The Gorna Rositza track in Sevlievo, Bulgaria hosted the ninth edition of the Monster Energy FIM Junior Motocross World Championships over the weekend of the 25th and 26th of August.
Australia's Caleb Grothues, Brian Hsu from Germany and Tim Gajser from Slovenia became the 2012 FIM 65cc, 85cc and 125cc Junior World Champions respectively after racing to an overall victory in their classes.
The Netherlands stood on the top of the podium as the winning team thanks to their consistent results, team Italy was second and Team USA completed the top three. Australia finished in a very respectable 4th place missing the podium by just a couple of points.
125cc
In the 125cc class it was KTM mounted Tim Gajser who was crowned the 2012 Monster Energy FIM Junior Motocross World Champion after winning both motos.
In the first race the Slovenian rider got off to a good start, placing himself in second position during the opening lap, he then overtook Simone Furlotti and dominated the moto until the chequered flag. T
he second heat was not that easy for Gajser, starting a little further back in the field he spent a lot of time overtaking Italians Furlotti and Davide Bonini, , Gajser also had some problems with the rear brake during the second heat, but in the end he managed to win the race and also the World Title.
Simone Furlotti raced to a solid 2-2 result earning the Italian the FIM silver medal and his result helped Team Italy to finish second in the Nations classification.
In both heats Furlotti started at the front, before being overtaken by Gajser, in the second one the Italian hold the lead until the very last stages of the race.
Pauls Jonass, who was the FIM 85cc Junior World Champion last year, proved his incredible talent today finishing on the third step of the podium in his first year in the 125cc class.
Australian rider Joel Milesivic struggled to come to terms with the heat in Bulgaria with temperatures reaching the mid 40s on both days. The talented young Australian finished 21st in the first moto, before digging deep in the second moto to come away with 11th position, giving him 17th overall for the weekend.
Australia's second rider in the 125cc class, Egan Mastin finished 29th and 27th in the two motos.
125cc Overall/Championship top ten:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, KTM), 50 points
2. Simone Furlotti (ITA, Suzuki), 44 points
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 36 points
4. Jorge Zaragoza Beltran (ESP, Suzuki), 33 points
5. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), 31 points
6. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, KTM), 29 points
7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 24 points
8. Nicholas Adams (RSA, KTM), 23v
9. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Yamaha), 19 points
10. Hamish Harwood (NZL, KTM), 18 points
17. Joel Milesivic (AUS, KTM), 11 points
31. Egan Mastin (AUS, KTM)
85cc
Brian Hsu claimed the 2012 FIM 85cc World Champion after finishing 3-1 in the two moto format. The German rider admitted that he was not expecting to finish on the podium this weekend, especially because he was sick and he felt really weak before the races started.
However, Hsu gave all his best to finish third in the first race and in the second one he was the first one to reach the first corner and from there he went on to dominate the moto.
Second overall went to American Austin Forkner, who finished tight in points with Hsu losing the Title in the last metres of the second moto. After winning the first heat, Forkner did not get off to a great start in the second moto but was able to make up the lost positions very quickly.
In the last laps, the American exchanged second position with Bulgarian rider Ivan Petrov, with Forkner in second position heading into the final lap, unfortunatly for the American his bike started to fail and he lost the position as he was approaching the finish jump.
Current 85cc European Champion Davy Pootjes struggled a little with the demanding track of Sevlievo, but his 2-5 result gave him the third overall position in the championship.
The Dutch rider starred in a dogfight for the second place with American Forkner in the first race, but once the American overtook him, Pootjes decided to ride safe and while Forkner was winning the race, Pootjes crossed the finish line second. The Dutch rider did his best in the final moto, but he was only able to finish fifth.
Australian rider Mitchell Evans was able to crack the top ten overall thanks to his 15-9 moto results, while Hunter Lawerence went 13-13 for 13th overall.
85cc Overall/Championship top ten:
1. Brian Hsu (GER, Suzuki), 45 points
2. Austin Forkner (USA, Kawasaki), 45 points
3. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 38 points
4. Ivan Petrov (BUL, KTM), 34 points
5. Tomas Ragadini (ITA, KTM), 33 points
6. Jake Pinhancos (USA, Suzuki), 32 points
7. Bradley Cox (RSA, KTM), 24 points
8. Filippo Zonta (ITA, KTM), 23 points
9. Mitchell Evans (AUS, KTM), 18 points
10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 18 points
13. Hunter Lawerence (Aus, KTM) 16 points
65cc
