Prestige MX ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP – Maggiora – 26.27.03.2022
Maggiora welcomed the opening round of the Prestige MX Italian Championship. Soon, the Italian track will also host the Motocross World Championship on May 8th.
In the MX2 the Fantic Factory Team Maddii was represented by their strongest riders with their Fantic XX 250 2 stroke machineries: Cornelius Tondel, Cas Valk and Hakon Osterhagen. Nicholas Lapucci made his debut in the MX1 with his 450cc machinery.
The riders enrolled in the MX2 were divided in three groups due to the high number of competitors. Marco Maddii’s riders enjoyed the hard pack ground of the track and achieved great results: Hakon Osterhagen took the pole position, while Valk and Tondel set the third and fourth fastest time respectively.
Cas Valk anticipated the start in the 250cc first heat and got stuck in the starting gate, so Osterhagen took the lead of the moto and handed it out to Tondel, who won the race followed by Hakon.
Tondel faced a tough start in Race2 and lost ground, but after working his way up, the rider moved back to the first place in just five laps and held his position tight till the end. Osterhagen was affected by a few mistakes in the first lap and did his best to recover till the tenth place. Cas Valk was forced to abandon the race after a stone hit his face.
Tondel stepped on the first step of the podium and came home with the Italian Championship red plate. Team-mate Osterhagen joined him on the third step of the podium.
Nicholas Lapucci’s feeling with his 450cc machinery was absolutely excellent, in fact the rider set the second fastest time in the qualifying.
Nicholas was wise at the start of the first race and decided not to take too many risks. After holding the fifth place after the first lap, Lapucci’s solid race pace allowed him to move up to the front and classify third.
Nicholas showed he can be highly competitive with his machinery, in fact the Tuscan rider clinched the holeshot and kept the lead for several laps eventually classifying second.
Nicholas Lapucci proudly stood on the second step of the podium.
Now the Fantic Factory Team Maddii will head to Portugal for the fourth round of the MXGP World Championship.
Marco Maddii stated on the race: “It’s been a beautiful weekend. The guys were phenomenal in yesterday’s qualifying sessions and today Cornelius showed he’s in great shape and going in the right direction. The first moto went well for Hakon, even though he was penalized in the second one by a few mistakes but he’s definitely improving. Cas couldn’t reach a great outcome but his potential with the 250cc is good. Nicholas was amazing considering this was his debut with the 450cc; we’ve to work both on the machinery and rider to achieve excellent results. We’re walking in the right direction”.
Nicholas Lapucci: “It’s been a positive day starting from the practice session. It felt like a training session to me since I really had just little time to test my 450cc. I pulled away at the start and I was working my way up in the first moto, when all of a sudden my arms started feeling stiff and I had to slow down. The start of Race2 was amazing and I led the pack for several laps; despite I tried to stay at the front I knew I couldn’t have held the rhythm for the entire race. I’m very happy with the result. I’d like to thank the Maddii Team, my family and my manager”.
Classifica di giornata classe MX2:
1) Cornelius Tondel #302 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
2) Jan Pancar #253 - KTM
3) Hakon Osterhagen #312 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
22) Cas Valk #172 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
Classifica di Campionato classe MX2:
1) Cornelius Tondel #302 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
2) Jan Pancar #253 - KTM
3) Hakon Osterhagen #312 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
22) Cas Valk #172 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
Classifica di giornata classe MX1:
1) Alberto Forato #303 - GasGas
2) Nicholas Lapucci #211 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
3) Alessandro Lupino #77 – Beta
Classifica di campionato classe MX1:
1) Alberto Forato #303 - GasGasl
2) Nicholas Lapucci #211 - Fantic Factory Team Maddii
3) Alessandro Lupino #77 - Beta