Hofer on Uddevalla
After sixteen motos and eight dates of the 2019 EMX250 contest, Rene Hofer has ended his very first competitive campaign on the KTM 250 SX-F with six top-five results, and added a third top-three finish in Sweden.
#711 came to Uddevalla and the sixteenth Grand Prix of the year buoyed with confidence after last weekend’s wild-card appearance in the MX2 class and 7th position overall at Imola in Italy.
Uddevalla was another hard-pack prospect but heavy rain in the lead-up to the race helped soften the dirt and created a rougher and more technical test. Hofer was 4th in Timed Practice and made a reasonable start from the gate in the first moto on Saturday afternoon. He held a top six position until a slight mistake through the waves cost him three positions and then a twisted right knee forced him to be conservative for the rest of the distance. A hectic chase ended with the KTM in 9th place.
On Sunday Rene throttled the 250 SX-F into the top three on the first lap and ran a strong pace to follow championship runner-up Stephen Rubini to the flag and registered 3rd position. His 9-3 meant 4th in the final classification.
Hofer should be in action again in a few weeks with an expected first slot representing his country at the 73rd Motocross of Nations at Assen in the Netherlands. He also has the two final dates of the ADAC MX Masters in Germany to consider where he is fighting for the national title.
Rene Hofer: “It was good for my head and motivation for next season to take that top three result. It was a solid first EMX250 season – not perfect – and at the beginning I struggled a little bit with starts but by the end it was quite OK. We had three ‘podium finishes’ in the motos, so I’m quite happy with that. The first race here was tough: the start was not great and I twisted my knee after ten minutes but we worked on it overnight and I’m pretty happy with that third place today. We have two ADAC races left and I’m second in the championship so the next goal is to clinch that title and then the Nations is a big race.”
Results EMX250 Sweden 2019
1. Stephen Rubini (FRA) Honda (3-2)
2. Alberto Forato (ITA) Husqvarna (7-1)
3. Roan Van de Moosdijk (NED) Kawasaki (2-6)
4. Rene Hofer (AUT) KTM (9-3)
5. Isak Gifting (SWE) KTM (5-5)
Final standings 2019 EMX250
1. Roan Van de Moosdijk, 325 points
2. Stephen Rubini, 319
3. Alberto Forato, 314
4. Rene Hofer, 227
5. Thibault Benistant, 161
Words: KTM
Pic: Ray Archer
