Lommel, July 23, 2023
The Motocross World Championship arrived at one of the calendar's most technical and challenging tracks: the so-called "sandy hell" in Lommel, Belgium. The thirteenth season appointment saw Hakon Osterhagen returning to racing after a long absence due to an injury sustained at the end of last year and joining the MX2. At the same time, Elias Escandell and Max Werner lined up with the EMX125 riders.
EMX125
In qualifying for the EMX125, the two Fantic riders joined Group 1 and found a great feeling with the deep sandy holes of the track of Lommel. Werner qualified with the second time and Escandell with the eighth.
In the first moto, Werner took second place in the first lap showing a good feeling with the demanding Belgian circuit, and thanks to a solid race pace, ended up third. Elias Escandell could not find the right feeling in the initial laps and lost positions, but in the second part of the race strengthened his race pace and finished sixth.
In the second race, Max Werner rode his Fantic XX 125 phenomenally. After the start, he conquered the first place at the first corner. The German rider kept the lead of the heat till the fifth lap, when a hitch to his equipment forced him to reduce the speed, crossing the finish line in fifth position. Elias Escandell was fifth after a solid start, but the Spanish suffered a technical problem which forced him to abandon the race.
Max Werner secured fourth place in qualifying, reaffirming his third position in the Championship standings. Elias is still holding fifth place.
MX2
After dealing with an injury for quite a long time, Hakon Osterhagen returned to riding his Fantic XXF 250 on a demanding track. Hakon qualified 22nd in the MX2 time practice. Considering his long absence, he struggled in the qualifying. He finished strong with excellent times despite initial errors and could stay in the top 20.
In Race 1, Hakon was the author of an excellent start, recovering several positions to eighth place. Unfortunately, he was affected by some mistakes and lost positions in the standings. Thanks to an incredible race pace, the Norwegian worked his way up and moved from the last posts to the 23rd place.
In the second moto, Hakon Osterhagen's start was phenomenal, and he could reach the holeshot, the very first one in the MX2 for the Fantic Team. Unfortunately, he crashed in the first lap and was forced to abandon the race.
Marco Maddii (Fantic Racing MX team manager): "We're happy about the performances of Max and Elias in the EMX125; they showed a good pace since Lommel is a challenging track. I'm satisfied with Hakon's return. He had some bad luck too, but he could take the first holeshot for the Fantic team in the MX2 class".
