Promising Start to the European Championships for ASTES4-TESAR & MJC Yamaha

2017-04-26 15:06
Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, hosted the second round of the highly competitive European Championship EMX250 which saw ASTES4-TESAR Yamaha Offical EMX250's Nick Kouwenberg shower the team in champagne after finishing both races inside the top three, for his first podium finish of the season - third. Teammate and fellow YZ250F rider Karlis Sãbulis showed potential in the first race with a solid fifth place finish but a big crash in the second race left him out of the points which dropped him back to fourteenth overall for the weekend. Both riders still remain inside the top five in the championship standings with Kouwenberg occupying fourth and Sãbulis fifth.

Meanwhile, the opening round of the EMX125 Championship also took place in Valkenswaard, producing somewhat whismical results for the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 trio of Tim Edberg, Rick Elzinga and Thibault Benistant.

In search of the next big talent, Yamaha Motor Europe launched the YZ125 bLU cRU Cup last year. The sole goal was to give promising young riders a once in a life time opportunity to win a year-long professional contract, which would give them exclusive insight into how professional teams and riders operate. It also offers all the tools a young rider needs - mechanics, advice, and material - to ride their GYTR YZ125's at the highest level.

As the winner of the first ever YZ125 bLU cRU Cup Sweden's Tim Edberg was placed on the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team alongside Holland's Rick Elzinga and France's Thibault Benissant. The trio's main focus is the European EMX125 Championship, which the first major step, in terms of paving a career, that young hopefuls take fresh off of the small wheels, 85cc.

With no expectation placed on any of the riders, the first race of the season kicked off in the challenging sand of Valkenswaard, The Netherlands with Race 1 taking place on Saturday 22nd April - in the afternoon. It was a fairytale performance for Tim Edberg, who flew in under the radar and put in a mind-blowing ride for second place on his EMX125 debut. Meanwhile, Elzinga and Benistant both made solid progress after being buried in the pack at turn one. The duo, both passed a huge amount of riders as they worked their way into the points and finished twelfth and twentieth, respectively.

Race two took place on Sunday morning with the rising sun casting some serious shadows on the circuit. Pre-race watering left the track soggy in places, which meant vision would be a challenge for everyone except the leader. Mediocre starts left all three MJC Yamaha YZ125 riders ducking sand-spray roost as they carved their way through the pack. Edberg proved he has the heart and determination of a true champion after falling and breaking his thumb on the opening lap, but still put in a gritty ride for seventh place which tied him for third in the overall classification. Despite having the same points as Sergi Notario, who stood on the third step of the podium, the Swede had to settle for fourth due Notario having a better result in the final race.

Elzinga wrapped up the opening round in eleventh, after pairing together a couple of twelfths, while Benistant had to put his first ever major event in sand down to experience with his end result being twenty-seventh.

The third round of the EMX250 Championship and the second round of the EMX125 Championship will both take place on the 6th and 7th of May at the circuit of Kegums in Latvia.

Source: Yamaha Motor Europe N.V.

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