ADAC Northern Europe Cup: König and Georgi triumph in second race of the season

• König, Meggle and Jespersen put up a hard fight in the Standard class
• Georgi celebrates second victory at Silverstone in the Grand Prix class
• Second round of 2016 ADAC NEC takes place as early as next weekend at Assen

Silverstone: Ahead of the second race of the 2016 ADAC Northern Europe Cup (ADAC NEC), the weather conditions at the British Grand Prix circuit of Silverstone showed a marked improvement on the day before. After rain and changeable conditions on Saturday, the sun came out on Sunday morning. But as it got closer to 14:55 when the race was due to start, the clouds gathered above the 5.9km circuit. However, the track remained dry for the whole of the race. Oliver König (14, CZE) and Tim Georgi (15, GER) made optimum use of the improved conditions to secure victory in the Standard and Grand Prix classes respectively.

Shortly after the off, a three-way contest developed in the Standard stakes. After a final tussle between front-runners Oliver König, Matthias Meggle (15, GER) and Simon Jespersen (14, DEN), König ultimately snatched the race win. The Czech Moto3 newcomer beat Meggle into second place by a margin of 0.003 seconds in a photo finish. ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Jespersen came home in third place a further 0.009 seconds behind. Dirk Geiger (13, GER) took fourth place, while Rick Dunnik (14, NED) completed the Top Five in the standard category.

In the Grand Prix class, Georgi sailed away from pole position. Over a distance of ten laps, the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé fought off the challenge of the British Moto3 GP riders who were also in the line-up for this debut weekend of the ADAC NEC at Silverstone. Ernst Dubbink (27, NED) worked his way through the field to take second place ahead of Jason Dupasquier (14, SUI). Maximilian Kofler (15, AUT) missed out on a podium in fourth.

After the opening weekend of the ADAC NEC, the 27 contestants travel directly from England to Assen in the Netherlands to make their preparations for the second fixture on the calendar (15th - 17th April) which will be staged in the context of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship. König and Georgi now top the Standard and GP class championship tables respectively.

Comments from the Top Three

Oliver König (14, CZE), winner, ADAC NEC Standard:
“Yesterday I came third, and today I managed the win. This is a wonderful moment for me. Simon, Matthias and I put up a really good fight for the full duration of the race. I was having problems on some of the corners again. The last lap was very difficult for me. I was ahead, but then I fell back slightly and had to fight hard right up until the last corner. But eventually I crossed the finish line first. I’m feeling very happy.”

Matthias Meggle (15, GER), second, ADAC NEC Standard:
“Once again, I got off to a fine start and the first few laps were also good. I soon made progress forward. Then I had a pretty good scrap with Simon and Oliver. We overtook each other several times. Oliver was always very fast on the straights. He occasionally pulled out a gap, but I was immediately able to narrow it again. On the last lap, I was determined to mount another attack and was in second position going into the penultimate corner. It was extremely tight between the two of us, and the final result was also close. I’m a bit disappointed about that.”

Simon Jespersen (14, DEN), third, ADAC NEC Standard:
“At the start, I was really excited. I was not expecting to finish on the podium, but that’s the way it worked out. It was tremendously difficult to take third place, because my opponents are all extremely strong. I’m really happy to be standing here on the podium. I hope I can go even faster next weekend in Assen. My bike is really good, and I’m assuming that it will be just as good for the second weekend.”

Tim Georgi (15, Berlin), winner, ADAC NEC GP:
“I got off to a really good start but then found it difficult to really get into the race and find my rhythm. Halfway through the race, I was getting stronger, my lap times were getting better, and towards the end I got involved in a really good contest with a British driver. We were not giving each other any quarter and it was incredibly tight. Eventually, I managed to win in my class, which was truly amazing. We are very satisfied. Many thanks to my Freudenberg Racing Team for their great work this weekend.”

Ernst Dubbink (27, NED), second, ADAC NEC GP:
“The weekend was difficult for me. We qualified very far back in the field, so I had to fight my way back to the front. The first lap was OK, but a few riders had come off their bikes ahead of me, so I had to slow down. But then I found my race pace and made progress forward. However, the sizeable leading group were well away, so I finished in P2.”

Jason Dupasquier (14, SUI), third, ADAC NEC GP:
“This race was slightly better than the one yesterday, because I was a little less tense and had already got used to the tyres and my bike. Additionally, I got off to a pretty good start – one I can feel well pleased with. I am very happy about third place, my second podium of the weekend. I hope we can repeat this result at Assen.”