German Motocross Championship 65cc – Aichwald

In midsummer temperatures, MSC Aichwald invited the boys in the 65cc class to its beautiful natural track for the first time.

I was highly motivated and naturally wanted to give myself a present on my ninth birthday.

We arrived on Friday evening so that we could have a look at the track that evening.On Saturday we watched the races of our team colleagues from ADAC Hessen-Thüringen and made the final preparations for the bike and set it up for the track.

On Sunday morning, 41 riders took part in free practice. A very strong field of riders with a total of 17 riders who had already gained experience in the EMX65, as well as many strong German riders, had travelled here. Unfortunately, I didn’t really have a free lap to show what I could do, but I still managed to set the fourth-best time. But I wasn’t really satisfied with that.

Shortly before qualifying, we discussed our tactics together. Get in early, overtake everyone on the first lap and then have a clear run, and the plan worked perfectly. I took to the track in third place, overtook the two Dutchmen Karnebeek and Brakke and was then able to be the first to set the times and had a clear run for several laps.

The qualifying session was very exciting, because Neo Nindelt, Teunis Spijkermann and I were absolutely the same speed and only small things decided the lead. After several changes of position between us three riders, I was able to win the qualifying session.

Less than 0.2 seconds separated first and third place.

During the lunch break I went for another massage, which was provided by MSC Aichwald, and at the same time we prepared fresh clothes and the bike.For the first race everything was perfectly prepared from A-Z.

During the introductory lap, I took a close look at the freshly prepared course. I was the first of 40 riders to push my bike to the start line, and it was an overwhelming experience for me to start in front of such a backdrop.

The start wasn’t quite ideal, I came out of the first corner in about tenth place and was already in fourth place after the first lap.

The three fastest riders from qualifying put a lot of pressure on holeshotter Tom Hähnel, forcing him to give up the lead after three laps. Towards the end of the race, I got closer and closer and my excellent fitness helped me to increase the pace again. At the start of the last lap, I was already in the lead and put all my eggs in one basket so that I was able to pass Hähnel a few bends later. With huge strides, the gap to Neo Nindelt suddenly became smaller and smaller, so that at the finish line I was only 0.5 seconds off second place. Nevertheless, we were all over the moon about third place and the fantastic podium.

I was also highly motivated at the start of the second race. I got out of the gate really well and only had to let two other EMX riders get ahead of me on the long straight with its gravelled surface. It got a bit tight in the crowd on the second bend and I crashed spectacularly, but apart from a few grazes I was unhurt, the bike was a bit crooked, but that didn’t stop me from continuing. I was almost last to start the race and was able to make up a lot of places on the first lap, coming out of lap one in 21st place. I impressed the spectators with my race to catch up and many overtaking manoeuvres.

I really gave everything I had until the last metre and was able to move up to fifth place. I came off the track sad and disappointed about my crash, because I wanted to be in contention for the win.

Nevertheless, we are all very satisfied with third place on the day. The second DM podium in a row, the first pole position in the DM and, as in Genthin, the fastest race lap again. In the championship, I  am currently in second place with only a few points behind Neo Nindelt and a big cushion on Nonni Lange, who is in third place.

The title fight will continue in the next round in Gräfentonna.

Many thanks to all sponsors and helpers! In particular to Collin Dugmore for the good preparation over the last few weeks, Oliver Maisch for his help and support on site as a mechanic and the ADAC Hessen-Thüringen, as well as the MEFO Sport Factory Racing team for their support.

See you soon, Luca #2