SKOVBJERG DOMINATES IN LOMMEL AND CUT GARCIA'S TITLE LEAD TO 74 POINTS

Round nine of the EMX250 European Championship concluded at Lommel this weekend, the class producing two closely fought races on the sand of the Stedelijk Motorcrossterrein alongside the MXGP of Flanders.

SixtySeven Racing-Team’s Nicolai Skovbjerg claimed the round overall after backing up his Race 1 win with a recovery ride to second in Race 2. Dirt Store Triumph Racing’s William Askew took his maiden EMX250 race victory in Race 2 to secure second overall and his first ever EMX250 podium, with Francesco Bellei from Cat Moto Bauerschmidt KTM completing the box after a third in Race 1 and a sixth in Race 2 to get his hands on his first trophy too this year.

Head Photo: Nicolai Skovbjerg; Top photo: EMX250 Start Lommel 2026

Francesco Bellei grabbed the holeshot and immediately pulled clear, with Motovation Motosport Husqvarna’s Dean Gregoire following him through into second at the start. Gregoire’s race unravelled almost as fast as it began: the Dutchman crashed out of contention before the end of the opening lap, promoting Cat Moto Bauerschmidt KTM’s Mads Fredsoe to second. Saku Mansikkamäki from Schmicker Racing ran third in the opening laps with Askew fourth, but by lap four Askew had found a way past the Finn, while GABRIEL SS24 KTM FACTORY JUNIORS’ Gyan Doensen and Motovation Motosport Husqvarna’s Dani Heitink both began working forward from further back.

Further down the order, Skovbjerg was carving his way through traffic after a poor start left him 11th at the end of lap one. He was up to eighth by lap two, sixth by lap five, and had disposed of Mansikkamäki for third by lap seven, the same lap Fredsoe moved past a fading Bellei into the lead. Skovbjerg wasted no time closing the gap, hunting down Fredsoe and taking over at the front on lap nine, a position he would not relinquish.

Behind the leaders, Doensen produced the ride of the race, climbing from seventh to second by lap 12, only to crash in a right-hander with the finish in sight. The mistake dropped him to fifth at the flag and restored Fredsoe and Bellei to the final two podium spots. Heitink came through steadily for fourth, while Askew held on for sixth ahead of Mansikkamäki. Championship title contender Venum BUD RACING Kawasaki’s Jake Cannon crashed on the opening lap, remounted, but was collected by a passing rider in a second incident and retired from the race a few laps later.

Team VHR Yamaha Official’s Jarne Bervoets grabbed the holeshot in Race 2 and led the opening four laps, with Bellei running second early on and Joe Brookes third. Fredsoe carved through to the front and took the lead from Bervoets on lap five, but Askew was right with him, and the pair pulled clear together before Askew found a way past Fredsoe for the lead on lap seven. A lap later, Fredsoe’s charge ended abruptly: what looked like a rear wheel problem dropped him from second to 11th in the space of a lap, and he retired from the race a few laps after that.

Further back, Skovbjerg was working forward from 15th at the end of the opening lap, a recovery ride that carried him to ninth by lap five, fifth by lap seven and third by lap ten, at Bervoets’ expense. He then picked off Team VHR Racing’s Tom Brunet for second on lap 11 and closed to within four or five seconds of Askew before the leader steadied his pace to the flag. Askew held on to win his first EMX250 race, with Skovbjerg second and Brunet completing the top 3.

Dani Heitink recovered from a poor start to finish fifth, with Bellei sixth and Doensen seventh after a mixed race. Championship leader Venum BUD RACING Kawasaki ‘sFrancisco Garcia sat out the round after a minor training crash earlier in the week; with his teammate and closest championship rival, Jake Cannon, only managing 11th, it was Skovbjerg’s big weekend at Lommel that did the most damage to the points table, cutting Garcia’s championship lead from 104 to 74 with three rounds still to run.

Nicolai Skovbjerg: “We never know how long Garcia is out, and of course it’s sad for him not to be here, but I need to take advantage of it. 74 points is still a lot, but everything can happen as you see, he’s injured now, so we never know for how long.”

William Askew: “It’s cool to do it here because this was my first time ever riding this track, so to have the pace and the feel around it was really good. The bike felt mega all weekend, thank you to my team. In Race 1 I just lost a bit of flow because the track is brutal, I felt awesome for the first 15 minutes and then got a bit too back on the brakes and started making mistakes, so I lost a few positions.”

Francesco Bellei: “It feels strange almost, to get my first podium here on sand. I had a really nice start in Race 1, I was leading, then I lost a bit of flow and was really tired, but I managed to finish P3, which was also my best result of the year. In Race 2 I struggled a bit more, I started P2, but I was tired from the day before and finished around P4, I don’t really remember. I’m really happy, first podium here, I don’t really have words.”

1. William Askew; 2. Francisco Bellei

EMX250 – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Husqvarna), 30:32.039; 2. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), +0:13.596; 3. Francesco Bellei (ITA, KTM), +0:14.826; 4. Dani Heitink (NED, Husqvarna), +0:17.793; 5. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), +0:25.369; 6. William Askew (GBR, Triumph), +0:26.950; 7. Saku Mansikkamäki (FIN, KTM), +0:27.914; 8. Jarne Bervoets (BEL, Yamaha), +0:29.565; 9. Jekabs Kubulins (LAT, Yamaha), +0:32.810; 10. Tom Brunet (FRA, Yamaha), +0:42.017

EMX250 – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. William Askew (GBR, Triumph), 31:16.134; 2. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:04.329; 3. Tom Brunet (FRA, Yamaha), +0:09.477; 4. Jarne Bervoets (BEL, Yamaha), +0:11.354; 5. Dani Heitink (NED, Husqvarna), +0:25.994; 6. Francesco Bellei (ITA, KTM), +0:32.170; 7. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), +0:44.028; 8. Douwe Van Mechgelen (BEL, KTM), +0:48.592; 9. Nicolò Alvisi (ITA, Honda), +0:52.864; 10. Jekabs Kubulins (LAT, Yamaha), +0:59.092

EMX250 Overall – Top 10: 1. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, HUS), 47 points; 2. William Askew (GBR, TRI), 40 p.; 3. Francesco Bellei (ITA, KTM), 35 p.; 4. Dani Heitink (NED, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Tom Brunet (FRA, YAM), 31 p.; 6. Jarne Bervoets (BEL, YAM), 31 p.; 7. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), 30 p.; 8. Jekabs Kubulins (LAT, YAM), 23 p.; 9. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Douwe Van Mechgelen (BEL, KTM), 19 p.

EMX250 Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Francisco Garcia (ESP, KAW), 352 points; 2. Nicolai Skovbjerg (DEN, HUS), 278 p.; 3. Jake Cannon (AUS, KAW), 258 p.; 4. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), 233 p.; 5. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), 205 p.; 6. Nicolò Alvisi (ITA, HON), 179 p.; 7. Liam Owens (AUS, KTM), 152 p.; 8. Tom Brunet (FRA, YAM), 151 p.; 9. Bernardo Tiburcio (BRA, YAM), 142 p.; 10. Jekabs Kubulins (LAT, YAM), 140 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kawasaki, 393 points; 2. KTM, 351 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 284 p.; 4. Yamaha, 259 p.; 5. Honda, 208 p.; 6. Triumph, 158 p.; 7. Beta, 128 p.; 8. Ducati, 121 p.; 9. GASGAS, 118 p.; 10. Fantic, 11 p.

EMX250 Podium Lommel 2026