Briton Dylan Woodcock and his Bonnell Racing team-mate Tanja Schlosser saw off tough competition to win Round 2 of the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup in Oslo.
Schlosser took a clean sweep of race victories to achieve maximum points in the Women’s category, winning the round. The big haul of points means she now leads the World Cup, leapfrogging Sandra Gomez and Francesca Nocera.
Woodcock stayed out of trouble and finished third across all three Men’s heats, securing him third place in the men’s category and the overall round win for Bonnell Racing.
Bonnell Racing now lies third in the World Cup standings, only a single point behind INDE Racing.
Speaking after her clean sweep, Tanja Schlosser, Bonnell Racing, said: “Every lap felt perfect. I was able to build a lead in every race and I was confident doubling every jump. The team and my mechanics have been faultless, the bike worked perfectly. I enjoyed every single moment on the bike.”
Home favourite, Even Heibye, won over the crowd in Norway and was victorious in the men’s category, taking two out of three race victories. A debutant in the series, Heibye was a wildcard entry in Oslo with team GF Logistikk.
The all-Norwegian outfit, GF Logistikk, quickly established themselves as the surprise package this weekend. Heibye’s teammate, Vilde Marie Holt, was also fighting at the front in all three of the Women’s heats, but some small mistakes kept dropping her down the order in the races.
Despite this misfortune, GF Logistikk still managed to finish third in the overall standings, a fantastic achievement for the local team.
Even Heibye, GF Logistikk, added: “The day started really well, I had a great feeling on the bike. I managed to get two firsts and a second so I won overall in the men’s category which is super fantastic, and an overall podium for the team. It was really good to be a part of this race.”
The Norwegian rider would be denied victory in the final race by Team HRC’s Tosha Schareina. Schareina took pole position in this morning’s qualifying session but would lose out to Heibye in the first two races, putting on a show for the home crowd.
In the final race, Schareina looked determined from the outset, passing Gravity’s Alex Andreis for the lead on the opening lap and controlled the race to the chequered flag. This determination would reward Schareina with second place in the men’s category, pushing him into first place on the World Cup leaderboard.
Francesca Nocera valiantly battled through this afternoon’s races after suffering a crash in qualifying. The Italian rider was cleared to race, attaining the vital points to place Team HRC second in the overall standings for Round 2.
The Honda CR Electric Proto split two Stark Future bikes on the podium, and the second-place finish retains Team HRC’s lead in the Hyperbike category.
Missing out on the podium by only four points and finishing the day in fourth, came INDE Racing. Sandra Gomez was stellar throughout the day, taking an often unchallenged second place in every race.
Filling in for the injured Spenser Wilton, local rider Runar Sudmann quickly adapted to the new machinery and got stuck in with the action. Sudmann had great battles all day, particularly with PCR-E PERFORMANCE’s Stuart Edmonds, and this performance has helped INDE Racing to second overall in the World Cup standings.
Gravity consolidated their position in the World Cup and had a solid day in the Norwegian capital. Andrine Olstad replaced Schlosser for this round, as the German rider switched teams to Bonnell Racing. Olstad was another rider who quickly showed her class on the Stark Future, rapidly familiarising herself with the new bike and format. Alex Andreis seemed to battle with Stuart Edmonds all day on track, conceding fourth place in the round to the Irish rider by only a single point.
Fourth-placed Edmonds rode well for team PCR-E PERFORMANCE. The bike looked strong throughout the day which Nieve Holmes took advantage of by qualifying second. Holmes converted this to three solid results in the races, to finish third on the Women’s podium. The points from Oslo lift the team to fifth in the World Cup standings.
Winning the GT class and riding on EBMX, AUS-E Racing extracted everything from their machinery. Jack Field ran in third at one stage in race three, despite having less power than the Hyperbike class. The team will hope to use this momentum when the World Cup heads to France for the next round where the class is expected to grow in popularity.
Returning to the World Cup, SEVEN Racing had a tough start to their season. Gabriel Jairala and Mette Fidje showed glimmers of quality throughout both days and will use Oslo as a learning experience for the final three rounds of the season. Fidje finished third in race one, but bad luck would hamper her results in races two and three. SEVEN Racing has a lot of experience in the World Cup and will aspire to be back at the front for the next round at the end of June.
FIM E-Xplorer World Cup Round 2 Results
1st – Bonnell Racing, 135 Points
2nd – Team HRC, 121 Points
3rd – GF Logstikk, 116 Points
4th – INDE Racing, 112 Points
5th – PCR-E PERFORMANCE, 107 Points
6th – Gravity, 96 Points
7th – AUS-E Racing, 84 Points
8th – SEVEN Racing, 74 Points
FIM E-Xplorer World Cup Championship Ranking
1st – Team HRC, 253 Points
2nd – INDE Racing, 233 Points
3rd – Bonnell Racing, 232 Points
4th – Gravity, 214 Points
5th – PCR-E PERFORMANCE, 196 Points
6th – AUS-E Racing, 165 Points
7th – SEVEN Racing, 74 Points