The Netherlands win the 2011 UEM Motocross of European NationsThe Netherlands were five points ahead of Team France. The big surprise of the day was Team Slovakia, who finished on the third step of the podium after being 12th in Saturday’s qualifying heats. Team Italy, one of the favorites to be on the podium, was touched by bad luck and finished down in the fifth position.The day in Sevlievo started with heavy rain and all the European riders struggled a lot during the warm-up. Luckily, once the races started, the rain stopped but the track was already really rough and all the riders found it very difficult to find their lines. At the start of the first heat, most of the EMX1 and EMX2 riders were involved in a tangle in the first corner, but home rider Petar Petrov managed to win the first race, followed by Dutch riders Herjan Brakke and Donny Bastemeijer. At the start of the second race, the track was in much better conditions, but it was still very demanding for the EMX2 and EMX Open riders. Home rider Petrov obtained another convincing victory, Jordi Tixier from France was second and his compatriot Dylan Ferrandis obtained an impressive third position. The final heat started with team Slovakia at the top of the standings thanks to their consistent results, second was France and third Slovenia. Bulgaria was fourth and the Netherlands was completing the top five. The Dutch riders finished second and fourth and were able to be at the top of the podium, while Team France obtained a final second place thanks to the fifth and sixth position. Slovakia was on the third step of the rostrum after Tomas Simko finished ninth in the third heat. RACE 1 (EMX1 & EMX2) The first race of the UEM Motocross of European Nations started with a big tangle in the first corner, where most of the riders were involved. The Dutch rider Brakke managed to take the holeshot, but he made a small mistake and he was down to the fourth position already in the first lap. Croatian Sipek was leading the race when he made a mistake and went down the floor and home rider Petrov took advantage of it and he claimed the lead. The Bulgarian rode safe during the rest of the heat and he crossed the finish line 25 seconds ahead Dutch Brakke. His teammate Bastemeijer did a superb first race coming from the back of the pack, as he was involved in the crash at the start, to finish third, ahead of Slovenian Gajser. Team France did not have a good beginning in the UEM Motocross of European Nations, as Potisek crashed when he was riding second – he finished in an eventual fifth position - and Tixier had to pull out because a rider landed on his back and he could not stand the pain. The Slovakian riders, Kohut and Kulhavy, finished sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Moldavian Cociu, Bulgarian Kumanov and Polish Lonka. Italian Monni, winner of yesterday’s EMX1 qualifying race, was involved in the crash at the start and had to pull out because his bike was heavily damaged. The Germans were not lucky either and while Laier crashed at the beginning of the race, Baudrexl did it in lap two. Race 1 top ten: 1. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 36:27.299; 2. Herjan Brakke (NED, Yamaha), +0:25.154; 3. Donny Bastemeijer (NED, Honda), +0:56.443; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, KTM), +1:01.468; 5. Milko Potisek (FRA, Honda), +1:20.039; 6. Martin Kohut (SVK, KTM), +1:23.610; 7. Jozef Kulhavy (SVK, Suzuki), +1:25.155; 8. Mihail Cociu (MDA, Honda), +1:45.892; 9. Nikolay Kumanov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:51.833; 10. Lukasz Lonka (POL, Honda), +1:54.373; Nations top ten: The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Italy.  RACE 2 (EMX OPEN & EMX2) Simko from Slovakia took the holeshot from Tixier, Ullrich and Petrov, but he lost the lead after lap two when French Tixier and home rider Petrov overtook him. The French and the Bulgarian riders opened the gap over the rest of the field and disputed the lead until the last four laps, when Petrov made the move over Tixier at the end of the pit lane straight. The third position was for the runner up of the UEM 125 Champion Ferrrandis, who managed to come up to the front after starting from one of the last positions. With a 2-3 result France was second in the Nations classification and everything would be decided in the last and final race with Ferrandis and Potisek. Fourth was Slovakian Simko, who managed to ride with the top riders until the end of the race, but Ferrandis overtook him in the very last lap and he had to settle down with the fourth position, while his teammate finished eleventh. Gajser from Slovenia obtained a solid sixth position and thanks to the tenth place of his teammate Gercar, Slovenia was third in the Nations classification after the second heat. Bernardini could only be seventh as he struggled a lot with his goggles, as well as his team-mate Zecchina who had to enter the pit lane to get a new pair of goggles and crossed the finish line in the 13th position. Ullrich from Germany finished eighth, followed by Zerava from the Czech Republic. Race 2 top ten: 1. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 35:09.980; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:04.746; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), +1:27.897; 4. Tomas Simko (SVK, KTM), +1:28.881; 5. Donny Bastemeijer (NED, Honda), +1:33.204; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, KTM), +1:36.476; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, KTM), +1:43.666; 8. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), +1:49.856; 9. Martin Zerava (CZE, Honda), +2:01.455; 10. Klemen Gercar (SLO, KTM), +2:02.746; Nations top ten: Slovakia, France, Slovenia, Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia.   Petar Petrov (Bulgaria - Yamaha) RACE 3 (EMX1 & EMX OPEN)  The third heat started with Monni taking the holeshot from the Dutch Kromhof, the Czech Zerava, other Dutch Brakke and the French Potisek. All these riders kept their initial position until the chequered flag, so the Netherlands were the virtual winners of the UEM European Motocross of Nations during the whole heat. Once more, Ferrandis from France was not lucky at the start and had to give all his best to finish sixth after starting from the sixteenth position. Ukranian Pashchynsky was seventh, followed by the Czech Michek, and Slovakian Simko completed the top ten and helped his team to be on the third step of the podium thanks to his two solid results. Brakke (NED) took the individual EMX1 victory, Petrov (BUL) won the EMX2 and Ferrandis (FRA) won the EMX Open class. Race 3 top ten: 1. Manuel Monni (ITA, Honda), 34:33.478; 2. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, Honda), +0:13.483; 3. Martin Zerava (CZE, Honda), +0:25.183; 4. Herjan Brakke (NED, Yamaha), +0:26.321; 5. Milko Potisek (FRA, Honda), +0:52.387; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW) +1:02.409; 7. Oleksandr Pashchynskiy (UKR, KTM), +1:16.209; 8. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +1:21.681; 9. Tomas Simko (SVK, KTM), +1:28.677; 10. Lukasz Lonka (POL, Honda), +1:29.439; Nations top ten:
 Left to right: 2nd France; 1st The Netherlands; 3rd Slovakia.  The victorious Netherlands team. Comment: Second from the left , standing in the cap, is Leon Giesbers, he was in New Zealand for the Junior Worlds at Taupo. During an active MX career he was Dutch Champion during six seasons, including two youth titles. He won the Dutch Grand Prix 500cc in 1996 at Lierop. He was also a regular member of the Dutch team for the Motocross Des Nations. He is the National Coach for the Royal Dutch Motorriders Association (K.N.M.V.).#template#]thumb_vertically[#/template#] |