Max Nagl flexed his muscles at the start of the MX Masters season
Created: 05/27/2022, 11:45 am
By: Paul Hopp
Confident on a difficult course: Max Nagl clinched the day's victory with the optimum of 75 points at the MX Masters opener, which took place in Dreetz.
© ADAC Motorsport
That was a clear signal to the competition: At the start of the ADAC MX Masters in Dreetz, Max Nagl showed that he can still do it - even on a track that was new to him.
Dreetz – It is hard to believe, but even a Max Nagl – although he has been in the business for so long as a professional – occasionally still experiences something new when it comes to “motocross”.
The start of the ADAC MX Masters meant a real premiere for the 34-year-old veteran from Weilheim.
"I've never driven on the track in Dreetz (Brandenburg) before," he said.
“And I have to say that it is the most strenuous track on the entire ADAC MX Masters calendar.
You always have to ride with pressure on the very deep ground so that the motorcycle is stable.” In any case, Nagl had his “Husqvarna” under control.
How else could the 2012 World Team Champion have dominated the competition like he did over the weekend?
With the maximum of 75 points, Nagl won the daily ranking in the MX class.
Max Nagl wins the daily ranking with a maximum of points
The appearance was also a sign to the competition that Nagl is willing and able to win the prestigious series again 14 years after his last overall victory.
After his success in 2008, his main focus was fighting for points in the MX World Championship.
Up until 2017, in the top league, he almost always ended up in the top ten at the end of the year.
In 2009 he became Vice World Champion, in 2016 third.
Since Nagl no longer competes in the World Championships, he has been increasingly involved in the MX Masters.
Last year he was on the verge of taking the overall title before injury stopped him - he ended up third.
The start in Dreetz was also a kind of comeback for Nagl.
"I haven't competed in a race for seven months and I'm happy to have won here right away," said the driver from the "Krettek-Haas Racing Team".
“My good starts were a good basis for the three race wins.
To be honest, I'm a bit surprised myself with the maximum number of points."
The MX Masters now take place in a special format.
There are now three races per event (instead of two as before), with the first race already taking place on the training day.
Nagl - fifth in qualifying - won the first race with a six-second advantage over Dutchman Lars van Berkel.
The Spaniard Jorge Zaragoza had gotten the “holeshot” (first into the first corner), but the veteran soon passed.
From the fourth lap he was in the lead and didn't let anything get in the way.
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The next day, in the second race, Nagl clinched a superior start-finish victory.
After winning the holeshot, he continued to pull away from the other pilots and won 27 seconds behind Adam Sterry.
The British KTM rider got the “holeshot” from the Weilheimer in the third race.
As a result, both fought a duel for the lead over several laps.
In the end, Nagl decided that for himself.
“I was surprised that Adam Sterry slipped through the inside at the start, but I was able to pick up a few good tracks from him.
The fight with him was fun and very fair,” said Nagl in an ADAC statement.
A driving error then caused Sterry to drop back to fifth place.
Nagl crossed the finish line eleven seconds ahead of Frenchman Jordi Tixier.
Youngster Valentin Kees once in the points
Also at the start in Dreetz was young driver Valentin Kees, who was involved in the "Youngster Cup".
The 17-year-old from the “KTM Kosak Racing” team said he had a “very tough weekend”.
Kees qualified tenth in his group.
In the first race, the man from Schwabniederhofen took 19th place among 40 pilots and thus collected two points for the overall ranking.
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In the other two races, Kees did finish, but missed the points (22nd/28th).
The Spaniard Guillem Farres, who, like Nagl, scored the maximum number of points, won the day's classification ahead of the South African Camden McLellan and the German Maximilian Spies (Ortrand/Brandenburg).
