Double race win for Weckman in Switzerland

FRAUENFELD-GACHNANG (Switzerland), 07 August 2016 - Emil Weckman rode to another race win in what was a challenging second moto for the CRF150R riders, taking the top honours in both races at the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS in Frauenfeld-Gachnang.

After losing out on the holeshot to Estonia’s Henry Vesilind, Weckman quickly made his way through to take the lead on the first lap. Following closely and hoping to challenge for the top positions were Leopold Ambjornson, Lenaic Pilorget, Andrea Bonifacio and Yago Martinez.

Weckman started to pull away from the rest of the field, but during the early stages of the moto the chain came off after over-jumping the triple causing the young Finn to stop. After fixing his bike Weckman found himself in fourth with the top three riders still in his sights.

After riding hard to catch them, Weckman was able to use the remaining laps to find his way through to regain the lead of the race and extend his championship lead further.

It looked set that Vesilind would take second but a small crash in the final stages of the race relegated him to fourth, promoting Hakon Fredriksen to second and Yago Martinez to third.

It was a close call as to who would be joining Weckman on the podium with Fredriksen, Martinez and Vesilind all finishing the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS with 40 points each. Due to better results in the second moto Fredriksen and Martinez took the second and third spots on the podium respectively.

The final round of the 2016 Honda 150 European Championship, where the championship winner will receive a Honda supported EMX250 ride, will take place in Assen, The Netherlands (27-28 August).

Emil Weckman: “Was tough race today because my chain came off on the third lap I think. I overjump the triple a little bit and then the chain came off. I fixed it but I couldn’t get the focus after that but when I see Henry, Yago and Hakon then I get the focus back and made no mistakes. Tough race though. Last year was pretty tough in Assen with only two points between me and Jack, this year I have a little bit bigger gap. I like the track there, it’s good for me and I’m not feeling the pressure.”

Davy Dousselaere, Honda Europe Off-Road Manager: “It was another tough race for our riders today but they all took to the challenge and performed very well. I am very impressed with Emil and the maturity with which he is riding. I am also very pleased with the riding we saw from Henry Vesilind, Hakon Fredriksen and Yago Martinez. These are all riders that we had in the championship last year and I am delighted with their progress and the increase in their ability. Throughout the field we have some very talented riders and some very good battles out on track. We now head to Assen for the final round and it will be another type of track for the kids to experience and I’m really looking forward to seeing who will excel there this year.”

Honda EMX150 Race 1: 1. Emil Weckman (FIN, Honda), 24:38.765; 2. Henry Vesilind (EST, Honda), +0:50.335; 3. Yago Martinez (ESP, Honda), +0:53.163; 4. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Honda), +0:59.174; 5. Leopold Ambjörnson (SWE, Honda), +2:00.635; 6. Rasmus Moen (SWE, Honda), +2:10.496; 7. Lenaic Pilorget (FRA, Honda), +2:13.659; 8. Luis Outeiro (POR, Honda), +2:17.079; 9. Maksim Kasatkin (RUS, Honda), +2:32.987; 10. Anton Nordström Graaf (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s).

Honda EMX150 Race 2: 1. Emil Weckman (FIN, Honda), 25:08.013; 2. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Honda), +0:30.041; 3. Yago Martinez (ESP, Honda), +0:50.125; 4. Henry Vesilind (EST, Honda), +1:14.295; 5. Leopold Ambjörnson (SWE, Honda), +1:17.186; 6. Andrea Bonifacio (ITA, Honda), +1:52.632; 7. Lenaic Pilorget (FRA, Honda), +1:55.253; 8. Rasmus Moen (SWE, Honda), +2:17.445; 9. Anton Nordström Graaf (SWE, Honda), +2:21.775; 10. Maksim Kasatkin (RUS, Honda), -1 lap(s).

Honda EMX150 Overall: 1. Emil Weckman (FIN, HON), 50 points; 2. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, HON), 40 p.; 3. Yago Martinez (ESP, HON), 40 p.; 4. Henry Vesilind (EST, HON), 40 p.; 5. Leopold Ambjörnson (SWE, HON), 32 p.; 6. Lenaic Pilorget (FRA, HON), 28 p.; 7. Rasmus Moen (SWE, HON), 28 p.; 8. Andrea Bonifacio (ITA, HON), 25 p.; 9. Anton Nordström Graaf (SWE, HON), 23 p.; 10. Maksim Kasatkin (RUS, HON), 23 p.

Honda EMX150 Championship: 1. Emil Weckman (FIN, HON), 197 points; 2. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, HON), 165 p.; 3. Yago Martinez (ESP, HON), 132 p.; 4. Henry Vesilind (EST, HON), 114 p.; 5. Leopold Ambjörnson (SWE, HON), 113 p.; 6. Luis Outeiro (POR, HON), 105 p.; 7. Rasmus Moen (SWE, HON), 102 p.; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, HON), 78 p.; 9. Anton Nordström Graaf (SWE, HON), 76 p.; 10. Carl Jorgensen (SWE, HON), 63 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS will be available HERE

MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1560m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 26°C

Weather conditions: Sunny

MXGP was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS