In the past Nicholas Lapucci hasn’t exactly been known for his sand riding but the Maddii’s are really good at improving riders and it looks like the Italian has put in the hard work at the rough sand tracks over winter. Coming into the season, Lapucci was hot favourite for the title but having that weight on his shoulders isn’t affecting him whatsoever.
1-2 in the moto’s for the Fantic rider was enough to earn the overall and extend his points lead in the championship. Lapucci’s job the rest of this season is going to bring home this title before bigger and better things ahead of his career – don’t be surprised to see him race the MXGP World Championship in 2022.
There’s no doubt that Rick Elzinga has a lot of talent but winning moto’s at this level, this is very impressive for the Dutch talent who’s had a lot of injuries throughout his career. In the first moto, a bad start made things difficult but he worked his way through the pack to come from outside the top ten to an impressive third.
A better start made things easier for the TBS-Conversions KTM rider as he started in third, that makes life easier! He found his way into the lead by lap three and never looked back simply dominating. He’s now got himself third in the series and will want to show the same kind of speed at the hard pack tracks as the season progresses.
Last year, Jorgen-Matthias Talviku was impressive as a rookie in the class but he hasn’t had an ideal start to the 2021 season due to niggling injuries. We saw Talviku ride much more like himself at Lommel and back to his real level which was great to see.
The Estonian went 2-5 to end up fourth overall just missing out on the podium but it’s a step in the right direction and he’ll be hoping this kicks start his season. The BT Husqvarna riders next target will be to stand on the podium and he’s certainly more than capable.
Riding in front of your home crowd brings a bit of pressure but Liam Everts rode really well at a track he learnt how to ride. However, Everts certainly didn’t make things easier for himself with bad starts. In the first moto, Everts was outside the top twenty but charged through the field to come back to fifth – in a deep EMX250 class that shows just how fast he was riding.
Everts got a better start in race two as he was eighth after the first lap and worked back up to fourth. 5-4 was enough for fifth overall but there wasn’t anything wrong with his speed – he could have had a podium with better starts. The young Belgian has such a nice technique which sees him so comfortable at the brutal and rough tracks which should stand him in good stead for the future.
After a good season last year, Marcel Conijn hasn’t had the start of season he would have expected but he was much improved at Lommel which was great to see. It’s not easy being a privateer but the Dutch talent had a very solid day to go 7-6 to secure sixth overall.
It’s definitely a step in the right direction and Conijn will be hoping this can kick start his season. He will now want to run in the top five soon as this is his last year in the class so he’ll want to end it on a high note.
It was a very disappointing start to the season for Camden Mc Lellan after only picking up eight points at the season opener at Matterley Basin. The South African then picked up a shoulder injury which saw him miss Oss and he wasn’t sure if he could even race at Lommel.
The former Junior World Champion felt his shoulder was okay to race but Lommel still isn’t the type of track you aren’t 100% so for him to go 8-9 for seventh overall is very impressive. This should give him the confidence he needs after a disappointing start to the season but we know he has the talent to run at the sharp end of the competitive EMX250 series,
One rider that has showed flashes of brilliance this year is Swiss talent, Mike Gwerder. The WZ KTM rider has been getting top ten moto results but consistency is the area he could improve but it all clicked for him at the brutal Lommel.
A very solid first moto of tenth and an even better second moto to finish eighth to secure eighth overall is a very positive day for Gwerder. Considering he was pretty much injured the entire 2020 season he missed a lot of racing and should only continue to improve as he gets more races under his belt.
Article: Andy McKinstry
Pics: MXGP/Infront Moto Racing & Danny Relouw
Podcast! We look back at a remarkable MXGP of Lommel and talk about that man Herlings, Febvre’s win, Gajser’s crashes plus Geerts, De Wolf and the MXoN. Get it on iTunes here or Spotify and YouTube below:
