The Motocross of European Nations got underway at the TCS Racing Park today, with the qualifying races to establish the gate pick in tomorrow’s main races for the 85cc & 125/250cc classes, while the Women’s Motocross of Nations also held their qualifying race in the afternoon sun of Romania.
Words | Press release
The qualifying heats were crucial for the teams aiming to secure the best possible position on the grid for tomorrow’s races, where points will be counted, and the winners will be crowned in the MXoEN and WMXoEN classes.
125 + 250 Qualifying Race
In the 125 & 250 race it was Alexis Fueri, wearing the number one plate as a late replacement for Quentin Prugnieres, who stood in dutifully for Team France, but it was a close-run thing against arch rivals Italy, as Fueri battled with his EMX250 rival Francesco Bellei for the duration of the race!
Bellei actually led until the very last lap of the race, but Fueri made the move into the lead with just a few corners remaining! Bellei tried to retaliate but hit Fueri’s rear wheel to crash just a few metres before the finish line jump!
With a 50-second gap back to Spain’s Salvador Perez, Bellei managed to remount for second, with Fueri’s teammate Tom Brunet coming home in fourth to make France the best scorers in the race. Nicolo Alvisi took fifth to put the Italians close, while Elias Escandell came home in sixth to make it look like a three-nation battle for the MXoEN title tomorrow!
Top 10 125 + 250 Qualifying Race
- #1 Alexis Fueri (Francia)
- #5 Francesco Bellei (Italia)
- #10 Salvador Pérez (España)
- #2 Tom Brunet (Francia)
- #6 Nicoló Alvisi (Italia)
- #9 Elías Escandell (España)
- #14 Lukas Osek (Eslovenia)
- #13 Jaka Peklaj (Eslovenia)
- #57 Jakub Kowalsi (Polonia)
- #18 Danail Stefanov (Bulgaria)
85cc Qualifying Race
The same three nations battled in the 85cc qualifier as well, as Spain’s Jorge Salvador claimed the holeshot, but was passed by the Italian Andrea Uccellini after a few laps, and although Salvador stayed close to the flag it would finish in that order.
France’s Leo Diss-Fenard took third, as each team’s second rider also packed positions four to six, with David Cracco fourth for Italy, ahead of France’s Kenzo Ferez and Spain’s Pau Caudet. Italy earned the top gate picks for tomorrow by just a single point from France, with Spain a further three points back.
Top 10 85cc Qualifying Race
- #7 Andrea Uccelini (Italia)
- #12 Jorge Salvador (España)
- #3 Leo-Diss Fenard (Francia)
- #8 David Cracco (Italia)
- #4 Kenzo Ferez (Francia)
- #11 Pau Caudet (España)
- #16 Alexs Novak (Eslovenia)
- #19 Giorgi Ginov (Bulgaria)
- #39 Maksym Trokhymchuk (Ucrania)
- #47 Sam Dumtru (Rumania)
WMX Qualifying Race
France was the top team in the Women’s Motocross of Nations qualifying heat, as their riders April Franzoni and Jesse Joineau took third and fourth place, although the win went to pre-race favourite Daniela Guillen, who overtook German Larissa Papenmeier in the early laps to claim the win by just under three seconds at the flag!
Papenmeier was helped by Alessandra Massury to put them joint second with Spain, as Guillen’s teammate Jana Sanchez finished in seventh. It could be a very close race between these three Nations for the Women’s title tomorrow afternoon!
