The event in Tensfeld marks the end of the first half of the season. We’re using the summer break until Gaildorf to take a brief look back and celebrate the half-time champions.

The top-of-the-table clash with an abrupt twist

In the premier class of the ADAC MX Masters, two riders have dominated the first half of the season: Max Nagl and Roan van de Moosdijk. None of the other regular series entrants could keep up with them. In the first three races at Grevenbroich, Dreetz and Bitche, Nagl finished ahead of van de Moosdijk on most occasions. At the season opener, the 38-year-old veteran even managed to win the qualifying session and all three races.

In Dreetz, MX2 World Champion Simon Längenfelder joined the duo and, on his first outing on a 450cc motorbike, won two of the three races and thus secured the overall victory at the event. Van de Moosdijk did manage to finish ahead of Nagl in the second race, but lost further points overall to his main rival, who won the third race.

At the away race in France, the first two race wins went once again to Nagl, who overtook his rival in the second race shortly before the finish line following a strong comeback. However, the Dutchman struck back in the third race with his first race win of the season, continuing his upward trend. Yet once again, Nagl extended his lead at the top of the standings by a few points.

Other riders, who had been considered potential title favourites before the season began, struggled to keep up with the two frontrunners and appeared to be battling only for third place on the podium. However, during the break of around one month before the fourth round in Tensfeld, Tom Koch, Maximilian Spies, Jere Haavisto and Noah Ludwig gradually regained their usual form.

An old rule in motor racing is: it’s not over until it’s over. And in motor racing, things can change very quickly. That’s exactly what happened in Tensfeld: in the first race, Nagl and van de Moosdijk, who were leading, collided with lapped riders who had crashed ahead of them. Whilst the Dutchman was able to finish the race in second place, Nagl was sidelined for the entire weekend with a back injury. Van de Moosdijk even emerged as the event winner without having won a single race that weekend. In doing so, he took the Red Plate from the championship leader. Koch, Nagl and Haavisto each won one race, thereby boosting their confidence for the rest of the season. Anyone who knows Nagl knows that he doesn’t give up easily. Following a thorough assessment with his doctors, he is aiming to be back on the starting grid for the fifth round of the championship in Gaildorf in early August. The second half of the season promises plenty of excitement.

Red and white: Danish dynamite!

The ADAC MX Youngster Cup is also packed with action. Denmark’s Nicolai Skovbjerg won the first race of the season in Grevenbroich. However, following a victory in the third race, the overall event title went to the Dutchman Scott Smulders, ahead of Skovbjerg, the young German Jan Krug and Liam Owens, who won the second race.

In Dreetz, Smulders dominated the first race and also won the second, albeit by a narrow margin, whilst Skovbjerg struggled with poor starts and was always forced to begin the races from the middle of the field. With a high pace and excellent fitness, he consistently fought his way forward in impressive fashion and secured the event victory with his win in the third race. Smulders had a poor third race and consequently had to relinquish the championship lead to Skovbjerg. Reigning champion Mads Fredsoe fared better in Dreetz than he had at the season opener and also showed flashes of his strength.

Skovbjerg’s starts didn’t go well in France either, yet he still secured two race wins and, with his overall victory at the event, further extended his lead at the top of the standings ahead of Smulders. Fredsoe continued to find his way back to his usual form, winning the first race, but suffered a setback when he was forced to retire from the third race due to a technical fault.

In the week leading up to Tensfeld, the championship leader made a surprise change of team. The change did not slow Skovbjerg down; on the contrary, he won all three races and vastly extended his lead in the championship, as Smulders was forced to end his season early following an injury. With his second-place finish at Tensfeld, Fredsoe has now moved into the position of his compatriot’s closest challenger, and Owens has also regained his form following a brief dip in performance. However, with a lead of almost 70 points, Skovbjerg could even afford to miss an entire round without losing his lead. The big question in the second half of the season will be: can anyone challenge the Dane and possibly catch up with his lead after all?

Lucas is flying high

In the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125, the reigning 85cc champion and class newcomer Lucas Leok is the halfway-point champion. He is the only rider in the class to have finished every race so far on the podium, and in the top two positions at that. In Grevenbroich and Dreetz, he was still battling it out with Emil Ziemer, who was able to match the young Estonian’s pace. However, in France, Ziemer suffered a retirement in one of the races and was unable to quite keep up with the pace of the leaders.

In Bitche, the European Championship leader, Moritz Ernecker, lined up at the starting gate as a guest. Yet Leok was able to keep up with the Austrian’s pace perfectly. In the first race, he kept up the pressure until Ernecker crashed through his own fault, and Leok won. Even though Ernecker went on to win the next two races and the event overall, Leok made a strong statement with his performance: The championship will be decided by him. Ziemer is almost 40 points behind at the halfway stage, but appears to be Leok’s only serious rival. All the other riders have so far been too inconsistent and too slow to keep up with the top two. The battle between Finn Lange, Dawid Zaremba and Tim Schröter is likely to be solely for third place in the championship.

The twins against the rest

After three rounds of the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85, the top three have clearly emerged: the twins Patriks and Martins Cirulis and the German rising star Luca Nierychlo. Only the young Englishman Harry Dale can still pose a threat to the leading trio and keep up with them. At the season opener in Grevenbroich, Dutch rider Kenzo Jaspers shone with a one-two finish ahead of the Cirulis twins. In Dreetz, however, he was unable to replicate that performance and handed the championship lead to Martins Cirulis. Martins shone there with a one-two finish, whilst his brother and Nierychlo finished second and third respectively.

In Tensfeld, both Cirulis brothers won one race each, but Patrik secured the overall victory for the event with his second-place finish in the second race, as well as taking a narrow lead in the championship standings ahead of his brother Martin. Nierychlo finished third on both occasions, a position he also holds in the championship. Dale showed flashes of his talent in Tensfeld with a second-place finish – his first podium of the season – and remains within striking distance of Nierychlo in the championship, who in turn is still in touch with the fast twin brothers. In this class, it may well be that the fastest rider does not finish on top, but rather the one who achieves top results most consistently and makes the fewest mistakes.