Nederlands
The Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 team enjoyed a dream start to the 2023 EMX250 season at the opening round of the Championship in Riola-Sardo, Sardinia. Andrea Bonacorsi went unbeaten in both races to begin his 2023 EMX250 title charge with maximum points. He was almost joined on the podium by rookie sensation Ivano van Erp, who narrowly missed the box by 2-points after finishing fourth in both races for fifth overall. Karlis Reisulis nursed a minor arm injury home to 11th.
In a stunning display of skill and speed on Saturday afternoon, Bonacorsi started outside the top five in Race One and made light work of the riders ahead to take the lead on lap-4. Once up front, there was no looking back. The 19-year-old Italian dominated the race, crossing the finish line with a lead of 40 seconds over Cas Valk.
At the same time, ‘The Rookie’ Ivano van Erp made a strong showing, finishing fourth in his EMX250 debut.
Riders are pushed to the limits at a venue like Riola, with the sea-deep and treacherous sand being extremely physically and mentally demanding. This, however, did not phase Bonacorsi as he stormed to another dominant race win on Sunday morning.
For Van Erp, the second race was almost a carbon copy of Race One, with the teenager again battling for a place inside the top three. The ‘432’ went bar-to-bar with some of the most experienced EMX250 riders in the world and eventually finished fourth again.
Finally, Reisulis battled through some pain and stiffness from a Timed Practice crash to go 11-14 for 11th overall.