New Zealand’s Dylan Walsh was delighted to be among the leading riders at the second round of the European 250 Motocross (EMX250) Championships series in Agueda, Portugal, at the weekend, finishing the day ninth overall with his 7-12 score-card.

Solid performances so far see the Kiwi hero ranked sixth overall in the championship chase after he finished 5-7 at the season opener in Spain.

What started as 64 riders entered into racing on Saturday morning in Portugal was narrowed down to the top 40 through qualifying.

Claiming double race wins against a stacked field of competition was Honda Redmoto Assomotor’s Mathys Boisrame, who led race one from start to finish in one of the most rutted circuits of the year so far.

And behind Boisrame was the Team DIGA-Procross rider Dylan Walsh, from Canterbury.

Walsh held down the second spot for the first 10 laps until Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup came through from fourth.

Haarup who missed the opening round in Spain two weeks ago with an injury held nothing back in his impressive charge forward. Only four laps remained when Haarup passed Walsh, even so Walsh dropped additional four positions before the finish.

Taking the race win was Boisrame followed closely by Haarup as Karel Kutsar took third after starting in eighth. REVO Husqvarna UK’s Mel Pocock rode a steady race to finish fourth.

At the start of race two, Pocock led Creymert Racing’s Kevin Horgmo but Boisrame was again in a perfect position making it around both Pocock and Horgmo by the end of lap one. Kevin Horgmo quickly became the main threat to Boisrame showing him a wheel and swapping positions with each other back and forth.

Horgmo took the lead on lap five but Boisrame find a way back past on lap seven in an epic game of cat and mouse. The pressure never subsided from Horgmo either as he continually pushed Boisrame even amongst lapped traffic.

Another Frenchman having a strong performance was Bud Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Moreau. Moreau, the 2017 European 125 champion, started lap on in sixth but was into fourth behind Pocock on lap four.

To the finish the battle ensued between Horgmo and Boiserame but it becames a little too late for Horgmo when Boisrame crossed the line 0.27 seconds ahead to claim double race wins and the overall victory. Behind Horgmo it was Moreau making a last lap pass on Pocock to take third.

In the overall Boisrame scored the perfect 50 points, Pocock was second with 36 and Giuseppe Tropepe’s 8-5 finishes gave him 29 points, good enough for third. Mel Pocock now leads the championship and takes the red plate heading into Russia two weeks from now.

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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RESULTS & STANDINGS:

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten:

1. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Honda), 31:10.849; 2. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:02.581; 3. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:12.154; 4. Mel Pocock (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:17.543; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +0:19.714; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:23.423; 7. Dylan Walsh (NZL, Husqvarna), +0:25.901; 8. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, Yamaha), +0:29.833; 9. Martin Barr (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:39.094; 10. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:46.625.

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten:

1. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Honda), 30:04.384; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:00.272; 3. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.651; 4. Mel Pocock (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:27.054; 5. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, Yamaha), +1:11.334; 6. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:14.613; 7. Martin Barr (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:22.735; 8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:26.775; 9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +1:30.512; 10. Tomass Sileika (LAT, KTM), +1:31.756.

EMX250 Overall Top Ten:

1. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, HON), 50 points; 2. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 36 p.; 3. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 29 p.; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 28 p.; 6. Martin Barr (GBR, HUS), 26 p.; 7. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 24 p.; 8. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KAW), 23 p.; 9. Dylan Walsh (NZL, HUS), 23 p.; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 22 p.

EMX250 Championship Top Ten:

1. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 73 points; 2. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KAW), 65 p.; 3. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 63 p.; 4. Martin Barr (GBR, HUS), 62 p.; 5. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, HON), 58 p.; 6. Dylan Walsh (NZL, HUS), 53 p.; 7. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 51 p.; 8. Tom Vialle (FRA, HUS), 43 p.; 9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 41 p.; 10. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 40 p.