Nederlands
Thibault Benistant of Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing was in dominant form at the third round of the EMX250 European championship series at Kegums in Latvia. He won both races, and extended his championship lead. Teammate Gianluca Facchetti had to retire whilst lying fifth in the first race, and finished 12th in the final moto.
The team was clearly in fighting form from the first brak of dawn. Facchetti claimed pole position during qualifying, with Benistant second. At the fall of the gate for race one, both riders were in the leading group. Benistant quickly worked his way up to second. He bided his time, and at the right moment, struck and went into the lead. After that there was no stopping him. This opened his lead in the championship up to 21 points. Facchetti was going around well, and looked set for a good finish, until a small mechanical issue forced him to the side.
Both riders were highly motivated for race two, and again both secured good starts. Benistant immediately moved into the lead, but had a battle on his hands for a while. After a few laps, he reclaimed the lead, and from then on the story was already written. Facchetti was doing well, but lost his rhythm somewhat in the second half of the race and came home in 12th position, after an exhausting day.
Benistant won the overall honours for the day, and Fachetti, mainly due to his DNF in race one, had to be content with 18th. Benistant has a comfortable 24 point lead at the top of the table, and Facchetti is in 14th. The team is staying in Kegums, as the last of the trio of races at the same venue will take place on Saturday.
Overall EMX250 Latvia:
1 Thibault Benistant 50 Pnt
2 Meico Vettik 35 Pnt
3 Isak Gifting 31 Pnt
4 Hakon Fredriksen 31 Pnt
5 Tim Edberg 28 Pnt
18 Gianluca Facchetti 9 Pnt
EMX250 Championship Standings:
1 Thibault Benistant 129 Pnt
2 Isak Gifting 105 Pnt
3 Mattia Guadagnini 93 Pnt
4 Kay de Wolf 83 Pnt
5 Jorgen Matthias Talviku 77 Pnt
14 Gianluca Facchetti 40 Pnt