ITALIAN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1 – Alghero – 30.01.2022
The 2022 racing season just kicked off with the first round of the Italian International Championship being disputed at the Lazzaretto circuit of Alghero.
Cas Valk, new member of the team, starred in the 125 class. The Dutch rider immediately found a good feeling with the sandy track of Alghero and set the fastest time in the time practice.
The start of the first moto was a bit tough for Valk. The rider took the second position after the first corner and held it tight till the checkered flag.
Cas pulled away at the start of Race2 where he took the lead of the pack after the second lap, but unfortunately a mistake prevented him from winning both moto and race. Cas Valk eventually classified second overall.
The team was represented by even three riders in the Mx2: Nicholas Lapucci, who is back after an injury sustained a few weeks ago while training, Hakon Osterhagen and Cornelius Tondel.
Tondel achieved a phenomenal fourth place in the qualifying, while Lapucci was sixth and Osterhagen set the seventh fastest time.
Cornelius Tondel pulled away at the start of the race and was fast enough to reach the third spot and later moved up to second one. Lapucci worked hard and classified sixth thanks to a solid performance. Osterhagen could not reach a satisfying result because of too many mistakes.
Tondel conquered the second step of the podium after his debut with the Fantic XX250 machinery.
Marco Maddii commented on the race: “We’re very happy. We put our best foot forward and the team worked really hard and did their best during the winter season. Cas was the strongest racer in the 125, unfortunately those mistakes he made prevented him from taking the victory. Tondel did good too and was actually the revelation of this race. Lapucci’s performance was good too considering the fact that he’s back after a 20-day break caused by the injury he sustained. Hakon’s qualifying session was good, but he made too many mistakes. We’ve to keep working hard and being focused so we can do well this season too”.
Cas Valk stated: “I’m not very happy with my second heat, because I was leading the group and I could have won. Unfortunately, the mistakes I made prevented me from winning, I’ve to focus more. Anyhow I’m happy I got on the podium with my Fantic for the first time. We’re looking forward to the next race”.
Cornelius Tondel: “Today’s result makes me very happy as it was my first race with the Fantic team and the 250 2t. The feeling was good since the very beginning, both with the track and the bike. Now we’re looking forward to the next race here in Sardinia and we’ll keep working hard for it”.
Classifica di giornata classe MX2:
1) Jago Gerts #93 - Yamaha
2) Cornelis TONDEL #302 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
3) Hakon Friedriksien #427 – Honda
6) Nicolas LAPUCCI #211 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
21) Hakon OSTERHAGEN #211 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
Classifica di giornata classe 125:
1) Ivano Van Erp #432 - Yamaha
2) Cas VALK #172 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
3) Ferruccio Zanchi #73 - Yamaha