DIGA KTM Junior riders head to Lommel
KTM Diga Junior Racing riders Miro Sihvonen and Emil Weckman successfully used the German ADAC Masters Motocross Championship round of Tensfeld as a dress rehearsal for the EMX250 and EMX125 rounds of Lommel. On his return to racing action Miro Sihvonen showed terrific pace. Weckman came ever so close to winning the final moto.
The Tensfeld track, about 80 km from Hamburg, has long been a sandy fixture in the German championship. For the team’s EMX250 rider Miro Sihvonen the weekend served as an important test before making his European return. Miro immediately hit the ground running though.
He placed third in his group in time practice on Saturday. In the first Youngster Cup moto the 19-year old Finn grabbed the holeshot and led until he got passed by Jett Lawrence. Sihvonen kept chasing the Australian but went down on the last lap when he attempted the pass and hit the rear wheel of Lawrence. Luckily Miro managed to save second. The KTM 250SX-F mounted rider had another great start in the second sprint. He quickly made his way to the front and started to extend his lead considerably. Unfortunately Sihvonen ran into an issue with the rear shock and nursed the bike home 15th.
Emil Weckman displayed good speed in qualifying. Even when he was to be found at the front in the opening race, the final result was accompanied by a few asterisks. The double EMX150 charged into the lead on the opening lap but suffered and electrical issue on the bike. Weckman circulated second for most of the affair to come home fourth in the end. Eventually Emil was disqualified by decision of the stewards for refueling after the sighting lap.
The Finnish talent almost got the holeshot in the second moto. Once again Weckman took command of the race early on. He led for 8 laps but in the end had to settle for second 0,8 seconds behind winner Raivo Dankers. Although he missed the previous championship round Emil climbs up from seventh to fifth in provisional standings. James Scott finished his day in Tensfeld 17th overall. The 16-year old New-Zealander suffered an unfortunate getoff in the first moto and never reached his best level.
This weekend the KTM Diga Junior Racing team will race in front of their home fans in Belgium on a track all riders are well familiar with. Sihvonen had his first EMX250 rostrum finish at the rough and treachours Lommel sand track two years ago while Weckman placed first and second at ‘Lommelwood’ in his EMX150 participations.
Miro Sihvonen: “I didn’t know what to expect but overall it was a pretty positive first race after my break. For sure I had some bad luck but my starts were on point, I led in both races and my speed was okay! In the first moto I lost my rhythm a bit but recovered well. I was really bummed about the second moto because I felt I should ‘ve won it. At least I had the fastest lap in the final race! I’m really looking forward to racing in Lommel this weekend.”
Emil Weckman: “Tensfeld was okay but we were a bit unlucky! My bike was not 100% in the first moto when I ran into an electrical problem. The second race was my best of the week. I rode well but made a few mistakes and got into problems with the lapped riders. Anyway, it was good practice for the EMX125 round in Lommel. It would be cool to win there also on a 125 bike!”
James Scott: “I never found a good flow in qualifying so that placed me at a disadvantage for my gate pick. I had a good jump from the gate but things got messy when I couldn’t avoid another rider who crashed in front of me! I got hit by other riders and hit my stomach. I was 40 seconds behind when I got going again and moved up to 22nd. But I felt pretty sick all the time. The second race was better. I placed inside the top-20 in the start and worked my way up to 11th. It was not exactly great. I felt like I lacked energy because I hadn’t been able to eat properly in between motos. I’ve been training quite a lot in Lommel over the last few months so it’s going to be an interesting weekend!”
Words: Tom Jacobs
Pic: Eric Laurijssen
