KTM strong in the Netherlands

From KTM

Racing on the heavy wet sand of the Valkenswaard circuit in the Netherlands, the South African rider underlined the form he has shown in pre-season racing by twice coming home in front of title holder Antonio Cairoli. He registered fastest lap time in both of the 17-lap races.

The South African said he felt great about taking possession of the coveted red number plate as championship leader, even if it was only the first race of the season. "I did very good work with my trainer during the winter and when I was home in South Africa I worked a lot on my physical and mental strength. I feel I am on the right track but it's only the first GP so there's a long way to go."

KTM factory team boss Stefan Everts said it had been a great weekend. "I have seen how well Tyla has been doing in the last month and how strong and fast he is. I have great expectations for him and I want him to do such a good job in all the races."

In MX1, Max Nagl had a strong weekend as well. "We have been working hard and have done a lot of training in the sand and this is the result of that hard work," Nagl said. Team boss Stefan Everts said he was "super happy" with Nagl's race weekend.

Nagl took the holeshot in the first moto but was overtaken before he regained his composure and pushed again in the second half to finish second behind the Belgian de Dyker.

Breugelmans, second in the MX3 world championship last year, was fourth in the first moto and second in the second race. Teammate Alvaro Lozano Rico took the holeshot in the first race before tangling with Breugelmans who then worked his way up from twelfth to a creditable fourth, with Lozano coming in behind him at fifth.