Max Nagl is unbeatable at the ADAC MX Masters on Saturday. Liam Owens celebrates his first race win in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup. Lucas Leok is on the verge of winning the title in the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85.

The ADAC MX Masters celebrated a successful premiere in Bitche on Saturday. For the first time, an event of the series took place in France. Max Nagl (D/Dörr Motorsport Triumph Racing powered by Krettek) won Saturday's race in the ADAC MX Masters class. Liam Owens (AU/Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna) prevailed in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup with a lights-to-flag victory. Lucas Leok (EST/KTM MX Futures) won the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85.

As Acerbi's Best Qualifier, Nagl laid the foundation for a successful Saturday during qualifying. In the first race, he prevailed in the starting corner and won the Red Bull Holeshot. While the following riders took their positions in the first laps, Nagl built up a lead that he controlled from then on. Noah Ludwig (D/KTM Sarholz Racing Team) was initially ahead of Maximilian Spies (D/Becker Racing), but crashed midway through the race and retired. Spies inherited second place and Marcel Stauffer (A/Osicka MX Team) moved up to third place. In the last third of the race, Jordi Tixier (F/KMP-Honda-Racing powered by DVAG) pushed championship leader Roan Van de Moosdijk (NL/Kosak Racing Team) from fourth place. Max Nagl won with a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Spies and Stauffer and is thus back in the lead of the standings before Sunday's races.

"The victory feels very good and was also necessary after the last two events. Finally, I was able to achieve something positive again. Already in qualifying, things went better than expected and pole position was very positive. I was then able to take that well into the race. After the Red Bull holeshot, I quickly found a good rhythm and managed my lead," said Nagl.

In the first race, Liam Owens sprinted out of the starting gate the fastest, but was ousted from the front by Maximilian Ernecker (A/SixtySeven Racing Husqvarna) on the first lap. Championship leaders Mads Fredsoe (DK/Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna) and Bradley Mesters (NL/Kosak Racing Team), on the other hand, were far back in the field. Ernecker dropped back to fifth place on the second lap, so Owens took the lead ahead of Maxime Grau (F/WZ-Racing KTM) and Nico Greutmann (CH/Cat Moto Bauerschmidt Husqvarna). After a mistake by Grau on lap four, he swapped places with Greutmann. Meanwhile, Fredsoe fought his way up to fourth place, while Mesters struggled to finish in the points throughout the race. In the final third of the race, Nicolai Skovbjerg (DK/Wozniak MX Racing Team) moved up into the top five. Owens won his first race of the season ahead of Greutmann and Grau.

"I was so scared by the Red Bull Holeshot that I let myself be overtaken right away. That was the first start win for me in two years. But after that it went well and I found a good rhythm in the difficult conditions. I'm very happy about the first race win of the season," said Owens.

In the ADAC MX Junior Cup 85, Lucas Leok started from pole position, but had to cede the Red Bull holeshot to Gregor Lootus (EST/KTM). After two laps, Leok was in the lead. His closest rival in the championship, Jarno Jansen (CH/SixtySeven Racing Husqvarna), dropped from fifth to ninth place after a crash in the middle of the race. Luca Frank (D/Becker Racing) ousted Marten Raud (EST/MX-Handel Husqvarna Racing) from third place on lap six. Leok won ahead of Lootus and Frank, while Jansen only came in eighth. This gives Leok so much of a lead in the standings that he could become the new ADAC MX Junior Cup 85 champion early on Sunday.

"I'm very happy about the victory and that it's going so well. I'm not thinking about the championship yet, I'm concentrating on myself run by run," said Leok.

The re-live of the first day of racing is available on the ADAC Motorsport YouTube channel available. The livestream of all races on Sunday starts at 10.20 a.m. and can be downloaded at adac.de/mx-mastersbe prosecuted.

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