Sixth place for Hofer as EMX125 blasts through Portugal

5th Rd. EMX125 2017 – Agueda (POR)

The red dirt of Agueda offered a slippery and fast surface that invited riders to attack the mix of open and curiously tight turns but also exercise caution with good grip rarely at a premium. As is customary in EMX125, the three riders of the KINI KTM Junior Racing team faced a moto on Saturday afternoon and also Sunday morning as part of the MXGP support programme. Both outings took place in sunny conditions and Rene Hofer, Marcel Stauffer and Mike Gwerder all made the qualification cut (even if Hofer suffered a hefty crash on Saturday) to take their places in the start gates. Gwerder was making his EMX125 debut after recovering from the injury that delayed his entry to the series. 
Hofer rode well in the opening sprint to fightback from a first lap slot of 23rd  and work his way up to 10th. Stauffer was also mired deep in the pack and passed Florian Lion on the final lap to take 19th for two points. Fourteen year old Gwerder was outside of the top twenty.
The EMX125 field faced a hosed and largely flat course on Sunday morning. Hofer made a good jump from the line but was swallowed back into the top fifteen on the first circulation of the twenty-five minute and two-lap dash. The Austrian reached the periphery of the top ten and swooped for six more slots to capture fifth for one of his best performances of the season so far. His ranking of sixth permitted a rise to fifth in the championship standings. Falls on the first lap for both Stauffer and Gwerder kept the other two racers out of the points and in 27th and 36th respectively.
Didi Lacher, Team Manager: “We cannot be that happy. Rene had two good starts yesterday and today and shut-off too early and then lost ground on what was watered and slippery ground. It meant he had a lot to do from the top fifteen and while the speed and riding was really great I’m frustrated because he had the pace for the podium. The results were not bad and he is increasing his speed all the time – he also bounced back from that crash on Saturday – but we are not where we want to be and need to work on that. Marcel had a difficult weekend and crashed twice in the second moto. He is not riding like the Stauffer I know and we saw in the first races of the season so we need to keep training and working on his confidence. Mike also went down today and was riding a bit cautious on Saturday because this was his first EMX125 race. He is learning all the time and has just turned fourteen, he is a small guy but with such a big heart. We have a few weeks to work on some intense sand riding and training and we’ll look forward to Lommel.”
The KINI KTM Junior Racing Team now have a month to focus on domestic competition and further testing and progression before round six of EMX125 in the treacherous sand of Lommel for the Grand Prix of Belgium.
Next Round: August 6 2017 – Lommel (BEL)
Results EMX125 Agueda 2017
1. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA), Husqvarna (3-1)
2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA), Kawasaki (2-2)
3. Mikkel Haarup (DEN), Husqvarna (1-4)
4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR), KTM (4-3)
5. Emilio Scuteri (ITA), KTM (7-6)
Other KTM
6. Rene Hofer (AUT), KTM (10-5)
26. Marcel Stauffer (AUT), KTM (19-27)
39. Mike Gwerder (SUI), KTM (27-36)

Standings EMX125 2017 after 5 of 8 rounds
1. Strubhart Moreau 208 points
2. Haarup 190
3. Facchetti 189
4. Kevin Horgmo 172
5. Hofer 121
Other KTM
25. Stauffer 27

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