After somewhat of a gloomy day yesterday, the weather gods were onside today, delivering decent temperatures and sunshine, which left the circuit of Pietramurata in prime condition for the Motocross of European Nations qualifying races where Team France went pole.
It was a double whammy for the Italians today as their women’s team of Kiara Fontanesi and Francesca Nocera also dominated their qualifier to go pole in the Women’s Motocross of European Nations category.
125cc & 250cc
Right from the drop of the gate the Italians were quick to stamp their authority. The number 1 of Ivo Monticelli didn’t get off to the greatest of starts but didn’t waste anytime in dicing his way through the field. By lap five, the Italian had passed the likes of Team Poland’s Tomasz Wysocki and the flying Frenchman Alexis Verhaeghe and eventually stole the lead from the holeshotter and fellow Italian, Filippo Zonta. Zonta, who is riding for the Italian B team, whereas Monticelli is captain of the A squad, slipstreamed Monticelli all the way to the finish. Verhaeghe, who mentioned earlier in the day that he is feeling the pressure since France won the biggest event on the calendar, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, managed to calm his nerves and rode smooth for third. Meanwhile Poland’s Wysocki spent the majority of the race banging bars with Team Sweden’s Alvin Ostlund but it was he who vanquished Ostlund for fourth forcing Ostlund to settle for fifth.
MXoEN EMX125/EMX250 Qualifying Race Top 10: 1. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 23:41.288; 2. Filippo Zonta (ITA, Honda), +0:03.665; 3. Alexis Verhaeghe (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.237; 4. Tomasz Wysocki (POL, KTM), +0:06.589; 5. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +0:08.344; 6. Tomass Sileika (LAT, KTM), +0:19.207; 7. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, TM), +0:21.072; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, Yamaha), +0:27.189; 9. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), +0:28.980; 10. Martin Krc (CZE, KTM), +0:30.699.
85cc
When the gate smashed to the ground for the 85cc qualifier it was Team France’s Pierre Cantournet who set the world on fire with a fantastic start, which put him in the prime position to lead every lap. While the young Frenchman had Sweden’s young gun Anton Nagy hot on his heels the entire race, he remained un-phased by the challenge and managed to win by a narrow 2 second margin over the Swede. Meanwhile the hard chargers of this race had to be the duo that finished third and fourth. Both, Team Latvia’s Ralfs-Edgars Ozolins and Team Czech’s Petr Polak barged their way from outside the top ten to round out the top four in that order, while Team France’s second 85cc rider Tom Guyon was a picture of consistency as he held fifth the entire race to finish in that position.
MXoEN EMX85 Qualifying Race Top 10: 1. Pierre Cantournet (FRA, Husqvarna), 19:21.961; 2. Anton Nagy (SWE, KTM), +0:02.928; 3. Ralfs-Edgars Ozolins (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:06.112; 4. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), +0:08.424; 5. Tom Guyon (FRA, TM), +0:11.313; 6. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:11.877; 7. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), +0:17.012; 8. Emilio Scuteri (ITA, KTM), +0:17.720; 9. Aleksi Kurvinen (FIN, KTM), +0:18.917; 10. Magnus Smith (DEN, KTM), +0:33.812.
Women’s Motocross of European Nations
It would have been tough going for anyone to beat the four-time FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion Kiara Fontanesi on home soil and she made that immediately clear with a 20 second victory over fellow Italian and teammate Francesca Nocera. Meanwhile Team Sweden’s Emelie Dahl recovered from a hack start to finish a distant third while Team Russia’s Lubov Leonteva and Team Denmarks Julie Dalgaard rounded out the top five.
WMXoEN Qualifying Race Top 10: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 18:56.919; 2. Francesca Nocera (ITA, Suzuki), +0:19.013; 3. Emelie Dahl (SWE, Yamaha), +0:42.580; 4. Liubov Leonteva (RUS, Yamaha), +0:58.397; 5. Julie Dalgaard (DEN, Honda), +1:23.852; 6. Frida Östlund (SWE, Honda), +1:26.038; 7. Giorgia Montini (ITAb, Yamaha), +1:42.674; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, Suzuki), +1:44.423; 9. Ekaterina Guryeva (RUS, KTM), +1:46.133; 10. Line Dam (DEN, Yamaha), +1:58.383
With the combination of results of all four riders, France were the most consistent which means the French will be on pole here in Pietramurata for the 2015 Motocross of European Nations, meanwhile the Italians lead the way in the Women’s Motocross of European Nations division.
2015 Motocross of European Nations – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1660m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 23°
Weather conditions: Sunny
TIMETABLE
Sunday: Warm-up Qualifying Nations WMX 09:00, Warm-up Nations EMX85 09:25, Warm-up Nations EMX125/EMX250 09:50, WMX of European Nations Race 1 11:45, MX of European Nations Race 1 EMX85 12:45, MX of European Nations Race 1 125cc/250cc 13:45, WMX of European Nations Race 2 15:00, MX of European Nations Race 2 EMX85 16:00, MX of European Nations Race 2 125cc/250cc 17:00.