We tell you how it went in Ponte a Egola. The big names in the world championship were also on the track, giving each other a thrashing
February 14, 2023
Last Sunday it officially started the motocross season on the Tuscan circuit of Ponte a Egola for the Internationals of Italy. Lots of world-class riders who take advantage of these “pre-season races” to see if the work done over the winter has paid off and, if necessary, fix some details before the important races.
The race was characterized from a beautiful sunny but decidedly cold day, the track in the morning was in borderline conditions due to the ice formed during the night which only melted in the afternoon, which made the track not excessively selective.
Perhaps the choice to run the Internationals on the continent and no longer in Sardinia did not help as regards the temperatures, but in any case I understand that the intention was to organize the races in circuits that are more accessible to everyone, which worked well given the number of riders who showed up (164 in all categories).
In MX1 the podium if only sheet music, in order of result, Jeremy Seewer (2-1), Maxime Renaux (1-3) and Tim Gajser (3-1). The three studied each other for both heats, we didn’t see any big overtaking, especially in the first where they reached the finish jump just like they started. Our best driver was Mattia Guadagnini, winning two excellent fourth places and an amazing holeshot in race 2 which bodes well for the world championship.
He finished just behind Mattia Alberto Forato with a solid fifth place in both heats, ours defended themselves well, well done. It is worth noting the return to the race, after a troubled year, of Alessandro Lupino who finished seventh and ninth in the heats. Among these pros I was also present, not in great shape, I struggled all day to find the feeling with the bike and the track, also due to unusual pain in my forearms. In any case, it’s always nice to race in these very high level races, I always learn a lot to then defend myself better in the Italian championship.
Instead in MX2 Andrea Adamo (9-1) makes his debut with the new team and immediately makes us dream in race two, with a good start and an excellent pace he crossed the finish line first, keeping behind riders such as Benistant, Langenfelder and Everts. Unfortunately for the Sicilian a bad start in race 1 compromised the result but he still won the third step of the podium, completed by Thibauld Benistant (3-2) and the winner of race 1 Simon Langenfelder (1-3). The other very young Italians who will aim for the European championship like Valerio Lata, Ferruccio Zanchi and Andrea Rossi finished respectively in eighth, ninth and tenth place.
Appointment next Sunday in Arco di Trento where the Internationals of Italy will end, rumors say that there will also be Jeffrey Herlings, we’ll see, certainly the show will not miss.
Photo: Davide Scaboro, IG
The Motocross Internationals in Ponte a Egola. We’re in the race too!
