With the event in Tensfeld, the first half of the season is over. We use the summer break until Gaildorf to take a little look back and celebrate the half-time champions.

The top duel with an abrupt turn

In the premier class ADAC MX Masters, two riders dominated in the first half of the season: Max Nagl and Roan van de Moosdijk. None of the other regular series starters kept up with the two. In the first three races in Grevenbroich, Dreetz and Bitche, Nagl was ahead of van de Moosdijk in most cases. At the season opener, the 38-year-old veteran was even able to win qualifying and all three races.

In Dreetz, MX2 World Champion Simon Längenfelder joined the duo and won two of the three races on his first race ride on a 450cc bike and thus also the event victory. Van de Moosdijk was able to place ahead of Nagl in the second race, but lost more points to his main opponent, who won the third race.

At the foreign race in France, the first two race victories again went to Nagl, who defeated his opponent in the second race after a strong catch-up race shortly before the finish. But the Dutchman countered in the third race with his first race win of the season, his upward trend continued. But once again, Nagl extended his lead in the standings by a few points.

Other riders, who were among the potential title favorites before the season, struggled to keep up with the two top riders and seemed to be fighting only for third place on the podium. But in the one-month break before the fourth event in Tensfeld, Tom Koch, Maximilian Spies, Jere Haavisto and Noah Ludwig gradually found their way back to their usual form.

An old rule in motorsport is: it's not over until it's over. And in motorsport, things can change very quickly. That's what happened in Tensfeld: In the first race, Nagl and van de Moosdijk collided with lapped riders who had crashed in front of him. While the Dutchman was able to finish the race in second place, Nagl was out for the entire weekend with a back injury. Van de Moosdijk even emerged as the event winner without having won a single race that weekend. He thus took over the red plate of the league leader. Koch, Nagl and Haavisto each won one race and thus gained further confidence for the rest of the season. Anyone who knows Nagl knows that he doesn't give up so easily. After careful clarification with his doctors, he is aiming to start again at the fifth championship round in Gaildorf at the beginning of August. The second half of the season promises a lot of excitement.

Red and white: Danish dynamite!

The ADAC MX Youngster Cup is also action-packed. The Dane Nicolai Skovbjerg won the first race of the season in Grevenbroich. However, the event classification went to Dutchman Scott Smulders after a win in the third heat, ahead of Skovbjerg, the young German Jan Krug and Liam Owens, who won the second heat.

In Dreetz, Smulders dominated the first race and also won the second race, narrowly while Skovbjerg struggled with bad starts and always had to start the races from the midfield. With a high pace and very good fitness, he always drove forward in an impressive way and secured the event victory with victory in the third race. Smulders had a bad third run and then had to cede the lead in the standings to Skovbjerg. Reigning champion Mads Fredsoe did better in Dreetz than at the season opener and also showed his strength.

Skovbjerg's starts did not work well in France either, but he still scored two race wins and extended his lead in the standings ahead of Smulders with the event victory. Fredsoe found his way back to his usual form, won the first run, but had to accept a setback with a retirement after a technical defect in the third run.

In the week before Tensfeld, the league leader surprisingly changed teams. The change did not slow Skovbjerg down, on the contrary: he won all three races and extended his lead in the championship enormously, as Smulders had to end his season prematurely after an injury. Fredsoe now moved up to the first chasing position of his compatriot with second place in Tensfeld and Owens also got going again after a small intermediate low. But with a lead of almost 70 points, Skovbjerg could even afford to drop out of an entire event without losing his lead. The big question in the second half of the season will be: can someone counter the Dane and possibly catch up with his lead after all?

Lucas lets it fly

In the ADAC MX Junior Cup 125, the reigning 85cc champion and class newcomer Lucas Leok is the half-time champion. He was the only rider in the class to finish all previous races on the podium, even within the first two positions. In Grevenbroich and Dreetz he duelled with Emil Ziemer, who was able to ride the pace of the young Estonian. But in France, Ziemer had to accept a retirement in one of the heats and could not quite keep up with the pace of the frontrunners.

In Bitche, the leader of the European Championship, Moritz Ernecker, rolled to the starting gate as a guest. But Leok was able to keep up with the Austrian's pace. In the first run, he exerted pressure until Ernecker crashed through his own fault and Leok won. Even though Ernecker won the next two races and the event classification, Leok made a strong statement with his racing: The championship will go through him. Ziemer is almost 40 points behind at halftime, but seems to be the only serious opponent for Leok. All other drivers have been too inconsistent and too slow to keep up with the two top riders. Between Finn Lange, Dawid Zaremba and Tim Schröter, it will probably only be about third place in the championship.

The twins against the rest

After three events in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85, the top three have clearly emerged: the twins Patriks and Martins Cirulis and the German junior rocket Luca Nierychlo. Only the young Englishman Harry Dale can still be dangerous to the top trio and keep up. At the start of the season in Grevenbroich, Dutchman Kenzo Jaspers shone with a double victory ahead of the Cirulis-Twins. In Dreetz, however, he could not show the same performance and gave up the lead in the standings to Martins Cirulis. He shone there with a double victory, while his brother and Nierychlo each achieved a second and third place.

In Tensfeld, both Cirulis brothers won one race each, but Patriks took the event victory with second place in the second race and also the narrow lead in the standings ahead of his brother Martins. Nierychlo finished third twice, which he also holds in the championship. Dale flashed his talent in Tensfeld with a second place, his first running podium of the season, and is within reach of Nierychlo in the championship, who in turn is still in contact with the fast pair of twins. In this class, it may not be the fastest driver who will be in front in the end, but the one who achieves the most consistent top results and makes the fewest mistakes.