Andrea Bonacorsi is the 2020 EMX125 champion
By Press Release on 25th Oct 20
Fantic Racings Andrea Bonacorsi secured the crown in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class at the final round of the series in Lommel, as he became this years European champion.
The Italian entered in the races with a 38-point advantage over David Braceras of RFME GasGas MX Junior Team and only needed to finish the races with a solid result in order to seal the deal. Bonacorsi finished the opening race of the day third, which was enough for him to claim the title in race one.
The Fantic Racing rider then had a much tougher second race after getting caught out in a first turn crash, which meant he had to start from way back and 11th was the best he could do. Unfortunately, he missed out on the podium, though the main focus was that he took home that all-important championship gold plate.
Despite a tough day, Braceras held enough of a gap to finish second in the championship with 282 points, ahead of Meico Vettik of TBS Conversions Racing Team who claimed the bronze medal after a solid day, which saw him also second overall on the podium.
The first race of the day saw WZ Racings Max Palsson lead the way as he was closely followed by Vettik and Scott Smulders of No Fear/Jumbo BT Racing Team on the opening lap.
Meanwhile, the then championship leader, Bonacorsi, was down in ninth. Guillem Farres of RFME GASGAS MX Junior Team then crashed out of sixth and was down outside the top 20, as Smulders dropped out of third as well and rejoined the race in 12th. Bonacorsi though was wasting no time as by the first full lap he was already in fourth, looking to charge for the leaders as he was keen to wrap up the title in the first heat.
Palsson then extended his race lead over Vettik to 2.002 in the early stages of the race, and the gap remained pretty tight until the end of the race, as the two battled closely together.
Bonacorsi came under fire from the Creymert Racing pilot Haakon Osterhagen for fourth, though he was able to defend his position, before going after Pietro Razzini for third a few laps later. It was a tough race for Braceras who had to start the race from outside the top 30 and fight his way through. Eventually the Spaniard finished the race in 16th, not a result he would have wanted after his previous success here in Lommel over the last couple of rounds.
Osterhagen then lost a bit of ground as he was getting caught by Romeo Karu and Ivano Van Erp of Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC team, though he was able to maintain his position until the end of the race, while Karu made a mistake and finished in 15th. On lap nine, Bonacorsi moved in third, as Vettik gave it another go at passing Palsson though was not successful. He then gave it one last push on the final three laps as the gap was just 0.666 seconds, but Palsson was able to keep control and claim his first race win of the season.
The second race started with a little bit of drama in the first turn, which caught out a couple of riders including Karu and the new EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing champion, Bonacorsi. Though it was Van Erp who led the way, with Palsson in second and Valerio Lata of Marchetti Racing Team KTM in third. Vettik started the second heat outside the top five, though he was on a charge and quickly caught out to the group as he passed Braceras for fifth on lap two.
By lap five there was a change in the lead, as Van Erp crashed out, which allowed Palsson to make the most of this opportunity to go after another race win. Farres was then on a charge as he had a nice battle with Quentin Prugnieres of BUD Racing Kawasaki. Eventually, the GASGAS rider was able to find a way through into fourth on lap seven.
With five minutes and two laps to go, Palsson led the way by an impressive 11.960 seconds, as Osterhagen passed Nikita Kucherov for seventh and then went after Braceras. Not long after, the Norwegian burst down the inside of Braceras for sixth, as Kucherov was able to do the same, with the Spaniard getting pushed down to eighth and then ninth where he would eventually finish.
With two of laps to go, Florian Miot of KTM Diga Junior Racing was pushing hard to pass Farres for third, though got caught out in a crash and did not finish the race.
In the end, it was Palsson who was the race winner, with Vettik second once again and Farres having a much stronger ride that time around to cross the line third.
With two race wins, Palsson claimed his first overall victory of the season as he took to the top step of the podium, while Vettik occupied second with two solid second-place finishes in the races and Guillem Farres of RFME GASGAS MX Junior Team made his fifth podium of the 2020 season as he took to third.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing - Race 1 Top 10 Classification: 1. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 30:26.913; 2. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), +0:01.510; 3. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Fantic), +0:21.390; 4. Pietro Razzini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:25.792; 5. Haakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), +0:30.573; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, GASGAS), +0:42.250; 7. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:44.203; 8. Florian Miot (FRA, KTM), +0:44.579; 9. Saad Soulimani (FRA, KTM), +0:52.851; 10. Scott Smulders (NED, Husqvarna), +1:00.372.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing - Race 2 Top 10 Classification: 1. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 29:32.251; 2. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), +0:10.944; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, GASGAS), +0:11.832; 4. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), +0:23.529; 5. Haakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), +0:29.112; 6. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:34.357; 7. Nikita Kucherov (RUS, KTM), +0:37.320; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, KTM), +0:42.171; 9. David Braceras (ESP, GASGAS), +0:45.491; 10. Xavier Cazal (FRA, KTM), +0:46.701.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing - Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 50 points; 2. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, GAS), 35 p.; 4. Haakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 30 p.; 6. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Pietro Razzini (ITA, HUS), 24 p.; 9. Nikita Kucherov (RUS, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, KTM), 17 p.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing - Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, FAN), 333 points; 2. David Braceras (ESP, GAS), 282 p.; 3. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), 268 p.; 4. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 263 p.; 5. Pietro Razzini (ITA, HUS), 240 p.; 6. Guillem Farres (ESP, GAS), 211 p.; 7. Andrea Roncoli (ITA, HUS), 194 p.; 8. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KTM), 186 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), 171 p.; 10. Haakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), 167 p.
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