The sun came out to greet the FIM Motocross World Championship MX3 riders for their first race here at the circuit of Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, upping the freezing temperature just a little bit in time for the gate drop of MX3 race one, the
When the gates dropped it was Netherlander Mike Kras who took full advantage of a good start, leading the race from start to finish taking the win at his home GP in Valkenswaard. Meanwhile, Fillip Neugebauer and Santtu Tiainen went to battle for the second position but were soon accompanied by a new challenger in the form of Gert Krestinov who had just charged his way from a tenth place start to take over the second place on lap six. Filip Neugebauer got past Tiainen and eventually settled in third.
Meanwhile, Santtu Tiainen’s troubles were still not over as he was again under attack by Kasper Lynggaard and Klemen Gercar with the duo both sneaking past him midway through the race dropping him out of the top five. It was close between the three but in the end Kasper Lynggaard managed to hold off Klemen Gercar sealing fourth position leaving Gercar to settle for fifth.
MX3 race two left the riders facing not only the challenge of the cold weather but also an extremely rough Valkenswaard circuit, these factors didn’t stop Gert Krestinov from putting in another strong performance coming home with the race win giving him also the overall here in Valkenswaard. Chasing Gert Krestinov was race one winner Mike Kras, who put in another solid performance finishing second place followed by a consistent Filip Neugebauer in third. Meanwhile Klemen Gercar and Kasper Lynggaard enticed in yet another battle, this time Klemen Gercar held off Kasper Lynggaard for fourth forcing Lynggaard to settle for fifth.
2013 Valkenswaard MX3 Race 1 results: 1. Mike Kras (NED, Suzuki), 36:20.330; 2. Gert Krestinov (EST, Kawasaki), +0:04.422; 3. Filip Neugebauer (CZE, Kawasaki), +0:14.735; 4. Kasper Lynggaard (DEN, Yamaha), +0:22.103; 5. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), +0:24.300; 6. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, Honda), +0:26.007; 7. Lukasz Lonka (POL, Honda), +0:28.354; 8. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), +0:28.710; 9. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:30.553; 10. Ludvig Söderberg (FIN, Honda)
2013 Valkenswaard MX3 Race 2 results: 1. Gert Krestinov (EST, Kawasaki), 34:57.005; 2. Filip Neugebauer (CZE, Kawasaki), +0:18.182; 3. Mike Kras (NED, Suzuki), +0:32.614; 4. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), +0:38.366; 5. Kasper Lynggaard (DEN, Yamaha), +0:45.423; 6. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), +0:48.033; 7. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), +0:54.175; 8. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, Honda), +0:56.307; 9. Ludvig Söderberg (FIN, Honda), +1:03.998; 10. Matevz Irt (SLO, Suzuki)
2013 MX3 Championship top 10: 1. Gert Krestinov (EST, Kawasaki), 47 points; 2. Mike Kras (NED, Suzuki), 45 p.; 3. Filip Neugebauer (CZE, Kawasaki), 42 p.; 4. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), 34 p.; 5. Kasper Lynggaard (DEN, Yamaha), 34 p.; 6. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, Honda), 28 p.; 8. Ludvig Söderberg (FIN, Honda), 23 p.; 9. Lukasz Lonka (POL, Honda), 23 p.; 10. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM)
MX3 Round of The Netherlands – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1550
Type of ground: sand
Temperature: 4° C
Weather conditions: changeable: cloudy and sunny
Crowd Attendance: 27,000
