Published on 24 May 2018

Weckman moves up to third in EMX125!

Even though Emil Weckman felt under the weather and didn’t reach his full potential, he completed a solid German EMX125 round. After a seventh place overall finish in Teutschenthal, Weckman is currently third in the championship standings. Avrie Berry rode her best World Championship race ever in what was the third WMX round of the season. The Washingtonian finished equal in 12th overall and took another stride towards the top-10.

Similar to other rounds of the EMX125 series the number of entrants -77 to be exact- far exceeded the available spots on the grid for both motos. Emil Weckman rode his KTM 125 SX to third in his group. Although the two-time EMX150 champion started just outside the top-5, he could make any more headway. Emil clearly was not his combative self and finished sixth, almost 25 seconds behind the fifth placed rider, Tom Guyon. The second moto was almost a crobon copy. Once again Emil got off to a good start but further progress remained out of reach. Eventually he crossed the line a lonely seventh.

In the WMX series 38 girls had come to the traditional Talkessel track. Under the guidance of KTM Diga Junior Racing’s physical trainer Yente Dourte, Avrie Berry has been putting in the work to improve her endurance and strength. The driven American is now starting to reap the benefits and has been creating some momentum for herself. Avrie recorded the 17^th time in time practice, her best GP qualifying result ever. Notwithstanding her moderate start in the first moto, the KTM Diga Junior Racing rider advanced through the field to thirteenth right behind Mathilde Denis.

The one-lined nature of the race track didn’t help to produce surprises, and this was also the case in WMX. In front, Courtney Duncan and world champion Kiara Fontanesi were first and second again. Avrie had been circulating in 14th position until she ran out of steam and was relegated to 16^th by the end of the 20 minutes plus two laps sprint. In provisional WMX standings Berry currently holds 20^th place.

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This weekend the KTM Diga Junior Racing team will race in Mölln, Germany where the second round of the ADAC MX Masters will take place.

Emil Weckman: “Of course it was a disappointing weekend. I know that this is certainly not one of my best circuits, but I was ill all of last week. In the second moto I was completely done after three laps, I was very tired and my nose was completely blocked. The positive thing is that I still scored points. Now I am third in the championship, but the difference with Hofer is already enormous. Of course, in theory Rene (Hofer) could suffer the same kind of bad luck I had in Kegums but even then I’m still a way off… That’s why I am now focusing on that second place in the championship.”

Avrie Berry: “My goal for this weekend was simply to score more points than in the previous race. And that’s what I did. I scored twice as many points in Teutschenthal, so I was happy with that. The first moto went really well, in the second race I was tired in the end so I lost some places. I know that I would get these finishes without the hard work and the improvements I made but it’s only the beginning. There’s a lot more to do and I’m willing to put in the work. This is of course motivating and my next goal is to get the top-10!”

Words: Tom Jacobs

Pic: Eric Laurijssen