Freitag and Georgi secure wins in maiden race of ADAC Northern Europe Cup

• First ADAC NEC race in Silverstone
• Philipp Freitag clinches win in Standard class by a small margin
• Victory in Grand Prix class goes to Tim Georgi

Silverstone: The ADAC Northern Europe Cup (NEC) debuted this weekend on the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit , England, under the banner of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship. After two qualifying sessions which were badly affected by the weather, the ADAC NEC drivers lined up along with competitors from the British Moto3 championship on Saturday afternoon in extremely tough weather conditions for the first eight-lap race. The maiden victory in the new motorcycle series for juniors went to Tim Georgi (15, DEU) in the Grand Prix class and Philipp Freitag (18, DEU) in the Standard class.

Rain fell on the 5.901-km Silverstone Circuit just before the start of the first round, which led to the fixture being declared a wet-weather race. As a result, all the ADAC NEC riders opted for rain tyres. On a drying track, the race then turned into a real thriller.

Philipp Freitag coped best with the tough conditions. The FKoch Racing & Hannes Allwardt rider started on pole in the Standard class and was able to pull away in the lead and take victory after eight tricky laps. Matthias Meggle (15, DEU) tucked in behind Freitag at the start of the race, took the lead on the second lap but dropped back shortly afterwards to finish in second place.

Riding a Moto3 machine for the first time this season, Oliver König (14, CZE) brought his Honda home in third place to secure the final place on the podium in Silverstone. Sasha De Vits (14, BEL) and Rick Dunnik (14, NED) were right behind the Czech rider, taking positions four and five in the Standard class.

Tim Georgi dominated the GP class from start to finish. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé started from pole position in his category and maintained the lead throughout the whole race. He finally crossed the finish line well ahead of Dennis Koopman (18, NED).

The Dutch rider secured second place. He was followed home in third place by Jason Dupasquier (14, SUI) on his KTM; Dupasquier has just moved up from the ADAC Junior Cup powered by KTM. Ernst Dubbink (27, NED) and Maximilian Kofler (15, AUT) completed the Top Five in the GP category.

The second fixture will also be staged at the 5.901-km track in the UK. After a brief warm-up on Sunday morning, the second race of 2016 will begin at 14:55 local time in Silverstone .

Comments from the Top Three finishers

Philipp Freitag (18, DEU), Winner, ADAC NEC Standard:
"I only ever rode just as fast as was necessary in order to make it to the finish line on the tyres. Actually, the whole track was dry, and things would have been much easier on slicks. However, it was still drizzling slightly at the start, so it was not an easy call. I tried to maintain position, but Matthias overtook me briefly. I then took the place back and pulled out a small lead, which took me to victory. I'm very pleased. I never expected it to go so well. I'm very happy. A big thanks to my team, FKoch Racing & Hannes Allwardt, for preparing my bike so well."

Matthias Meggle (15, DEU), Second, ADAC NEC Standard:
"I made a pretty good start, and the first few turns especially were really good. I overtook lots of opponents on the first lap. I was able to really close the gap on Philip, took the lead briefly and had a pretty good scrap with him during the first stint of the race, but my tyres degraded too much towards the end. Everything was geared up to the rain, and I lost the connection to Philip a little. Still, I secured second place. I'm really pleased, since things didn't go so well for me in practice and qualifying. Many thanks to Dynavolt Intact GP junior team for their great support. I'm already looking forward to tomorrow."

Oliver König (14, CZE), Third, ADAC NEC Standard:
"The race was very tough, because the track was neither really wet nor completely dry. It was very tricky. I battled with one or two riders at the start, but the group gradually broke up. I fought with Manou Antweiler until the final turn, but he then shut the door a bit too aggressively, and I was able to secure third place. I'm very happy, because third place is an excellent position for me to finish in. I've got a new bike and am in a new category. I hope tomorrow that I can manage to place in the Top Three again."

Tim Georgi (15, DEU), Winner, ADAC NEC GP:
"I made a fairly good start and was behind a few British drivers. Things were pretty rough over the first few laps. I think we miscalculated slightly with suspension settings, plus, the track was actually dry and we could have gone out on slicks. It was a bit tricky. I won my class in the end and am quite satisfied. I hope if it's dry tomorrow that we can stay close to the British riders, but points in the ADAC NEC GP are more important. I would like to thank my team, Freudenberg Racing, for all their hard work. "

Dennis Koopman (18, NED), Second, ADAC NEC GP:
"It was a bit strange. I wanted to fit a slick tyre on the rear, but because everyone else opted for wet-weather tyres, we followed suit. The rain tyres then degraded quite quickly, and I was skidding quite badly all over the place. The race got tougher and tougher, but I was able to hang on to second place. It was a good race for me overall. I'm happy with second place and would never have expected it before the race."

Jason Dupasquier (14, SUI), Third, ADAC NEC GP:
"My race was tough overall. I raced on wet-weather tyres like everyone else, but the track was dry enough for slicks in actual fact. Still, we were all in the same boat in the end. We battled our way through. Besides, I was a little bit anxious before the race and didn't expect a podium finish. I'm now very happy with the result and hope that I can do it again in tomorrow's second race."