The Uddevalla circuit provided the perfect setting for Round 11 of the EMX250 Championship, with blue skies and a hillside packed with fans creating a true Swedish motocross atmosphere. With only three rounds remaining, all eyes were on championship leader Team VHR VRT Yamaha Official’s Janis Reisulis as he looked to defend his advantage over closest rival JM Honda Racing’s Noel Zanocz while Spain’s Venum BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Francisco Garcia arrived in form after a string of strong results. The hard-packed track offered technical ruts and fast lines, testing both precision and endurance across the weekend.
The two races underlined just how competitive the series has become. Garcia stamped his authority on the opening race, while Reisulis and Zanocz kept the title fight alive with key results. In Race 2, Zanocz showed his pace and determination by overcoming Reisulis to secure victory and, with it, the overall win on equal points with Garcia. Reisulis’ consistency allowed him to retain the red plate, his lead now standing at 27 points heading into the penultimate round in Arnhem.
The opening EMX250 race in Uddevalla delivered excitement right from the drop of the gate. A big pile-up in the first corner left several riders tangled after one clipped the fencing on the inside, but out front it was Sweden’s own Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna ‘s Mads Fredsøe who thrilled the home fans by grabbing the holeshot. He was closely followed by Venum BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Francisco Garcia, with Fantic Factory Racing EMX’s Simone Mancini and Janis Reisulis also in the mix.
Garcia, who had topped time practice earlier in the day, wasted no time in seizing control of the race. Before the end of the opening lap, he muscled his way past Fredsøe and immediately began to build a gap. Behind him, Reisulis was on a charge, after battling with Mancini and Fredsøe, the Latvian made a decisive outside move past the Dane to climb into second.
While Garcia stretched clear, the championship picture was unfolding further back. Title leader Reisulis had the advantage, while his closest rival Noel Zanocz found himself buried in eighth after the chaos of the first lap. The Hungarian, however, quickly set about recovering, carving past Team VHR VRT Yamaha Official’s Ivano Van Erp and the fading Mancini who would later retire with another spell of mechanical misfortune, before closing down on Fredsøe.
By mid-race, Garcia was untouchable, even setting the fastest lap on the sixth lap of fifteen, while Reisulis held a comfortable second. The real battle was for third, as Zanocz relentlessly pressured Fredsøe. Lap after lap the Swede resisted, cheered on by a passionate home crowd, but eventually Zanocz found his way through with a perfectly timed outside pass. Soon after, Van Erp also pushed by demoting Fredsøe to fifth despite a spirited performance.
Up front, Garcia never looked back. The Spaniard controlled the race brilliantly to take his fifth victory of the season, and his fourth in the last five races. Reisulis came home second, securing vital championship points, with Zanocz completing the top three after his determined comeback ride. Van Erp was fourth, while Fredsøe gave the Swedish fans plenty to cheer about with a strong fifth-place
Blue skies welcomed the riders for the second EMX250 race in Uddevalla, and it was championship leader Reisulis who took the holeshot ahead of Britain’s Joe Brookes and local favorite Fredsøe. Brookes’ challenge ended quickly as he dropped out a lap later, leaving Reisulis to control the opening stages while Fredsøe, Billy Askew and Zanocz gave chase. Race 1 winner Garcia was buried outside the top 15 and faced a huge task.
Zanocz was the man on the move in the early laps. After working past Fredsøe, the Hungarian set his sights on Reisulis and steadily closed the gap. Behind them, Garcia was charging hard through the pack, slicing his way to the top ten by lap three. Both Australians, Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna ‘s Liam Owens and Venum BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Jake Cannon, who finished 8th and 9th respectively in race 1, were holding strong inside the top seven, keeping Garcia honest as he fought through.
By lap four, Zanocz finally found his way past Fredsøe and shortly after, he capitalised on a rare mistake from Reisulis to snatch the lead. The JM Honda rider immediately stamped his authority on the race, pulling clear with a string of fastest laps. Reisulis regrouped in second, doing exactly what he needed for the championship, while Garcia’s relentless comeback carried him past his countryman F4E GASGAS Junior Racing’s Elias Escandell, Owens,and eventually Cannon and Valentin Kees to climb into fourth.
Inside the final stages, Garcia managed to close a huge gap to Fredsøe, diving past the Dane for third to salvage a podium finish and keep his overall hopes alive. Out front, though, there was no catching Zanocz. The Hungarian crossed the line comfortably ahead of Reisulis, with Garcia completing the top three.
With a 3rd in Race 1 and victory in Race 2, Noel Zanocz claimed the overall win on equal points with Francisco Garcia but secured it thanks to his race victory. Janis Reisulis’ pair of second places gave him third overall, though the Latvian still holds a strong 27-point lead in the championship with two rounds remaining
Noel Zanocz: “I was a bit disappointed yesterday because I came here to win, but today I did. With two rounds to go, I’ll just try my best, keep the ball rolling and ride my best. It’s also my first back-to-back overall, which feels really good. Last year was a bit up and down, one good result and then a bad one, but now I feel like we’ve got the flow and I just want to keep it going.”
Main Photo: Noel Zanocz
Top Photo: EMX250 Start Uddevalla
Bottom Photos: 1. Francisco Garcia; 2. Janis Reisulis
EMX250 – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Francisco Garcia (ESP, Kawasaki), 30:46.467; 2. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:07.833; 3. Noel Zanocz (HUN, Honda), +0:12.224; 4. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:18.049; 5. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:22.975; 6. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), +0:26.211; 7. Elias Escandell (ESP, GASGAS), +0:26.499; 8. Liam Owens (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:30.078; 9. Jake Cannon (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:30.368; 10. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Yamaha), +0:44.164
EMX250 – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Noel Zanocz (HUN, Honda), 30:20.812; 2. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:06.324; 3. Francisco Garcia (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:23.877; 4. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:25.302; 5. Jake Cannon (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:30.590; 6. Valentin Kees (GER, KTM), +0:31.510; 7. Liam Owens (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:46.339; 8. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Yamaha), +0:49.409; 9. William Askew (GBR, Triumph), +0:59.264; 10. Tom Brunet (FRA, Yamaha), +1:02.117;
EMX250 Overall – Top 10: 1. Noel Zanocz (HUN, HON), 45 points; 2. Francisco Garcia (ESP, KAW), 45 p.; 3. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 44 p.; 4. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Jake Cannon (AUS, KAW), 28 p.; 6. Liam Owens (AUS, HUS), 27 p.; 7. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, YAM), 24 p.; 8. Valentin Kees (GER, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Elias Escandell (ESP, GAS), 23 p.; 10. William Askew (GBR, TRI), 22 p
EMX250 Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 431 points; 2. Noel Zanocz (HUN, HON), 404 p.; 3. Francisco Garcia (ESP, KAW), 364 p.; 4. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), 266 p.; 5. Nico Greutmann (SUI, HUS), 240 p.; 6. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, YAM), 225 p.; 7. Liam Owens (AUS, HUS), 208 p.; 8. Simone Mancini (ITA, FAN), 182 p.; 9. Jake Cannon (AUS, KAW), 182 p.; 10. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 178 p.;
EMX250 Manufacturers – Top 10 Classification: 1. Yamaha, 481 points; 2. Honda, 415 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 406 p.; 4. KTM, 380 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 366 p.; 6. GASGAS, 219 p.; 7. Fantic, 212 p.; 8. Triumph, 140 p.; 9. Beta, 26 p.;
All the photos from the MXGP of Sweden will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
MXGP OF SWEDEN QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1600m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 22°
Weather conditions: Sunny
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