The fifth round of the Italian Prestige 24MX – UFO Plast Pro Series MX1 and MX2 motocross championship took place yesterday at the Castiglione del Lago track. Here are the riders’ comments.
Isak Gifting (Yamaha) – Winner: “I rode well today. The feeling with the bike was incredible, and the track was really beautiful, like those at Grand Prix races. I never thought about the championship; only on the last lap did they tell me I was winning the title, and I’m really happy with this result; I really wanted it. The only thing I’m disappointed about is that I didn’t have the battle with Pancar, who was very unlucky today. This wasn’t how I dreamed of winning; I would have preferred to do it after a great battle with him on the track. In race two, I even stopped during the sighting lap to see if I could help him, but there was nothing I could do.”
Nicholas Lapucci (Kawasaki) – 2nd place: “I didn’t think I could finish this race in second place. I’m coming off two hellish months, where I was really sick with an injury. But I came here fired up; I wanted to be a protagonist and not just race to make up the numbers. In race one, I pushed hard to move up to third place, and in race two, I was already tired from the start; I was content to stay behind Soubeyras, then I saw I was getting back on top of him towards the end, so I decided to finally attack. I thank the entire team and everyone who helps me. I dedicate the podium to my son Elay.”
Cedric Soubeyras (Kawasaki) – 3rd place: “This is my first podium in the Italian championship, and I’ve been chasing it for a long time. I’ve been racing in the French supercross championship for the past few months, so I came here with little traditional motocross training. I thought it would be harder to find the right feeling. Instead, it went really well; I maintained a good pace in both motos. In race two, I tried to battle with Lapucci, but I was taking a bit too many risks, so I preferred to settle for the podium, which was my goal.”
Jan Pancar (KTM) – DNF: “It’s really hard to find the words today. I came here with a broken finger in the last world championship race, but I managed to recover with good rehabilitation and set the fastest time in qualifying, so I was confident. Then in the first race, after the warm-up lap, the bike stalled and wouldn’t restart. I tried to start with the second bike, but it wasn’t in parc fermé, so I was disqualified. In the second race, I was going slowly during the warm-up lap and my chain fell off. With these two DNFs, my title race is over. In Pietramurata, I’ll try to at least reclaim second place, which now goes to Monticelli.”
Valerio Lata (Honda) – Winner: “I came here to Castiglione del Lago to win the race and the title, and I did it. The track was very muddy in practice, but in the race it turned out beautiful, with lots of lines and technical sections. And in race 2, I enjoyed battling with Lupino; it’s always an honor to race against him. It was a great season in the Italian championship; I won every race except the one in Montevarchi, where I made a few too many mistakes. I want to thank the team, my family, and everyone who helped me and allowed me to confirm myself as Italian champion for the second time in a row.”
Alessandro Lupino (Ducati) – 2nd place: “Our goal is to finish ahead of Lata at least once, but we also have to be honest and acknowledge that he had a great season, both in the world championship and in the Italian championship. Valerio is a key figure for our project, given that he’ll be one of Ducati’s rivals in the MX2 world championship next year. We made some progress with the bike over the summer, but not as much as we expected. We hope to be able to bring some other good new features for the final round in Pietramurata. In any case, I’m very satisfied with this weekend, especially considering I’ve been without a race for a long time.”
Julius Mikula (TM) – 3rd place: “In the first heat, I got off to a bad start. I lost time trying to pass the other riders, and by the time I reached third place, Lata and Lupino were already too far behind. In race two, however, I wasn’t able to find the right lines right away. When I did, I saw that I was keeping the same pace as the first two, so I wasn’t losing any more time, but I wasn’t gaining any either. I hope to do better in Pietramurata; I’d like to finish the championship in second place.”
The next round of the Italian Prestige 24MX – Ufo Plast Pro series Mx1 and Mx2 motocross championship will be held on September 27 and 28 in Pietramurata.
