Lagain Triumphs on Home Soil to Win YZ65 bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale at Saint Jean D’Angély
The first winner of the 2022 YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale was decided in a thrilling YZ65 contest at MXGP Charente Maritime, with French youngster Tylan Lagain starring in front of his home crowd to take victory, while the YZ85 and YZ125 riders qualified for tomorrow’s races.
In total, 101 YZ65, YZ85 and YZ125 riders make up the entry list for this year’s SuperFinale, with 23 countries represented across the three classes.
In each category, the podium finishers, as well as two promising wildcards, will be invited to the prestigious bLU cRU Masterclass, where the YZ125 riders will fight for a chance to join a Yamaha-supported EMX125 team, while the YZ85 and YZ65 riders will receive added support from Yamaha Motor Europe for their 2023 seasons.
After getting acquainted with the Saint Jean D’Angély venue on Friday, where the riders had the chance to meet their idols from the FIM Motocross World Championship; MXGP’s Jeremy Seewer, Glenn Coldenhoff and Maxime Renaux, plus MX2’s Jago Geerts and Thibault Benistant, Saturday saw the riders take to the track with their Yamaha bikes for the first time.
In the YZ125 class, Italy’s Nicola Salvini went fastest of all in Time Practice, seeing him get first gate pick for tomorrow’s race. Maurizio Scollo was just 0.055s behind his fellow countryman in second, with Danish rider Nicolai Skovbjerg rounding out the top three.
Swiss youngster Luis Raoul Santeusanio dominated the YZ85 session, ending the morning’s running 1.254s clear of Enea Alamanni of Italy. French youngster Tim Langue ended Time Practice in third, while eight nationalities made up the top 10 positions.
Then came the YZ65 class, and it was Austrian rider Davi Dür who went quickest of all in the practice session, a full 1.895s ahead of Lagain, with Finland’s Miska Laine 3.782s further adrift of the top two.
In the race, Lagain was fastest out of the blocks, taking the lead on the opening lap. From there, it soon settled into a two-rider battle for the victory, with Lagain and Dür consistently lapping more than eight seconds faster than their nearest challengers.
Dür pushed Lagain all the way, but the Austrian fell on the final lap while trying to close the gap. That allowed the French rider to take victory, while Dür eventually crossed the line 15.935s behind, but still comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
Rounding off the podium places was Danish rider Willads Gordon, who remained unchallenged throughout the race, despite a late charge from Spanish youngster Alberto Rodriguez, who went from eighth by the end of Lap 1 to finish fourth.
Completing the top five was another young talent from Spain, Esteve Abella, who made a huge step forward during the day, having qualified in 11th.
The YZ125 class will kick off tomorrow’s proceedings at 08:50 (GMT+2), while the gate drops for the YZ85 race an hour later.
Tylan Lagain
YZ65 bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale Winner
“I am very happy to win the SuperFinale in my home country. It was a fun race; I really like the track, and it was cool to meet the MXGP riders also yesterday. Thank you to Yamaha and my family for supporting me, I can’t wait to be at the Masterclass.”
