ADAC Northern Europe Cup: Jähnig and Erhard fastest in Brno

• Jan-Ole Jähnig secures pole position for Race 6 of the 2017 season
• Toni Erhard is the best of the Standard riders on the Grand Prix circuit
• Second event held within the framework of the Motorcycle World Championship

Brno: The ADAC Northern Europe Cup is once again being contested in the context of a MotoGP weekend, this time on the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. Qualifying day started with rain, which meant that the first round of heats at midday took place on a wet track. As the day progressed, though, the weather cleared up, allowing all the contestants in the ADAC Northern Europe Cup to significantly improve their times in the afternoon as the 5.4km track dried out. Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER) secured pole position for the sixth race of the season, while Toni Erhard (16, GER) set the best time in the Standard class.
 
Standard contestants Toni Erhard (16, GER), Dirk Geiger (15, GER) and Leon Orgis (16, GER) were vying to be top dog within the same team. All three Kiefer Racing riders were setting the pace at one point in the proceedings or another. While Orgis edged Geiger on the wet track at midday, Erhard came to the fore as the afternoon heated up. The 16-year-old eventually clocked a best time of 02:15.291 minutes.

Geiger lost 0.136 seconds to Erhard and qualified second. Taking P3 was local favourite Oliver König (15, CZE), who is competing for the first time in front of his home fans. Orgis ultimately had to settle for fourth place in the Standard class, while Marvin Siebdrath (13, GER) finished the session in fifth.

In the GP class, Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER) led the way. The Freudenberg Racing Team rider set a best time of 02:14.035 minutes to claim pole position. Ernst Dubbink (28, NED) took second place and Ruben Bijman (13, NED) third in the GP class.

The current leader in the GP classification, Tim Georgi (17, GER), is unable to take part in this weekend’s race, as he has a wild card in the Moto3 World Championship. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé was in excellent form in the first free practice session this morning, outperforming more experienced opponents.

The ADAC NEC race over a distance of 12 laps takes place on Saturday 5th August and starts at 7pm.
 
Comments from the front-runners
 
Toni Erhard (16, GER), fastest, ADAC NEC Standard: 
“The first timed training session in the rain was not too bad, and the second qualifying didn’t go badly either. Regardless of how the weather turns out tomorrow, I’m well prepared. I am delighted that I have been able to take pole in the Standard class for the first time, although it was a difficult ride today. The layout of the track is quite demanding, which is something that appeals to me. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bumps in the surface, and you have to compensate for that on the bike. It’s not easy, but I would still like to try and convert my qualifying result into a win tomorrow.”
 
Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER), fastest, ADAC NEC GP: 
“So far, the weekend has not been all that good. I was not at all satisfied with the first quali, since the best I could do there was seventh. I wasn’t coping at all well, and I was riding like a beginner. Then, in the second qualifying session, it went a bit better, and I was even able to improve on my lap times from the test. I had a test day here, which was also less than perfect, but it was certainly a good preparation. It is difficult carrying through as much momentum as possible from the chicanes and at the same time finding how to best to ride your bike here. I could have been a little faster, but I am otherwise reasonably satisfied. Let’s see how much time I can gain in tomorrow’s race.”