WZ Racing team on the first ADAC MX Masters!

The first round of the ADAC MX Masters Championship took place at the weekend in Drehna and it was an extremely busy for the WZ KTM Racing team as they had six riders under the awning.

In the MX Masters Championship, the team welcomed ex Grand Prix winner, Ken De Dycker as they inked a deal with him to contest the entire MX Masters Championship this year. The weekend got off to a great start for the Belgian as he posted the fastest qualifying time in his group after only doing two fast laps! It meant he secured a good gate pick for the main races on the Sunday.

However, he didn’t get the best of starts during the moto’s. In the first moto he had a bad start but worked his way through the pack and was as high as seventh at one stage. Unfortunately, he had a problem with the roll off’s and got a stone in the eyes when he needed to ditch his googles so it meant he dropped back and came home in ninth.  In the second moto he didn’t get a great start again as he was mid-pack but after fifteen minutes he was already in seventh. He had another problem in this moto, this time with the handlebar grips which meant he couldn’t finish the race. De Dycker showed good pace but hasn’t got the results to show for it but he’ll certainly expect more during the rest of the season.

After finishing second in the ADAC Youngsters Cup last year, Thomas Sileika has decided to move up to the MX Masters class this year. The Latvian was on his 250cc against the 450cc machines at round one so was at a power disadvantage. Sileika set the eighth quickest lap time in his qualifying group and was just 1.3 seconds off De Dycker which was a pretty good start to his weekend.

Being on the 250cc meant the Latvian didn’t get the best of starts and was playing catch up all weekend. In the first corner of the first moto, he crashed with a couple of riders and had to come through the pack. He ended up coming through to eighteenth before crashing again meaning he couldn’t secure any points.

In the second moto, he was running just outside the top fifteen before a crash meant he DNF’d the moto. He will be hoping for more during the rest of the series and it’s possible we might even see him on the 350cc.

It wasn’t the best of weekends for Gianluca Ecca as he was fighting against an illness.  He needed to get into the main events via the LCQ but he successfully did that after finishing third. Due to his sickness he pulled out of the first moto and didn’t line up for moto two but will be hoping to feel better as soon as possible!

Ken De Dycker wasn’t the only new recruit under the team’s awning as with Jere Haavisto currently out injured the team made the decision to draft in Hardi Roosiorg to contest the ADAC Youngsters Cup.

The Estonian’s weekend got off to the perfect start as he won the first moto on his WZ KTM machine. In the second moto he ended up a solid sixth position to secure a third overall. As he gets more comfortable on the bike he should be a contender for the title.

After a year away from the team, Dovydas Karka is back under the team’s awning. Karka didn’t get the best of start in the first moto as he was outside the top twenty and also had some bike issues. Karka worked his way up to twelfth which was a solid result. Unfortunately, a first corner crash in the second moto with his team mate, Jeremy Sydow meant he had to come from dead last but he came back well to fourteenth. If Karka can improve his starts he could challenge for top five finishes.

Young German, Jeremy Sydow is in his rookie year on the 250cc after moving up from the 125cc he was on last season. Sydow had two crashes and didn’t have a rear break in the first moto so couldn’t do any better than eighteenth. After the first corner crash in the second moto he rode well to come back to twelfth. Sydow should only continue to improve as the season progresses.

The team will now head to Russia for the third round of the EMX250 Championship.

De Dycker: The weekend was okay for me. Saturday I was fast every time on the track. On Sunday the races were not good. I didn’t have good starts and after one lap my goggles broke so I had to take them off, I finished ninth which wasn’t good. In the second moto I took a better start and after some laps my grips came off from the clutch and lap after from the gas so I had to stop! I also felt sick so I wasn’t 100%! Now I will train and hope for more luck for me and the team.

Sileika: I was excited about the ADAC season opener, I had to ride in the master’s class due to the rules. We made the decision that I’d ride a 250 against the 450’s because I was was feeling good on the little machine. I qualified 8th in my group, losing 1.3 secs to the leader so that was really good and was ready for the races. In the first moto I had an awful start and crashed in first turn, so started dead last. I was pushing really hard and felt great riding but it was hard to make moves against the big bikes.  After 20 mins I got up to 20^th place and then got together with another rider and crashed so had to DNF. The second moto was pretty much the same, had a way better start but someone crashed in front of me I so had to start last again. I got up 17th and had a clear track in front of me but had a crash and another DNF. Overall, the result wasn’t the best but I fought my heart out and the feeling on the bike was great every time I went out on the track.

Ecca: The first Masters Race wasn’t that good for me. I struggled the whole weekend with some stomach problems. On Saturday, I missed the direct way into the mains by 0.1 of a second and p16, but finished 3rd in the LCQ what gave me the thirty-third gate pick for the mains. Unfortunately, I felt even worse on Sunday. I started the first moto in a good position but my stomach wouldn’t let me focus on racing. I decided to stop the moto after 25 minutes and wasn’t able to line up for the second moto which was a shame.

Roosiorg: Saturday, didn’t have such a good feeling with the track, so got 4th in my qualifying group.  Sunday first race got a good start, but lost couple of places in the first laps, managed to pull myself together and ride to 1st place where I finished the race. Second race got a bad start and didn’t have the time to ride into a better position than 6th. Overall I was 3rd, so I’m happy. Big thanks to the team and sponsors for helping me with everything!

Karka: The weekend started off great for me with the 2nd fastest lap-time in qualifying. During the motos I had some troubles, as well as a start crash in the second moto, which held me back from scoring a great result. But I made great comebacks in both moto’s and finished 12-14 for 13th overall.
So, I am quite happy with my weekend. I had a difficult pre-season with a limited bike time, because of school and the weather back home. But I feel as strong as ever, the season only begins, so we move on from now.

Sydow: The time practice went really good with a 2nd place in my group. In race one, I lost my rear brake after five laps and crashed 2 times because of that, I ended up eighteenth. In race two I almost got the holeshot but another rider hit me and I crashed. Then I was riding good and went from last to 12th.  A little bit more luck and everything will be good for the next round.

Words: Andy McKinstry