Benistant Narrowly Misses the Podium in Mantova

Benistant Narrowly Misses the Podium in Mantova

Equipped with a GYTR kitted YZ250F, Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250’s Thibault Benistant has maintained the EMX250 Championship lead after three challenging rounds in Mantova, Italy. The 18-year-old finished fourth overall at the seventh round of the EMX250 Championship today and has retained a 28-point lead in the overall standings. SM Action M.C. Migliori’s Hakon Fredriksen has moved up to fourth in the Championship Standings after celebrating a third consecutive podium finish.

Early morning storms dampened the flat and jumpy soft-terrain circuit of Mantova. Although the wet sand dried out relatively quickly, the ruts and bumps already took form during the sloppy first practice.

Gianluca Facchetti stayed true to tradition and posted a quick time onboard his Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official GYTR kitted YZ250F to qualify in third position. Benistant was less comfortable on the slushy sand, but still managed to post the seventh fastest time.

Treacherous conditions proved challenging for both of the Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 riders as they battled forward from the back of the pack. Benistant had his front-wheel clipped by another rider off the start and had to work hard to finish eighth after running out of tear-offs. Teammate, Facchetti, did not complete the race after a fall on Lap-1.

Better starts in the final race of the week saw Benistant set the fastest lap of the race as he reeled in the front runners. Facchetti fell from third position after 15-minutes but made a quick remount and eventually crossed the line in seventh.

After experiencing vision issues with his tear-off goggles in the opening race, Benistant opted for roll-offs in Race 2 but they unluckily broke on the opening lap. With dirty goggles for the entire 25-minute plus 2-Lap race duration, the ‘198’ put in an impressive ride to finish second position.

Another enthralling ride from Fredriksen saw the ‘427’ finish third and fifth in the two championship races for third overall. The tall Norwegian is currently fourth in the championship, 10-points shy of the top-three in the championship.

Facchetti was classified 13th overall and has moved up to 12th in the Championship Standings.

The Championship Leader Benistant holds a 28-point advantage over Guadagnini going into the next round of the EMX250 Championship, which is scheduled to take place next weekend, on Saturday 10th October, in Madrid, Spain.

For full results from the EMX250 round of Europe, click here.

Thibault Benistant

4th EMX250 round of Europe, 36-points

EMX250 Championship Leader, 286-points

“This weekend was again difficult. The first race I started quite far back, and the track was quite muddy so I put 28 tear-off, but 10 minutes before the end I had nothing anymore. It was quite difficult. The second race I started a little bit better, but on the first lap my roll off broke, so I did the whole moto cleaning with my hand. It was a bit difficult, but to finish second position was not too bad, but I am not happy about this week.”

Unsubscribe