Nederlands
Dave Kooiker of Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing finished in a strong sixth place during the fourth round of the EMX250 championships held at Kegums in Latvia. Kooiker rode two consistent races, finishing seventh and tenth respectively. Bailey Malkiewicz opened his scoring account by finishing 13th in the second heat. Andrea Bonacorsi was involved in crashes in both heats, and only scored three points.
The track at Kegums offers a variety of sandy – and harder sections, and the riders set about their tasks to qualify. Kooiker qualified sixth, Bonacorsi was 13th and Malkiewicz was 29th.
Kooiker started the best of the trio in race one, slotting into tenth spot. He quickly worked his way up to eighth, and waited till the last lap to pounce successfully for seventh. Bonacorsi was involved in a crash off the start and had to retire. Malkiewicz rode a strong race, working his way up from 13th to ninth. A crash dropped him to 29th. After fighting hard, he again entered the points zone, but another crash put paid to his hopes.
Bonacorsi again suffered the disappointment of an early crash in race two. He fought his way back from the last ranks to finish 18th. Malkiewicz and Kooiker had mid-pack starts. Kooiker made regular passes and finished tenth. Malkiewicz rode strongly and crossed the line in 13th, claiming his first points of the season.
Kooiker was sixth overall, with Malkiewicz and Bonacorsi in 18th and 26th respectively. Kooiker is seventh in the championship standings, with Bonacorsi one position behind and Malkiewicz is in 36th.
The team will be in action again on 2 October at Tetuschenthal in Germany.
Overall EMX250 Latvia:
1 Kevin Horgmo 47 Pnt
2 Nicholas Lapucci 45 Pnt
3 Rick Elzinga 42 Pnt
4 Yago Martinez 36 Pnt
5 Mike Gwerder 27 Pnt
6 Dave Kooiker 25 Pnt
18 Bailey Malkiewicz 8 Pnt
26 Andrea Bonacorsi 3 Pnt
Championship Standings EMX250:
1 Nicholas Lapucci 187 Pnt
2 Kevin Horgmo 163 Pnt
3 Rick Elzinga 144 Pnt
4 Liam Everts 108 Pnt
5 Yago Martinez 91 Pnt
7 Dave Kooiker 77 Pnt
8 Andrea Bonacorsi 74 Pnt
36 Bailey Malkiewicz 8 Pnt