ADAC Northern Europe Cup: Orgis and Dubbink triumph on Sunday at Silverstone

• Championship battle set to remain exciting right up until the finale
• Standard class: Leon Orgis wins in photo-finish
• Ernst Dubbink beats Tim Georgi in GP category

Silverstone: After an eventful first race in the ADAC Northern Europe Cup at Silverstone (England), Sunday also provided plenty of variety, ranging from a photo finish in the Standard class to a rain shower in the GP category, which livened things up. With their wins, Leon Orgis (16, GER) and Ernst Dubbink (28, NED) put off the championship decider in both classes to the grand finale which will take place at Assen in the Netherlands (29th September - 1st October.

In the context of the British Superbike Championship, riders in both classes competed separately but together with the British Moto3 riders, and the fastest lap times from the first race determined the grid slots for the second rounds in accordance with BSB regulations.

In the Standard class, Philipp Freitag (20, GER) started from pole position in dry but cool conditions but was soon involved in a thrilling three-way fight with Leon Orgis (16, GER) and Dirk Geiger (15, GER), from which Orgis finally emerged as the winner after 10 action-packed laps with a lead of only 0.006 seconds. Geiger took second place from Freitag. Luca de Vleeschauwer (15, NED) and Oliver König (15, CZE) completed the Top Five.

In the run-up to the final two races of the season at Assen, Geiger heads the overall standings on 181 points, followed by Freitag with 136 points and Orgis, who has moved up one position, with 135. Toni Erhard (16, GER) is in fourth place with 123 points, followed by Oliver König (15, CZE) with 110.

The GP race started in the dry, and Tim Georgi (17, GER) immediately took the lead but was overtaken by Ernst Dubbink (28, NED) as it began to rain. The race was stopped on the seventh of ten laps due to the adverse weather conditions and places subsequently allocated. Dubbink was declared the winner, while Georgi had to be content with second place. Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER) took the final position on the podium from Ruben Bijman (13, NED).

Georgi still heads the overall standings despite having a tough weekend. The ADAC Sports Foundation rider brings some 145 points in total with him to the finale. Jähnig is next on 128, followed by Dubbink with 119. Kevin Orgis (17, GER), Walid Khan Soppe (17, NED) and Sasha de Vits (15, BEL) lined up in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup this weekend, losing ground to their opponents, but nevertheless, Soppe and Orgis are in the Top Five with 96 and 93 points respectively.

Comments from the Top Three

Leon Orgis (16, GER), winner, ADAC NEC Standard:
“My start was quite good, and I was able to draw away in the lead from the rest a little. We changed positions in almost every corner and fought particularly hard over the final lap. It was incredible and has got to be one of the toughest races I’ve ever ridden. I was in third position until the final straight when I was able to get past Philipp in the penultimate turn and finally win at the finish line, popping out of the slipstream next to Dirk. Sure, there was a bit of luck in it as well, but still, I’m really delighted with my maiden win.”

Dirk Geiger (15, GER), second, ADAC NEC Standard:
“That was an extremely tough race. My feelings during the initial stages were similar to the ones I had yesterday in qualifying, but the lap times were faster. It annoys me a little that I gave Leon the chance to move past me towards the end. I should have done things differently. I ultimately missed the win by just 0.006 seconds, which is a bit annoying. But at any rate, I was still able to secure more valuable points.”

Philipp Freitag (20, GER), third, ADAC NEC Standard:
“My start was very good, and I was in second place for a while but had to feel my way around a bit at the same time in view of the conditions. I was in the lead group during the whole of the race but dropped back now and again to observe the strengths and weaknesses of the others. As soon as I’d found the right moment, I went into the lead and was actually quite sure that I’d got the win in the bag, but in the final turn on the last lap, I left Dirk and Leon just too much space.”

Ernst Dubbink (28, NED), winner, ADAC NEC GP:
“My start was pretty good, but I had a contact with another rider in the initial stages, which caused me to run wide briefly and lose the connection to the front-runners. By the time I had fought my way forwards again, it had started to rain, and my pace was faster than Tim’s. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to get past him, and he kept edging in front going down the straight while I was able to make up time in the corners. The rain got heavier just a few laps before the end, and the race was finally stopped before the finish. Although Tim was just ahead at that point, I was ultimately declared the winner, because it was the last fully completed lap that counted.”

Tim Georgi (17, GER), second, ADAC NEC GP:
“I found the weekend at Silverstone very tough. First, I missed the practice sessions on Friday, and then Race 1 went all wrong. To finish second in the second race was not a bad result with regard to the overall standings but was not really what I’d reckoned on. I’ll now have to attack and win at Assen to secure the championship.”

Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER), third, ADAC NEC GP:
“My start went really well, and I was immediately able to gain a few positions. I kept up quite well with the leaders over the first few laps but fluffed the gears later on in the chicane in front of the Formula 1 paddock, and the bike was a bit down on power after that. I don’t know exactly what happened but will now have to get together with the team to analyse the cause. Third place is not too bad, but all in all, I can’t say I’m 100 percent satisfied.”