great start of the opening moto, so that he had to struggle a bit before making up ground, but he was able to reach the fifth position.
Cornelius Tondel was fourth overall and also came home with some points, while Osterhagen was fifth.
The Fantic Factory Team Maddii will now head to France, where riders and teams will compete for the final race of the European Championship and where Cornelius Tondel will do his very best to win the title.
Cas Valk: “It’s amazing! I’ve worked so hard for this victory to come and I’ve battled it out race after race to be here where I’m now. I felt good today and I enjoyed the track. Thanks to yesterday’s third place I could take the overall victory with one GP to go. I want to thank the Fantic team and my family as well as all the people who supported me throughout this racing season”.
Marco Maddii: “What an amazing weekend! We’ve taken the title thanks to Cas and achieved the goal of the season. We’ve worked really hard for all this. Cas tried his best and was great; he pushed as hard as he could in some races and was also wise in the way he handled some tough GPs. After all this he always held his head high and this is what made the difference. We’re very happy with this result which is also inspiring for the next season. The EMX250 riders set great performances too and finished close to the podium. The battle for the title is not over yet and we’ll do our best in France”.
Words: Press Release