Nederlands
Thibault Benistant of Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing claimed his third victory in succession in the EMX250 class. Benistant secured top honours today at Kegums in Latvia with 1-3 moto finishes and increased his championship lead. Gianluca Facchetti had a troubled outing, with a technical problem and a crash keeping him from scoring.
The track at Kegums was modified for the third of a trio of races at the same venue. Benistant and Fachetti obviously found it to their favour, with Facchetti securing pole position and Benistant claiming third.
Fachetti blasted off well in race one. He was fighting for the lead when a broken chain left him exasperated and unable to continue. Benistant had to fight from far back and had a lot of hard work to do. Near the end of the race, he was in the top three. In a tense last few laps, he set in the chase, and managed to secure the lead on the last lap, riding to victory.
Facchetti again had a good start in race two. He kept the pace for the first few laps, but later dropped off a bit. To add to his woes for the day, he crashed, and left from the event without adding to his score. Benistant again had to work his way forward from outside the top ten after a first lap crash. He gradually built up his race, and slotted in just behind the third-placed rider. He crossed the line in fourth, but due to the fact that the rider ahead of him was hit with a time penalty, he was credited with third and the overall victory.
Benistant now has a 38 point lead in the championship standings. Facchetti is in 18th place after having experienced his share of bad luck. The series continues on 3 October at Mantova in Italy.
Overall EMX250 Latvia:
1 Thibault Benistant 45 Pnt
2 Kay de Wolf 44 Pnt
3 Mattia Guadagnini 43 Pnt
4 Meico Vettik 34 Pnt
5 Tim Edberg 30 Pnt
EMX250 Championship Standings:
1 Thibault Benistant 174 Pnt
2 Mattia Guadagnini 136 Pnt
3 Isak Gifting 128 Pnt
4 Kay de Wolf 127 Pnt
5 Tim Edberg 91 Pnt
18 Gianluca Facchetti 40 Pnt