Two solid results during today’s EMX2t Presented by FMF Racing heats saw Brad Anderson of Verde Substance KTM claim his third European title, a round early, as he also placed second overall on the day, with two consistent second place finishes.

While Anderson sealed the deal in terms of the championship, it was actually Nicholas Lapucci who made a memorable debut in the EMX2t Presented by FMF Racing category with the Fantic Racing team, as he was victorious in both of the races which helped him claim his first European podium on home soil here in Italy. Lapucci was unmatched in both races, as he won the heats with a 14.628 and 7.142 second gap over the 2020 champion.

Meanwhile Husqvarana Junior Racing Maddii’s Federico Tuani finished third on the box today, with a 3^rd and a 4^th in the races, which has also helped him move up into second place of the championship standings. Two tough races have seen his teammate Eugenio Barbaglia drop from second to fifth in the championship, as Loris Freidig has moved up into the bronze medal position, as we head into the final round this Saturday. 

A podium finish was the perfect way for Anderson to claim his 3^rd European title, after narrowly missing out on the gold plate last season to Mike Kras. This season the Brit has been strong. He entered the first three rounds in Faenza with confidence, as he claimed 5 out of the 6 possible race wins to win all three rounds and now has secured the title a round early.

Nicholas Lapucci: “It was just a perfect day for me. It was amazing with my new bike, the Fantic, we came here just yesterday with no tests; we managed to take this incredible double win that is really important not only for me but for all the Fantic crew. It’s not so easy to find immediately the good feeling with a new bike but with the help of Corrado and Marco, my family and all the people that believe in me, we did it. I’m ready for Saturday, the feeling is really good and for sure I’ll do my best to fight for the podium and, why not, maybe for another 1-1 like I did today”.

Brad Anderson: “I’ve worked all season for this [title]. It was tough today, I struggled with the track but it’s the same for everyone and to finish second I’m happy with it and to be on the box. To obviously get the third title is more than I could ask, and I would just like to thank all the sponsors who helped me, obviously friends, everyone who helped just to get us here, because it’s been a tough year. I’ve really enjoyed it this year, I seem more relaxed than previous years because I was pushed by Mike [Kras]. It’s good to have fresh faces in the EMX and hopefully we can get a few more to make for some exciting riding”.

Federico Tuani: “I’m really happy about my day because I also took the holeshot in the first race and I finished third. Then in the second race I got a bad start and I worked really hard to catch the riders in front and finished third overall today and second in the championship now, so I’m really happy about that. Saturday is the last race of this championship and I’m looking forward to it. I want to thank everybody who is behind me, my family, my team, Marco, Corrado and all the people who support me”.

EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, Fantic), 29:07.716; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), +0:14.628; 3. Federico Tuani (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:21.667; 4. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, Suzuki), +0:31.005; 5. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:43.649; 6. Loris Freidig (SUI, Yamaha), +0:48.106; 7. Paolo Ermini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:49.316; 8. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), +0:56.763; 9. Eugenio Barbaglia (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:59.460; 10. Jonas Nedved (CZE, KTM), +1:00.707;

EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, Fantic), 29:09.388; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), +0:07.142; 3. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:11.395; 4. Federico Tuani (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:24.818; 5. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, Suzuki), +0:35.402; 6. Loris Freidig (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.682; 7. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), +0:47.071; 8. Nikolaj Skovgaard Christensen (DEN, KTM), +0:57.225; 9. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), +0:58.150; 10. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), +1:22.665;

EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, FAN), 50 points; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Federico Tuani (ITA, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, SUZ), 34 p.; 6. Loris Freidig (SUI, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Nikolaj Skovgaard Christensen (DEN, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), 20 p.;

EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 191 points; 2. Federico Tuani (ITA, HUS), 135 p.; 3. Loris Freidig (SUI, YAM), 124 p.; 4. Kade Tinkler-Walker (CAN, SUZ), 119 p.; 5. Eugenio Barbaglia (ITA, HUS), 111 p.; 6. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), 109 p.; 7. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, KTM), 104 p.; 8. Marco Lolli (ITA, YAM), 103 p.; 9. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, YAM), 102 p.; 10. Martin Michelis (EST, KTM), 82 p.;

EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 191 points; 2. Yamaha, 152 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 152 p.; 4. Suzuki, 119 p.; 5. Fantic, 50 p.;

Main Photo: Brad Anderson

Bottom Photos: 1. EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing Start; 2. Nicholas Lapucci

Meanwhile in the EMX Open category, the title chase is just heating up, following some interesting racing during today’s penultimate round. There is now just 11 points in it between championship leader, Karel Kutsar and Kim Savaste of 137 KTM Motorsport.

Though it was Toms Macuks who was the man of the day, as he claimed his second overall victory this season, with two consistent second place finishes which was enough to put him on the top step of the box. Joining him on the podium was Savaste, who had two different races. The Finnish rider was victorious in the first EMX Open race, while in the second heat, he struggled with the start, though he managed to get back up into 5^th, to claim a podium spot. This was his first podium since the Latvian triple-header.

Kutsar was the third rider on the box, with two consistent third place finishes, which gave him his fourth podium of the season and helped him maintain a decent gap for the title, heading into the final round this weekend.

Last round winner, Jimmy Clochet had an unlucky day, as he crashed out in the start during the first race, though managed to get back up inside the top 10. However, the Frenchman had a bike issue, for which he claimed sound testing at the end of the race and was docked a couple of positions to 13^th. Though in the second race he was back to winning ways, as he got out of the gate well and then consistently led every lap of the race to claim the win with a 10.947 gap to Macuks.

As it stands, Kutsar and Savaste are separated by 11 points in the standings with two more races to go, while Macuks is third a further 18 points down.

Toms Macuks: “At the start of the race I was battling with Jimmy Clochet, I just made some small mistakes and lost my rhythm, but I could control the situation and finish second. It was a good day, I’m super happy to be on the top step again and now looking forward to the last race and hopefully we will do the same”.

Kim Savaste: “The first race was really good because the first round here was really tough. In the second one, I didn’t get the start and struggled to get any good points but was able to get a win today and it’s a good indication to know that I must be doing something right. The second race I got a bad start and it’s not easy to pass at this track, but anyway, I finished fifth and we are still in the fight for the championship and we will bring it on Saturday. I don’t want to think about it too much, I just want to go Saturday and enjoy it, and of course fight for it, but still the point is to go out and have fun”.

Karel Kutsar: “Today was good. The first race, I had a bad start, but I got back to third position which was really positive because I didn’t lose so many points. In the second race, I got a better start and just rode my own race without making any big mistakes. I try not to think about it [the championship], overall I will give my best and we will see”.

EMXOpen – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 30:21.425; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), +0:02.793; 3. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:05.291; 4. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), +0:18.505; 5. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, Honda), +0:21.071; 6. John Adamson (GBR, KTM), +0:23.054; 7. Mathias Gryning (DEN, Yamaha), +0:30.708; 8. Paul Haberland (GER, Honda), +0:38.249; 9. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:38.901; 10. Dan Thornhill (GBR, Honda), +0:41.767;

EMXOpen – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, Kawasaki), 30:06.498; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), +0:10.947; 3. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:13.889; 4. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), +0:17.402; 5. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), +0:38.451; 6. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:39.162; 7. John Adamson (GBR, KTM), +0:44.634; 8. Dan Thornhill (GBR, Honda), +0:48.220; 9. Mads Sjoholm (DEN, KTM), +0:55.893; 10. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, Honda), +1:02.724;

EMXOpen – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 44 points; 2. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 41 p.; 3. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 36 p.; 5. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 33 p.; 6. John Adamson (GBR, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Davide De Bortoli (ITA, HON), 27 p.; 9. Dan Thornhill (GBR, HON), 24 p.; 10. Mathias Gryning (DEN, YAM), 23 p.;

EMXOpen – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 203 points; 2. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 192 p.; 3. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 174 p.; 4. Stefan Ekerold (GER, SUZ), 134 p.; 5. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 109 p.; 6. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, HUS), 101 p.; 7. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 93 p.; 8. Domantas Jazdauskas (LTU, HUS), 93 p.; 9. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 83 p.; 10. Juuso Matikainen (FIN, HUS), 83 p.;

EMXOpen – Manufacturers Classification: 1. KTM, 235 points; 2. Husqvarna, 145 p.; 3. Suzuki, 134 p.; 4. Honda, 118 p.; 5. Yamaha, 85 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 83 p.

Main Photo: EMX Open start

Bottom Photos: 1. Toms Macuks; 2. Karel Kutsar