Nederlands
Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250’s Andrea Bonacorsi has moved up to third in the EMX250 Championship following an outstanding ride to fourth in both races for fourth overall at the second round of the series in Oss, The Netherlands. Dutch teammate Dave Kooiker also impressed on home soil, posting two sixth-place finishes for sixth overall.
Last years’ EMX125 Champion, Bonacorsi, is a name of the future. The young Italian, rookie to the EMX250 class, charged from outside of the top-20 to finish fourth in the opening race of the day, and then finished fourth again after a much better start in race two.
The teams’ youngest rider Dave Kooiker also put in an exceptional performance aboard his GYTR kitted YZ250F today. The talented Dutchman had two rip-roaring starts and challenged the top-three but eventually faded back to sixth in both races.
Entering Oss with a full fleet of young riders following the recent addition of Australian star Bailey Malkiewicz, who has stepped in to fill in for the injured Jeremy Sydow, the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official team were enthusiastic for their home round of European Championship racing.
With little time on the bike and limited training over the last four months, the rough and bumpy dark Dutch sand made for a testing return to racing. Nevertheless, Malkiewicz remains optimistic as he continues to adapt to the bike and rebuild his race fitness. He finished 24th overall.
In addition to Bonacorsi moving up to third in the EMX250 Championship Standings, Kooiker has leaped up to 10th.
The next round of the EMX250 Championship will take place in the bottomless sand of Belgium at the world-renowned Lommel circuit on August 1st.
Andrea Bonacorsi: “We made a step forward compared to my first EMX250 race in Matterley Basin (England). We were consistent today with two fourth-place finishes. I am quite happy with everything; I just need to work on my starts for the next one in Lommel. I will continue to work on my physical condition because I want to fight upfront. If we look at the positives, we have moved up to third in the championship and this is good, so we have even more motivation for Lommel.”
Dave Kooiker: “Today was really good! I had two good starts today and finished both motos in sixth place. It’s good to make progress and we have made a lot of progress since the last race. I am happy with my riding, it was good, and I am very happy with the result.”