Uddevalla, August 13th, 2023
The European Championship got back to track after the long summer break. The historic motocross circuit of Uddevalla was the stage of breathtaking races where the Fantic riders were the protagonists.
EMX250
Cas Valk was the star of the 250 class since the free practices, demonstrating great physical condition and a stunning race pace in a challenging circuit. ?????The Dutch rider set the pole position in the qualifying. Hakon Osterhagen, at this third seasonal presence and first one in the EMX250, qualified ninth with a solid performance riding the Fantic XXF 250. Alexis Fueri struggled to find the right feeling with the track and qualified eleventh.
At the start of the first moto, Cas ran away from the gate to take the hole shot. His race pace was so unbeatable that he opened a big gap over his rivals. The 18-year-old Fantic rider had to defend himself from competitors only in the two final laps as they moved closer, but he was the first to cross the finish line and win.
Great start for Alexis Fueri, who was among the first riders after the first corner but lost ground because of an indecision. Despite this, with excellent performance, he could finish seventh. Osterhagen, after a tough start, crashed and qualified eighteenth.
Perfect start for all three Fantic riders in the second moto. Alexis Fueri took the hole shot, followed by teammates Cas Valk and Hakon Osterhagen. In the first lap, the Dutch flew and took the lead in the race, riding far away from rivals. Fantic Racing's number 172 rode his Fantic XX 250 in the mud with determination and passed under the chequered flag in the first position.
Osterhagen's performance was excellent: he moved to second, passing Fueri, but he had to give in the position finishing third. The French won the battle for the fourth final place, bringing three Fantic bikes in the first four places.
In his first year in the EMX250, Cas Valk won the GP of Sweden, showing great personality. This excellent result gave him one position in the Championship standings, stepping into third place.
EMX125
In the EMX125, Maximilian Werner and Elias Escandell riding their Fantic XX 125s, joined Group 1. They immediately found a great feeling starting from the qualifying, with a third and a fourth place, respectively.
A phenomenal start to Race1 for Werner, who took the hole shot and led the race for some laps but had to give it up because of a little imperfection in a corner but kept a solid race pace and finished with an excellent third position. Wise start for Escandell, who took sixth place after the start but, due to a mistake in the final laps, he lost some position ending up eight.
Excellent start of the second moto for the Fantic riders, who pulled away at the start to take the lead of the heat, with Werner first and Escandell second. Max opened a gap between his teammate and rivals in the first laps thanks to an impressive race pace. The Fantic riders starred throughout the second moto until the last incredible lap when Escandell crashed. The Spanish champion lost positions and was also penalized for not following some yellow flags, so he ended up 16th. After a while, a stone got stuck in the rear brake of Werner's bike, affecting his performance, making him lose the race and the chance to step on the podium, a well-deserved one considering his fantastic performance. For the German rider arrived a tenth final place.
Max Werner was fourth overall and missed the podium for 3 points only.
Marco Maddii: "We had mixed feelings this weekend. Cas was amazing to lead all the sessions, and thanks to the double victory, he moved to third place in the championship standings. Alexis and Hakon did well also, and we're very happy with the work done in the 250. Too bad for the 125, where it seemed like we were about to win the race, but with one lap to go, Elias slipped, and Max missed the victory because of a stone. Werner still holds third place in the championship standings, and we're very confident for the coming races".
