YZ125Cup End of Summer Update

2016-08-30 06:55
The YZ125Cup is the heart of Yamaha Racing's bLU cRU program, focused on growing Yamaha's young and talented riders and integrating them into the top motocross classes in the Yamaha family.

Six of the top YZ125Cup riders from around Europe made their way to the Netherlands at the end of August to watch the final European round of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship in Assen. The six bLU cRU members received VIP passes to tour the race paddock, meet with YZ125Cup Masterclass Instructor David Philippaerts, and enjoy lunch and dinner with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team riders Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre, Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha Racing Official MX2 rider Alvin Östlund and Kemea Yamaha Racing Official MX2 Team riders Benoit Paturel, Brent Van Doninck and Maxime Renaux.

The YZ125Cup is nearly upon us, and the SuperFinale at the Veltins Arena on October 8th is only a few weeks away. Already across Europe the top young talents from the bLU cRU are finishing their national championships and preparing to join the top 46 YZ125 riders in Germany for their chance at a professional contract in 2017.

Meanwhile many national championships have already closed, and a full update of the YZ125Cup qualifiers is coming soon. Four countries are still racing, and soon the selected riders from Italy, Norway, Sweden and Finland will know if they are among those going to the Veltins Arena.

Sweden's long summer days make for perfect motocross weekends. Young YZ125Cup rider Tim Edberg made his bid to join the starting line-up at the Veltins Arena with a third overall on the tough sandtrack at Finspång in the Swedish Championship.

Quick starts and excellent acceleration in the opening laps put Edberg among the top three in Finspång, but a mid-moto highside threw the unlucky Swedish teenager from his line and dropped him back to nearly 20th. Hard work, steady focus and a reliable YZ125 brought him back to finish eighth in the first race, and a solid fourth in the second put him fourth overall and third in Sweden's YZ125Cup with one race to go.

Italy and Finland are also still competing, with races through September set to clinch their spots at the YZ125Cup SuperFinale. Ten nations have already completed their championships.

Spain will send Gervasio Cañas, Hugo Arriazu and Enric Vendrell to Germany. Arriazu finished on the second step of the podium four times, and was overtaken in the final moto of the series by Vendrell who stepped up from a string of thirds.

Belgium's tough National Championship has produced three candidates for the YZ125Cup, including Matthew Lefevre, Ryan Bonnewijn and Thibault Maroit. Nearby France produced YZ125Cup winner Calvin Fonvieille, and will send three more: Alexis Colignon, Anthony Calistri and Jeremy Hauquier.

In Germany the YZ125Cup ran in conjunction with the 125 National Championship, and series winner Ben Gosepath will come to the Veltins Arena together with Theo Praun. From Switzerland the three bLU cRU members who will compete in the SuperFinale are Flavio Wolf, Jan Müller and Janik Vogel.

Dutch teenager Jeroen Bussink won the YZ125Cup in the Netherlands, with Max Schwarte taking the second spot for the SuperFinale. In the United Kingdom it's Tom Grimshaw, Bill Moynes and Jordan Hearn set to come to Germany in October.

Andrei Poponut is the lone bLU cRU representative from Bulgaria, with Skordas Stylianos and Dimitrios Touratzidis the two winners from the YZ125Cup held in Greece. Portugal will send Bruno Charrua after his top performance in the YZ125Cup.

The YZ125Cup is a pan-European championship for teenagers from 12-16 years of age. Riders must race the 2016 season on a Yamaha YZ125 in one of 15 selected FIM-approved national championships.

The top scoring riders registered for the European YZ125 Cup in each national championship will be invited to the 2016 SuperFinale on October 8th at the Veltins Arena, Germany, for a chance to compete in front of a crowd of 50,000 motocross fans.

The top six SuperFinale riders, joined by two wildcards, will then win a multi-day Master Class with DP19 Yamaha Official MX Team Manager, MXGP Rider and 2008 MX1 World Champion, David Philippaerts.

Experienced motocross professionals who mentor the YZ125Cup riders during the Master Class will observe and select one talented new Yamaha rider to receive a full professional contract and YZ125 bike for the 2017 EMX125 season.

Source: Yamaha Motor Europe N.V.

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