The Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 have found their place in Mantova, Italy where they will remain for the next seven-days with three rounds of the EMX250 Championship taking place. The first of three events saw Facchetti set the pace in EMX250 Group 1 Timed Practice where he took his third Pole Position of the 2020 season with a time of 1:52.21. Teammate Benistant managed to post a 1:54.017 time for fourth in the same group, while in Group 2 Fredriksen posted the second fastest time, a 1:53.251, with Edberg on a 1:53.915 in fourth.
In the opening race, Fredriksen and Facchetti emerged from turn one inside the top-seven. The duo used the power of their YZ250Fs and some creative lines to move up into the top two positions within the first five laps.
As Fredriksen charged home for his first-ever EMX250 race victory, Facchetti was demoted to third by fellow Italian Mattia Guadagnini with four laps to go.
Demonstrating the racing intelligence of a true champion, Benistant remained calm and calculated despite starting from outside of the top-20. The Frenchman was truly inspiring as he surged through the pack with speed and finesse, every pass made provided a stronger grip on vital championship points. After a poised display of admirable speed, line choice and precision, the red plated ‘193’ crossed the finish line inside the top-five.
Edberg recovered from a couple of small mistakes to finish sixth.
In the second and final race of the day, Benistant powered his GYTR kitted YZ250F to a top-five start and was gifted the lead on lap three. From there, the ‘198’ put on a master class in riding the Mantova circuit as he aired out a 10-second gap to take his fifth race win of the season.
After a thrilling flag to flag battle for second position with Kay de Wolf, Edberg finished third as Fredrikson fought through the field to finish eighth after a first-lap incident. Both results allowed the Scandinavian duo – Fredriksen from Norway and Edberg from Sweden – to toast their first-ever EMX250 podium finishes.
Adding to Yamaha’s overall success, Facchetti missed the podium by 1-point but still was able to celebrate a career-best fourth overall.
Benistant now leads the EMX250 Championship by more than an entire round with a 57-point advantage over the next best rider. Edberg is fifth in the standings only 2-points shy of fourth, while Fredrikson is 14-points further adrift in eighth.
The celebrations continued in Mantova with Yamaha Germany’s Larissa Papenmeier taking her first overall victory of the 2020 season with a 2-2 scorecard to claim the WMX Championship Lead. The ‘423’ now leads Ghidinelli Racing Yamaha’s Nancy van de Ven by 10-points.
Van de Ven placed her YZ250F on the second step of the podium after taking an emphatic start to finish race win in the final race of the day.
The EMX250 Championship and WMX World Championship will have two days off before returning here to Mantova, Italy, on Tuesday 29th September for the next round of their series.
For full results from the EMX250 and WMX rounds of Lombardia, click here.
