EMX65 / EMX85 European Championship and EMX Women’ European Championship:
Central Europe and North Europe Zone raced its Semi Final,
while Lucy Barker and Elsa Andersson-Lof take the EMX Women’ titles
Three weeks after the first Semi Final in Romania, the second Semi Final of the EMX65 / EMX85 European Championship was hosted and organized by Lithuanian Federation at Aleksandrija Motocross Track in Siuliai. The city, about 2 hours from the capital Riga, welcomed riders of the Central Europe and North Europe Zone, in fight for the prestigious Loket Final that will be held in July.
The track hosted also the fifth round of the EMX Women’ European Championship.
In perfect weather conditions, riders from 16 European countries showcased their skills in a thrilling competition.
On the first day, training and qualifying races narrowed down the field to 40 riders in the EMX85 class and 40 in the EMX65 class, selected from 46 and 49 participants respectively. The EMX Women class saw 18 competitors, with 10 in the EMX Women 125 category. Intense battles characterized the qualifiers, with some participants finishing within a second of each other.
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. Until the end there was a lot of uncertainty as to who would cross the finish line faster and get on the podium in Šiauliai. The overall podium saw Statt first, Ernecker second and Leok third.
“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” – winner Hayden Statt stated.
EMX65
Race 1 saw British rider Cohen Jagielski (GasGas), Luca Nierychlo (Husqvarna) from Germany and Rasmus Naar (KTM) from Estonia taking the top three positions. A collision of Haakon Ronning in the first corner of the second race and a mass crash of riders behind him led to a shake-up in the standings, with Nierychlo, Jett Gardiner (KTM) and Kristofer Valk (GasGas) leading at the finish. In the overall Nierychlo claimed first place, followed by Gardiner and Valk.
Luca Nierychlo said – “I had not a good start but I came in front and I am so happy for the overall first place. I hope all the other riders are okay and I aim to win in Loket”.
Women
Lucy Barker (KTM) secured a dominant victory, finishing 14 seconds ahead of her closest competitor and lapping some riders. Thanks to this fourth success out of five round, she took the 2024 title.
“It was awesome, it was very hot and the track was super rough, but I’m happy to get the title here” – said Lucy Barker.
Elsa Andersson-Lof (GasGas) achieved her first overall podium finish, placing third in the EMX Women class. Finishing first in the EMX Women 125 class she not only conquered her fifth overall victory in a row, but also the 2024 title.
Elsa Andersson-Lof remarked – “The first race was better: I had a pretty good start and tried to push. Race 2 was hot and I was so tired. I’m so happy for no crashing. I’m happy, it’s my first podium”.
