Sweden’s Uddevalla offered ideal motocross conditions over the weekend. The Glimminge Motorstadion, built in the setting of a former quarry, welcomed more than 28,000 fans who once again created an electric atmosphere around the rocky circuit. Cooler temperatures of around 20°C and a technical track surface reminiscent of the Czech circuit in Loket provided the perfect setting for extremely close racing. Osička MX Team lined up with Julius Mikula in MX2 and Václav Janout in the EMX250 class
Mikula Battles Through Illness to Secure Eighth Overall
Julius Mikula had been battling illness throughout the week and was still not at 100% in Uddevalla. Despite that, he managed to fight for top-ten positions in both MX2 races and, with results of P8 and P9, secured eighth overall. He had already put himself in a strong starting position on Saturday by finishing an impressive seventh in the qualifying race.
Both motos featured impressive comebacks. In the opening moto, Mikula made a good start, but shortly after the second corner he made a small mistake over a jump, dropping back to 12th position. At that point, he was around 16 seconds behind the leaders, but the Czech rider responded immediately. By the sixth lap, he had moved up to ninth. He then became involved in a battle with Maxime Grau, and together they moved ahead of Kay Karssemakers. Mikula moved into eighth and maintained contact with the rider ahead until the finish.
On the final lap, he attempted to make a move for seventh, but another small mistake prevented him from completing the pass. He crossed the finish line in eighth, just behind Frenchman Grau.
Unfortunately, the second moto followed a similar pattern. After another very good start, a mistake in the opening metres saw Mikula drop to ninth. On the second lap, a rider crashed directly in front of him. Julius had no time to react and also went down, resulting in a major loss of positions.
Once again, however, he refused to give up and managed to recover a significant amount of time over the following laps. By lap four, he had moved up to 12th, and his pace suggested he had the potential to climb much further.
Halfway through the race, Mikula moved into tenth and then passed Hungarian rider Noel Zanocz. However, he still faced a 14-second gap to eighth-placed Valerio Lata, and with the Italian maintaining a strong pace, there was not enough time left to close the deficit. Mikula eventually crossed the finish line in ninth.
The combination of P8 and P9 gave Mikula eighth overall. He scored the same number of points as seventh-placed Karlis Reisulis, with the Latvian taking the higher position thanks to his better result in the second moto. In the championship standings, Julius Mikula remains tenth, just 11 points behind ninth place.
“I was sick throughout the whole weekend, so I didn’t feel completely comfortable on the bike. Even so, the result was consistent. I had good starts in both motos, but I made a mistake on the first lap each time and had to come through from behind. In the second moto, I also crashed on the second lap and had to recover from almost the very back of the field, but I managed to fight my way back to P9. P8 and P9 gave us eighth overall, so I’m happy that despite being sick, we were still able to score solid points,” Julius Mikula commented on the Uddevalla weekend.
Janout Scores His First European Point in Sweden
In the EMX250 class, Václav Janout contested one of the final rounds of this year’s European Championship. Due to the high number of entries, the time practice was once again split into two groups. Janout finished 15th in his group, which left him 29th in the overall gate-pick order and facing another difficult start from the outside of the grid.
In the opening race, he gradually worked his way through the field. Initially running just behind the middle of the pack, he gradually found his rhythm and maintained a very consistent pace. He continued pushing until the final stages and moved into 20th place with four laps remaining. He held the position all the way to the chequered flag, securing his first European Championship point of the EMX250 season.
The second moto also started promisingly for Janout. He reacted well when the gate dropped, but his disadvantageous position on the outside heading into the first corner once again played a role. Other riders pushed him off the ideal line, forcing the Czech rider to rejoin the race almost at the very back of the field. Janout then began a strong recovery, overtaking one or two riders on almost every lap. Although his pace remained consistent and his lap times showed that he had the potential for a significantly better result, he was unable to completely erase the deficit caused by the difficult start. He crossed the finish line in 23rd.
With his combined results, Václav Janout finished 25th overall in Sweden. Above all, his first European Championship point represents an important result and a positive boost heading into the final part of the season.
“I struggled to set a fast lap for quite a while in qualifying, but eventually I managed to put together a decent time. I started the first race just behind the middle of the field and gradually worked my way up to 20th, which gave me my first point of the EMX250 season. In the second race, I got a good start, but in the second corner I went off the track and rejoined dead last. From there, I fought my way back to 23rd. Overall, I’m positive about the weekend. We take our first point and keep moving forward. I’m already looking forward to next weekend in the Netherlands. A big thank you to the team, my family and all our sponsors for their support,” Václav Janout said after the Swedish weekend.
European Part of the Season Approaches Its Finale
“In Sweden, we contested the penultimate MXGP round on European soil. Now we head to Arnhem, where both of our riders will line up in their respective classes. The EMX250 season is gradually coming to an end, while MX2 will continue with further overseas rounds. We want to enter the final part of the season as well prepared as possible and try to make further progress in the championship standings,” said Osička MX Team owner Martin Osička.
The FIM Motocross World Championship is now entering its final stage of the season. Next weekend, Osička MX Team heads to Arnhem in the Netherlands, where Václav Janout will compete in another round of the EMX250 European Championship, while Julius Mikula will continue his fight for the best possible position in the MX2 championship standings.
Photocredit – Daniele Barreca
