ADAC Northern Europe Cup: König and Jähnig win at Brno

• Second race under MotoGP banner
• Oliver König exploits home advantage in Standard class
• GP class: Jan-Ole Jähnig scores 25 points

Brno: The ADAC Northern Europe Cup riders lined up this weekend for the seventh of eleven races being staged this 2017 season. This fixture took place under the MotoGP banner as did the previous one. This time around, however, the Moto3 riders were at Brno in the Czech Republic where they went head-to-head in an exciting battle over twelve laps, during which Oliver König (15, CZE) won the Standard and Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER) the GP class.

After lining up in pole position, Kiefer Racing's Toni Erhard (16, GER) was ahead over the first few laps, but team-mate Dirk Geiger (15, GER) was soon piling on the pressure from behind. After a couple of hard-fought scraps, they were both surprised by Oliver König (15, CZE) and Leon Orgis (16, GER), who had managed to close on the two top riders again after initially dropping back at the start. König finally used his home advantage, took the lead and won the Standard class.

Orgis, who had caught up with König, took second place, only 0.069 seconds down on the local favourite. After having a strong race, Erhard was finally beaten into third place 0.133 seconds behind Orgis. Dirk Geiger (15, GER) missed the podium and had to be content with fourth place. This is the first time this season that the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé has not finished on the podium. Marvin Siebdrath (13, GER) completed the Top Five in the Standard class.

Geiger on 145 points still leads the overall standings. Philipp Freitag (20, GER) is second with 107 points after placing sixth in the race, followed by Erhard in third place with 105 points.

Meanwhile, in the GP class, Freudenberg Racing Team rider Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER) took a comfortable victory after leading the race from start to finish. Ernst Dubbink (28, NED) placed second, followed by Jerry van de Bunt (25, NED), who does not score any championship points as a guest entrant. Ruben Bijman (13, NED) finished fourth.

Tim Georgi (17, GER), who is competing on a wild card in the Moto3 World Championship this weekend, did not take part in the race but still leads the overall standings with 125 points. Jähnig, however, is reeling him in fast after his win and is now ranked second overall in the GP category with 112 points, followed by Walid Khan Soppe (17, NED) on 96.

Comments from the Top Three

Oliver König (15, CZE), Winner, ADAC NEC Standard:
"I was a bit slow at the start of the race, and Dirk and Toni managed to leave me behind a bit. I was able to gradually close the gap again. I pulled out all the stops two laps before the end of the race, posted my fastest lap and was able to overtake Toni and Leon and thus win here at my home circuit. I'm very pleased with myself and am delighted to see all the people here. A big 'thank you' to everyone!"

Leon Orgis (16, GER), Second, ADAC NEC Standard:
"That was one of the toughest races I've ever had. My start was so good that I was able to maintain position. Ernst pulled away from us a bit at the start, and as a result, I lost contact with Toni and Dirk who were in front. I fought with Oliver for P3, and we got closer to the other two as we did so. We posted good lap times and were so close on the final lap that we overtook them both. I was able to take the lead briefly, but Oliver went past me in the penultimate corner. This has been a very successful weekend, and we secured vital points. Thanks to my mechanic Robert and everyone in our entire Kiefer Racing Team."

Toni Erhard (16, GER), Third, ADAC NEC Standard:
"My start was excellent, and I was able to defend my position. I tried to follow Jan-Ole, but he drew away a bit down the straights. We posted good lap times at the beginning of the race, though, and were able to pull away from our rivals. I had some pretty big problems with tyres toward the middle of the race, skidded quite badly and couldn't maintain my fast times. Oliver and Leon caught up and passed me in the end. P3 means more vital points. I'm already looking forward to Silverstone and would like to go on the attack again there."

Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER), Winner, ADAC NEC GP:
"That was a nice race. However, it wasn't what you would call easy either, because I led every lap, and found maintaining concentration difficult. I'm very pleased that I was able to improve my time, because I was a second faster today. Brno isn't necessarily my favourite track either, which makes me all the more pleased to have won here. I'm already now really looking forward to Silverstone and hope that I can again secure as many points as possible."

Ernst Dubbink (28, NED), Second, ADAC NEC GP:
"This is the first time I've ridden here in Brno, so qualifying and the race were pretty tough. Ultimately, I'm quite satisfied. I was still looking to find some more grip at the rear wheel, but it was OK after about one-and-a-half laps, and my lap times got faster. But my rivals also picked up the pace and were even a little quicker. It was difficult to keep my concentration, so I made a lot of mistakes and my lap times were slower towards the end of the race. I'm pleased with my first stint of the race, but the second one could certainly have been better."

Jerry van de Bunt (25, NED), Third, ADAC NEC GP:
"I've not ridden this bike much yet, so had a tough start to the weekend. Qualifying went really well. I posted a decent lap but started badly in the race and lost some of my pace. I found my rhythm after four or five laps and maintained it to the finish line. I'm delighted to have won a trophy here."