Nederlands
Equipped with a GYTR kitted YZ250F, Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250’s Thibault Benistant has maintained the EMX250 Championship lead after three challenging rounds in Mantova, Italy. The 18-year-old finished fourth overall at the seventh round of the EMX250 Championship today and has retained a 28-point lead in the overall standings.
Early morning storms dampened the flat and jumpy soft-terrain circuit of Mantova. Although the wet sand dried out relatively quickly, the ruts and bumps already took form during the sloppy first practice.
Gianluca Facchetti stayed true to tradition and posted a quick time onboard his Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official GYTR kitted YZ250F to qualify in third position. Benistant was less comfortable on the slushy sand, but still managed to post the seventh fastest time.
Treacherous conditions proved challenging for both of the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 riders as they battled forward from the back of the pack. Benistant had his front-wheel clipped by another rider off the start and had to work hard to finish eighth after running out of tear-offs. Teammate, Facchetti, did not complete the race after a fall on Lap-1.
Better starts in the final race of the week saw Benistant set the fastest lap of the race as he reeled in the front runners. Facchetti fell from third position after 15-minutes but made a quick remount and eventually crossed the line in seventh.
After experiencing vision issues with his tear-off goggles in the opening race, Benistant opted for roll-offs in Race 2 but they unluckily broke on the opening lap. With dirty goggles for the entire 25-minute plus 2-Lap race duration, the ‘198’ put in an impressive ride to finish second position.
Facchetti was classified 13th overall and has moved up to 12th in the Championship Standings.
The Championship Leader Benistant holds a 28-point advantage over Guadagnini going into the next round of the EMX250 Championship, which is scheduled to take place next weekend, on Saturday 10th October, in Madrid, Spain.
Overall EMX250 Mantova:
1 Mattia Guadagnini 50 Pnt
2 Jorgen Matthias Talviku 36 Pnt
3 Hakon Fredriksen 36 Pnt
4 Thibault Benistant 35 Pnt
5 Marcel Conijn 33 Pnt
13 Gianluca Facchetti 14 Pnt
EMX250 Championship Standings:
1 Thibault Benistant 286 Pnt
2 Mattia Guadagnini 258 Pnt
3 Kay de Wolf 198 Pnt
4 Hakon Fredriksen 188 Pnt
5 Jorgen Matthias Talviku 180 Pnt
12 Gianluca Facchetti 98 Pnt