Red Bull KTM Factory Racing began their 2023 motocross racing campaign with the first of two rounds in the Internazionali d’Italia race series at Ponte a Egola, and Andrea Adamo starred on home turf with a moto victory and 3rd place overall.
The former Grand Prix venue staged the first significant race meeting of the 2023 calendar year and the hilly circuit west of Florence brought the brand new MX2 contingent of the KTM squad their debut gatedrop of the pre-season. After a stint of training and testing in Sardinia, Andrea Adamo, Sacha Coenen and Liam Everts rode their KTM 250 SX-Fs at pace and in a competitive field.
Adamo ranked 3rd on the day and therefore sits in the same position in the formative MX2 championship standings. The Italian scored 12 points for 9th in the first moto but rode strongly in the second race to defeat Grand Prix rival Thibault Benistant by less than two seconds. The win meant he could scale the lower step of the podium just ahead of his teammate. Everts ended the afternoon with a top five ranking. The Belgian posted a solid and steady 4-4 to claim 5th. Teenager Coenen went 17-17 for 18th place overall.
The trio will line-up for round two of the series next weekend at Pietramurata in Arco di Trentino; scene of the MXGP Grand Prix of Trentino.
“Finally we are back racing! The weekend was quite good although unfortunately I had a small crash in the first moto and it was tough to make back the time and the positions. The second moto was much easier because of the better start. I kept pushing all the way and took the win. I was really happy about that. I’m enjoying myself with the team and I’m working hard with Joel {Smets] and I’m very proud to be wearing that KTM shirt.”
Andrea Adamo
“I just missed the podium and was equal on points with Andrea. I’m in a new team with new people and it’s been a big change but things went quite well for my first race and the fact that I had a practice crash on Thursday! I’m not super-happy with my riding but I have a base to build on now to get ready for the season.”
Liam Everts
“Today was my first race with the team, so that was really good but in terms of results I’m a bit disappointed. I didn’t have the best feeling on the track in Timed Practice and this is something I need to improve because I made life difficult for the starts because of the gate position. I did my best to come through in the first moto but it was not easy for overtaking. My second moto start was much better. I was 3rd but had a small tip-over. We’ll keep working and we’ll see what we can get in Arco.”
Sacha Coenen
Images: KTM Images / S. Taglioni
