Natzke Gets Down to It in Italy
EMX 125
PIETRAMURATA (Trentino), 19 April 2015 – The first rounds of the 2015 European Championship EMX250 andEMX125 took place at one of the most striking locations on the MXGP calendar this weekend. Shadowed by the stunning Dolomite Mountains and in close vicinity to Lake Garda, the clay based traditional styled circuit in Pietramurata always attracts thousands of hysterical fans from all areas of the world, which provided an amazing atmosphere for the young riders who by racing the EMX championships are dipping their toes in the world of professional motocross.
This weekend two young French riders in the form of Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Maxime Despreyand Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Maxime Renaux stood top of the box in the EMX250 and EMX125 respectively.
The young guns of the EMX125 had the luxury of being the first race of the day. This meant they had a well-watered track, which on top of clay and rock was going to make things a little more interesting with traction being hard to find.
Despite the unpredictability of the circuit, when the gates dropped, it was Finland’s Miro Sihvonen and Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Maxime Renaux who got off to great starts and controlled the race from start to finish to take home the first and second place respectively.
While Sihvonen’s race win was impressive considering he was only eleventh in race one yesterday, as was the performance of KTM Factory Junior’s young Kiwi Josiah Natzke who had the slick and technical circuit dialed, passing his teammate, the holeshot getter Jorge Prado Garcia, early on in the race to solidly claim third.
Meanwhile, Prado had a few sketchy moments but managed to save them for fourth while Marchetti Racing Team’s Kim Savaste came home in a solid fifth.
With the combination of results from both races Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Maxime Renaux took the first EMX125 round victory of the year with his pair of second place finishes. Meanwhile the race one run away story of Danish rider Glen Meier resulted in second overall with KTM Factory Juniors Jorge Prado Garcia rounding out the top three.
EMX125 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), 30:24.308; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:02.193; 3. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, TM), +0:05.290; 4. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:12.467; 5. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:13.769; 6. Michele Baraiolo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:23.453; 7. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:25.572; 8. Filippo Zonta (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:31.258; 9. Davide Cislaghi (ITA, TM), +0:33.084; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:34.479;
EMX125 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 30:33.489; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:03.272; 3. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:07.538; 4. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:10.096; 5. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), +0:11.463; 6. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:24.095; 7. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), +0:34.007; 8. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:35.660; 9. Bastien Guillaume (FRA, KTM), +0:42.750; 10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Yamaha), +0:48.229
EMX125 Overall Top Ten: 1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 44 points; 2. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), 39 p.; 3. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Michele Baraiolo (ITA, YAM), 23 p.; 10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, YAM), 20 p
EMX125 Championship Top Ten: 1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 44 points; 2. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), 39 p.; 3. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Michele Baraiolo (ITA, YAM), 23 p.; 10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, YAM), 20 p.
EMX125 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 50 points; 2. Yamaha, 44 p.; 3. TM, 26 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 18 p.