Oliver, Campano and Ubach win the Nacional MX races in Malpartida
Oliver, Campano and Ubach win the Nacional MX races in Malpartida
The past weekend saw the fourth round of the 2019 season of the Spanish Motocross Championship held in Malpartida de Cáceres, so the Las Arenas Circuit was the stage for a highly intense race for all categories.
In the qualifying sessions, José Antonio Butrón, Simeó Ubach and Oriol Oliver were the best. In the first MX125 heat the undisputed protagonist was Oriol himself, who led from the start. In the second heat of this category, after a multiple crash at the first corner, Guillem Farrés got to first with Oriol right on his heels. Halfway through the race, Farrés went down and Oriol took the lead. Behind them, Eddie Jay Wade, Samuel Nilsson, Gerard Congost and David Braceras fought for third place, but with Guillem’s problems, Wade finished second and Nilsson third.
José Antonio Butrón led until about 19 minutes had passed, but Carlos Campano, who had previously overtaken Ander Valentín, took the first position. The KTM rider finished second and the Husqvarna rider third, well behind the two in front.
In the second heat, Butrón started first with Campano behind him, Jorge Zaragoza third and Ander Valentín fourth. Only three laps after the fence crash, Carlos passed José Antonio to push and pull away from all his rivals. As Campano overtook Butrón, Valentín did the same to Zaragoza and moved into third. With two nerve-wracking final laps, with Butrón glued to Campano, very exciting moments unfolded. The KTM rider tried to pass but couldn’t, and the Yamaha Castro rider won, taking the Red Plate as 24MX leader.
In the first ÉliteMX2 heat, Mario Lucas led for almost all the laps, setting a strong pace. Simeó Ubach was second, chasing the Alicante rider. José Antonio Aparicio, Roger Oliver and Oriol Casas fought for the last podium spot. Two laps from the end, Simeó passed Mario and took the first win of the day. Lucas crossed the line second and José Antonio Aparicio third.
Simeó led the second heat again ahead of Mario Lucas, who held on to second place, gradually closing in on him. So much so that he got close and, trying to pass him, went down, dropping back to third. With this, José Antonio Aparicio moved into second, reaching the podium in that position. Mario finished the top three.
The Malpartida race was the second in which the Holeshot Hesperia Michelin award was given out. In ÉliteMX1, José Antonio Butrón took it in both heats, while in ÉliteMX2 Simeó Ubach, who had already claimed it in Talavera, took it again.
The next round of the RFME Spanish Motocross Championship will be held in Bellpuig, Lleida, on the weekend of 13 and 14 April.
Photographs: Lluís Llurba
