EMX250: Bad luck dampens Sihvonen's progress
Considering the circumstances, the injured Miro Sihvonen came out well with a 10th place in the first heat. The KTM Diga Junior Racing rider was eliminated beyond his control due to a crash in the muddy second series. For Roni Kytonen, the Russian round of the EMX250 became his best performance of the year. The young Finn was credited with eight points.
Sihvonen started his weekend strongly. After a solid start, Miro even managed to climb to fifth place. Although he still had to deal with a painful shoulder, the winner of Valkenswaard went all out to limit the damage as much as possible. A simple slide in one of the many hard ruts knocked him off course for a moment, but Sihvonen eventually came in 10th, just 1,5 seconds behind Josiah Natzke. Kytonen didn't have the best start, but Roni had a good feeling on the demanding track. From 20th place in the opening round, he managed to advance to 12th position in the half-race. The EMX250 rookie piloted his KTM 250 SX-F to 25th place after 14 minutes plus two laps, a personal best at this level.
The heavy rain on Sunday morning made for much tougher conditions for the second day. In the revival, Miro Sihvonen's blue-red Scoyco shirt even immediately appeared at the front. Sihvonen was involved in the battle for the holeshot, but unfortunately he was unable to benefit from his favorable starting position. Even on the first jump, the Finnish talent came into rude contact with another rider. Sihvonen fell hard and had to watch with sorrow as he had to stop the fight. Only the fact that Miro suffered no serious injuries brought some relief.
Kytonen was keen to repeat his performance from the first day, but that turned out to be more difficult than expected. Roni was able to maintain his place in the top 20, although an advance as he previously recorded was no longer possible. Ultimately, Kytonen finished 20th. In the championship standings, Miro Sihvonen has now climbed to 6th place, 62 points behind leader Lesiardo.
With a positive trend set for both EMX250 competitors, the Belgian KTM Diga Junior Racing team is looking forward to the 6th round of the championship that will take place in Ottobiano, Italy on June 24 and 25.
#147 Miro Sihvonen: “I fought hard in the first moto and considering my injury I was happy with my riding. It felt a bit like a victory! It was difficult for me that I could not maintain 8th place due to that small crash. The second heat was difficult to accept. My start was excellent, I was fourth at the start. Then the race was over before it even started because another rider landed on me on the finish jump. It was a big blow so I'm lucky I didn't break anything. But that way I lost quite a few points in the championship.”
#911 Roni Kythonen: “The circumstances were a bit special, but it is very motivating that I managed to score my first points of the season! I am very satisfied with that and it went well in that first heat. Of course the track is the same for everyone, but I still had a hard time with the mud in the second heat. The mud was so sticky that it was extra difficult to choose good lines. In any case, it is positive that we have now achieved results for all the hard work we have put in. I'm now really looking forward to the next round in Italy!”
EMX250 Race 1
1. Mathys Islam (FRA, Honda), 30:14.276; 2. Simone Furlotti (ITA, Yamaha), +0:06.977; 3. Marshall Welting (USA, Kawasaki), +0:38.461; 4. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:45.168; 5. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:53.063; 6. Mike Stender (GER, Suzuki), +1:00.670; 7. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Honda), +1:14.540; 8. Jere Havisto (FIN, KTM), +1:18.777; 9. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +1:24.383; 10. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing), +1:25.990; 11. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), +1:33.421; 12. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Yamaha), +1:35.148; 13. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 14. Roni Kytonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing,), -1 lap(s); 15. Ignati Lopatin (RUS, KTM), -1 lap(s); 16. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 17. Dovydas Karka (LTU, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Alexander Shershnev (RUS, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 19. Vasily Nesytykh (RUS, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 20. Alexsey Strelkov (RUS, KTM), -3 lap(s); 21. Khetag Aguzarov (RUS, Kawasaki), -5 lap(s); 22. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), -12 lap(s); 23. Jed Beaton (AUS, Honda), -13 lap(s); 24. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), -13 lap(s)
EMX250 Race 2
1. Tristan Charboneau (USA, Kawasaki), 29:14.223; 2. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), +0:04.554; 3. Simone Furlotti (ITA, Yamaha), +0:20.350; 4. Jed Beaton (AUS, Honda), +0:32.679; 5. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Honda), +0:49.336; 6. Mathys Islam (FRA, Honda), +0:49.923; 7. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), +0:52.796; 8. Jere Havisto (FIN, KTM), +0:53.113; 9. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +1:36.156; 10. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +1:51.506; 11. Mike Stender (GER, Suzuki), +1:53.278; 12. Ignati Lopatin (RUS, KTM), +2:02.837; 13. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Suzuki), +2:11.247; 14. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 15. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 16. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 17. Marshall Welting (USA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 18. Dovydas Karka (LTU, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 20. Roni Kytonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing, -1 lap(s); 21. Vasily Nesytykh (RUS, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 22. Alexander Shershnev (RUS, Husqvarna), -6 lap(s); 23. Khetag Aguzarov (RUS, Kawasaki), -10 lap(s); 24. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing, -14 lap(s); 25. Alexsey Strelkov (RUS, KTM), -14 lap(s);
EMX250 final ranking Russia 1. Simone Furlotti (ITA, YAM), 42 points; 2. Mathys Islam (FRA, HON), 40 p.; 3. Dylan Walsh (GBR, HON), 30 p.; 4. Albert Forato (STONE, HON), 29 p.; 5. Harvested Round (FIN, KTM), 26 p.; 6. Tristan Charboneau (USA, COW), 25 p.; 7. Mike Stender (GER, SUZ), 25 p.; 8. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Marshall Welting (USA, COW), 24 p.; 10. Morgan Lesiardo (NOW), 23 p.; 11. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 22 p.; 12. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 13. Jed Beaton (AUS, HON), 18 p.; 14. Ignati Lopatin (RUS, KTM), 15 p.; 15. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, YAM), 15 p.; 16. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 15 p.; 17. Zachary Pichon (FRA, SUZ), 13 p.; 18. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing), 11 p.; 19. Roni Kytonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing), 8 p.; 20. Dovydas Karka (LTU, KTM), 7 p.; 21. Alexander Shershnev (RUS, HUS), 3 p.; 22. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, KAW), 2 p.; 23. Vasily Nesytykh (RUS, YAM), 2 p.; 24. Alexsey Strelkov (RUS, KTM), 1 p.; 25. Khetag Aguzarov (RUS, KAW), 0 p.
EMX250 standings after 5 laps
1. Morgan Lesiardo (NOW), 163 points; 2. Simone Furlotti (ITA, YAM), 146 p.; 3. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 128 p.; 4. Albert Forato (STONE, HON), 126 p.; 5. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 106 p.; 6. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing), 101 p.; 7. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), 99 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, CAW), 96 p.; 9. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, YAM), 88 p.; 10. Mathys Islam (FRA, HON), 87 p.; 11. Jed Beaton (AUS, HON), 85 p.; 12. Marshall Welting (USA, COW), 84 p.; 13. Todd Kellett (GBR, HOUSE), 70 p.; 14. Harvested Round (FIN, KTM), 68 p.; 15. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 67 p.; 16. Carlisle Sabulis (LAT, YAM), 66 p.; 17. Mike Stender (GER, SUZ), 56 p.; 18. Tristan Charboneau (USA, COW), 49 p.; 19. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 45 p.; 20. Zachary Pigeon (FRA, SUZ), 41 p.; 21. Dylan Walsh (GBR, HON), 38 p.; 22. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, YAM), 34 p.; 23. Michael Sandner (AUT, KTM), 34 p.; 24. Michael Eccles (GBR, CAW), 25 p.; 25. Adrien Malaval (FRA, HUS), 24 p.; 26. Philip Zonta (NOW, HON), 18 p.; 27. Mike Crass (NED, KTM), 17 p.; 28. Kim Savaste (WHITE, COW), 16 p.; 29. Jens Getteman (BELL, COW), 15 p.; 30. Joaquin Furbetta (ITA, KTM), 15 p.; 31. Ignati Lopatin (RUS, YAM), 15 p.; 32. Jesper Jonsson (SWE, HUS), 15 p.; 33. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), 14 p.; 34. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 14 p.; 35. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 12 p.; 36. Mahy Villanueva (ESP, SUZ), 11 p.; 37. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 10 p.; 38. Rene De Jong (NED, KTM), 10 p.; 39. Jami Numminen (FIN, HOUSE), 9 p.; 40. Simeon Ubach (ESP, KTM), 9 p.; 41. Roni Kytonen (FIN, KTM Diga Junior Racing, 8 p.; 42. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), 7 p.; 43. Nicola Bertuzzi (ITA, KTM), 7 p.; 44. Dovydas Karka (LTU, KTM), 7 p.; 45. Brad Todd (GBR, HUS), 6 p.; 46. Mathias Gryning (DEN, KTM), 5 p.; 47. Luca Moroni (ITA, KTM), 5 p.; 48. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, KTM), 5 p.; 49. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KAW), 5 p.; 50. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 5 p.; 51. Indrek Mägi (EST, KAW), 5 p.; 52. Wietse Brackman (BEL, HUS), 5 p.; 53. Alexander Shershnev (RUS, HUS), 3 p.; 54. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KAW), 3 p.; 55. Marcel Conijn (NED, KAW), 2 p.; 56. Vasily Nesytykh (RUS, YAM), 2 p.; 57. Luca Nijenhuis (NED, KAW), 2 p.; 58. Alexsey Strelkov (RUS, KTM), 1 p.; 59. Davide Cislaghi (ITA, KTM), 1 p
Photos: Eric Laurijssen, MXGP
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