Who impressed: EMX125 – Matterley Basin
Anyone that paid close attention to Liam Everts last year would have been able to tell that once he grew a little bit more and got some more strength that we’d see the best of him and he looked so good at the first round of the EMX125 series. Everts simply dominated both races and watching him pass Brumann on Everts corner – a corner named after his father was pretty amazing to watch. The technique Everts has is really good and if you didn’t know he was an Everts you’d compare his style to his Dad, it’s really great to watch.
After going 1-1 at first round and dominating round one, Everts now needs to deal with the pressure of going for a championship but he’s fully focused on working hard and improving. “. When your out on the track you have to do it yourself and people stressing about me, I don’t really care too much. I just want to work and do my job. I really enjoyed it today”, Everts told GateDrop.com.
Last year young Swiss rider, Kevin Brumann was an EMX125 rookie and during the course of the season he picked up sixteen points but he’s clearly went away and had a super strong winter as he was really fast at Matterley Basin. Brumann went 2-2 in both the races and had to come through traffic in both of them. In the second moto he suffered from arm pump so just brought it home for second which is the smart thing to do under those circumstances.
Pic: Nigel McKinstry
With the way Brumann rode at round one he’s now put himself in the frame to challenge for the title and will want to keep those kind of performances going. Over the winter, Brumann also started to work with Max Nagl – could this be the start of the German’s coaching career? He’s clearly had a great impact on Brumann and it’s there for everyone to see. The Swiss talent even surprised himself at round one, “I was hoping to get top ten, I didn’t expect that I would get a podium. Now we stay focused and will keep training hard for the rest of the season”, he told GateDrop.com.
One of the more experienced riders in the EMX125 class is Florian Miot as this is his third season in the class but the French talent has had a change of teams over the winter period which hasn’t been the best for his preparation. Riding for the Bloge by Diga Racing team, Miot looked good at round one of the series and ended up third overall to make him a championship contender.
In the first moto, Miot was buried down in fifteenth on the first lap which isn’t ideal especially when the track is wet, it can be tough to get through and you’ll get plenty of roost. However, Miot rode really well and got up to sixth. The second moto he had a much better start in fourth on the first lap and he gained one position to come home in third. To get third overall at the first round of the series is a good start to the championship and he’ll look to build on that.
Last year it was tough going for young Norwegian rider, Haakon Osterhagen to qualify and he picked up nine championship points but the CreyMert KTM rider has clearly had a very productive winter. Osterhagen had good speed all weekend long posting the fifth quickest qualifying time in his group. He backed up the qualifying speed in the races by finishing 7-4 in the moto’s to earn fourth overall.
Pic: Nigel McKinstry
A superb weekend for Osterhagen which should really help his confidence now he knows he can ride at the front and all the hard work over the winter has paid off. The Norwegian looks stronger this year which is clearly helping him as well. The future could be bright for the CreyMert KTM rider.
Perhaps the surprise of the weekend award goes to young French talent, Maxime Grau who was riding an 85cc last year. An EMX125 rookie and if it wasn’t for crashes he’d probably have been on the podium, that’s mighty impressive.
Grau looked really smooth, in control and comfortable racing at he front, he never really looked phased by it all. Perhaps inexperience was the reason for his mistakes but to go 8-8 is very impressive on his EMX125 debut and to think it could have went even better. This kid could be the next big thing from France who are producing some wonderful talents lately. Whatever the FFM are doing, it’s working wonders.
Young German rider, Cato Nickel contested some rounds of the EMX125 championship last year but only managed to score points in one moto but he’s another one that’s had a strong off-season and having signed with the WZ KTM Racing team looks to have helped him as well. In qualifying, Nickel put in an impressive lap to put in the third quickest time in his group to give himself a good gate pick.
On race day, Nickel didn’t disappoint and came home an impressive fourth in the first moto and looked comfortable in the tough conditions. The second moto wasn’t so good as he didn’t score points but overall it was a good weekend and ninth overall is a positive start to the season and should do his confidence the world of good knowing he has what it takes to run at the front in a competitive class.
Article: Andy McKinstry
Pics: Nigel McKinstry
