The ninth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the historic Montevarchi circuit in Italy. For the first time in twenty years, the technical and demanding Italian track returned to the Grand Prix calendar. Under warm conditions, Noel Zanocz, Rick Elzinga and Áron Katona represented Van Venrooy KTM Racing.
In the MX2 class, Noel Zanocz showed strong speed early in the weekend. The Hungarian rider set the fifteenth-fastest time in timed practice and then delivered an impressive performance in the qualifying race, crossing the finish line in fifth place.
On Sunday, Zanocz started the opening race in fourteenth position and worked his way up to thirteenth during the race. In the second moto, he completed the opening lap in seventeenth place, but with a consistent ride he recovered to finish fourteenth. These results earned him fourteenth overall in the Grand Prix classification.
For Rick Elzinga, another educational weekend in the MXGP class was on the schedule. The Dutch rider qualified twenty-third in timed practice and then finished sixteenth in the qualifying race.
In the first moto, Elzinga had to begin a comeback ride from twenty-seventh position. He fought his way up to twentieth place, but lost two positions in the closing stages and eventually finished twenty-second. In the second moto, he completed the opening lap in twenty-first position and then advanced to twentieth place, securing an important World Championship point.
In the EMX250 class, Áron Katona started the weekend strongly by setting the fifteenth-fastest time in timed practice. However, the first moto proved difficult. After starting around thirty-fifth place, he gained several positions during the opening laps, but a mistake cost him significant time, resulting in a thirty-second-place finish.
On Sunday, the young Hungarian demonstrated his true potential. Katona got off to an excellent start and was running as high as sixth place during the opening stages of the race. Although a mistake cost him several positions, he recovered well and crossed the finish line in twelfth place.
“This weekend was once again all about learning. Saturday was not the day I had hoped for. Free practice and timed practice were decent, but I couldn’t make it happen in the race. I had a few unlucky moments and wasn’t able to show what I’m really capable of. Sunday, however, was a different story. I rode a strong moto, made some good passes and felt comfortable on the bike. That’s why I’m very pleased with the result in the second moto.”
Following the race in Montevarchi, Van Venrooy KTM Racing now turns its attention to round ten of the World Championship, which will take place next weekend in Agueda, Portugal.
