Eemeli Lahti enjoyed a flawless weekend at Imatranajo, winning all four of his races—including the prestigious King of Imatra finale. At the same time, the new European Series Road Racing (ESR) championship made a successful debut in Finland.
As early as Saturday’s podium ceremony, chants of “There is only one Eemeli Lahti” echoed through the crowd as Lahti celebrated victories in both the international European Series Road Racing Superbike class and the Imatranajo Open Superbike class.
Lahti’s dominant form continued on Sunday. He first claimed another ESR Superbike victory before triumphing in the weekend’s headline race, the King of Imatra (Open Superbike). In addition to the title and the honour, he was presented with the unique S.U.F Helsinki Baron King of Imatra 2026 timepiece.
“We’ve been chasing this title for years while Erno (Kostamo) held it. We’ve been trying to win it for a long time. It feels amazing to finally become the new King of Imatra. This morning’s race was probably the most physically demanding, but the afternoon race was definitely the toughest. It required complete concentration, and the conditions were far from ideal for racing. The goal was simply to cross the finish line first,” Lahti said with a broad smile.
In the 60th King of Imatra race, Niko Lehtiranta finished second, while Germany’s Nico Müller completed the podium in third.
In the ESR Superbike race, Lehtiranta was runner-up behind Lahti, with Kenny Koskinen taking third.
Great Britain’s Gary Johnson proved strongest in Sunday’s ESR Supersport race, ahead of Rasmus Nurmi in second and Juho Kantola in third.
Outside the King of Imatra and ESR championship classes, victories went to Gary Johnson (Open Supersport), Pekka Päivärinta and Great Britain’s Adam Christie (Sidecars), Anssi Koski (Classic/Retro Superbike), and Ilari Nieminen (ICGP).
No One Could Beat Lahti
Rain began falling before the King of Imatra race, but the start took place on a dry track. Lahti made the perfect launch, while Sweden’s Rasmus Lindström and Switzerland’s Olivier Lupberger crashed in the first corner. The incident also damaged the outer safety barrier, forcing a red flag.
While waiting for the restart, heavy rain arrived over parts of the circuit, leaving riders to carefully consider their tyre choices.
The restart was further delayed by technical issues with the starting lights. When the race finally got underway on a partially wet circuit, Lahti was momentarily caught off guard on the grid. Lehtiranta seized the lead, but Lahti immediately gave chase. On lap three, he found an opportunity to overtake and never looked back.
“I tried to pull away from Niko, but I think the tyre temperatures started climbing too much. I had to back off for a while to get some grip back. My plan was to push hard in the closing laps if Niko got close enough,” explained Lahti, who had opted for wet-weather tyres.
Lehtiranta finished second and Nico Müller third. Kenny Koskinen, who had started from the pit lane on dry tyres, charged impressively from the back of the 11-rider field to fourth place within four laps before being forced to retire.
Earlier in the day, Lahti had also dominated the ESR Superbike race. He grabbed the lead immediately, while Lehtiranta dropped to fourth at the start behind Kenny Koskinen and Switzerland’s Lukas Maurer. Maurer briefly moved into second on lap two, but Lahti steadily pulled away. Lehtiranta overtook Koskinen before also passing Maurer, who eventually slipped behind Koskinen into fourth. The finishing order was Lahti, Lehtiranta, Koskinen, Maurer and Ville Valtonen.
Kantola, Nurmi and Johnson Delivered a Thriller
In the ESR Supersport race, Imatran Moottorikerho rider Niko Tanskanen made an excellent start, slotting into second place behind Gary Johnson through the opening corner. By the end of the first lap, Johnson led the race with Juho Kantola in second.
Soon after, Imatranajo debutant Rasmus Nurmi took over at the front, with Johnson second and Kantola close behind in third. Tanskanen held fourth, just a couple of seconds adrift.
Johnson reclaimed the lead at the end of the main straight halfway through the race. At the beginning of lap seven, Kantola used the slipstream of the leading pair to move into first under braking at the end of the straight, while Nurmi defended hard against Johnson. One lap later, Kantola attempted to keep Johnson behind on the straight, but Nurmi returned to the lead with Johnson in second. At the start of the penultimate lap, Johnson once again found a way past Nurmi at the same spot.
Johnson secured his fourth class victory of the weekend despite Nurmi setting the fastest lap of the race in the closing stages. Kantola completed the podium after an intense battle throughout the race.
“That was an incredible race. These young guys rode brilliantly. I’m nearly fifty, while they still have many years of racing ahead of them. Rasmus was especially impressive considering it was his first time here. We raced hard but safely and respected each other throughout the battle. The crowd was fantastic as well—I really enjoyed my time here. I set two lap records and took four wins this weekend, but none of them came easily,” Johnson said, giving full credit to the young Finnish riders.
Nurmi was understandably delighted after crossing the finish line.
“I needed to stay precise in the opening laps, find the right lines and gradually increase the pace. That worked well. On the final lap I tried to improve my braking points to catch Gary. My goal was to be close enough on the finish straight to attack in the slipstream, but I had to brake so hard to avoid hitting him that I had to stand the bike upright before leaning it back into the corner. It almost threw me off. The race felt amazing and I’ll definitely be back. It was fantastic,” Nurmi said.
Tanskanen finished fourth, followed by Juho-Oskari Mähönen in fifth.
Sunday Began with an Incredible Battle
Sunday’s racing opened with the second Open Supersport race in perfect dry conditions.
Gary Johnson launched into the lead from the start with Juho Kantola right behind him. Niko Tanskanen appeared to lose ground off the line but quickly recovered to third place. Moments later, Kantola outbraked Johnson into the chicane to take the lead, while Rasmus Nurmi settled into fourth.
Johnson reclaimed first place on the main straight at the beginning of lap two, only for Kantola to respond immediately with another bold pass under braking into the chicane.
After struggling with technical issues on Saturday, Tanskanen’s race came to a disappointing end on lap three when he retired. Shortly afterwards, Juho Mähönen also headed into the pits, leaving Kantola and Johnson to gradually pull away from Nurmi in third.
Past halfway, Johnson drafted past Kantola at the end of the main straight. On the following lap, Kantola responded with an outside move, but ran slightly wide, allowing Johnson to retake the position. On the final lap, Kantola made another successful pass on the inside at the same corner. Moments later the pair swapped positions twice before the chicane, but the decisive move came on the finish straight, where Johnson used the slipstream to snatch victory by just 0.026 seconds.
Nurmi finished third.
“That was one of the best races I’ve ever ridden. It was incredibly close, completely fair and very respectful. Juho is a fantastic rider,” Johnson said in praise of Kantola.
Päivärinta Returned to the Top Step
Estonia’s Jaanus Saarmaa and Sander Telve made a sensational start in the Sidecar race, jumping from third on the grid into the lead. Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie ran second, while reigning circuit racing world champions Sam and Tom Christie of Great Britain were third.
Päivärinta briefly took the lead on the opening lap before Saarmaa fought back, only for Päivärinta to reclaim first place once again. From there, the Finnish legend steadily pulled away. Adam Christie eventually found a way past the Estonian pairing on lap five, but by then Päivärinta had built a twelve-second advantage.
Päivärinta claimed a convincing victory, returning to the top step at Imatra after finishing second on Saturday behind the Christie brothers. Adam and Sam Christie finished second on Sunday, while Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg completed the podium.
“It always means a great deal to me, and I get emotional when I hear our national anthem, when I’m part of an event like this and the motorcycle is roaring beneath me,” Päivärinta said on the podium.
“The difference between experience and inexperience showed on the opening lap. Once Saarmaa gains more experience at this level, he’ll become an even stronger rider. There was no need for him to defend so much because he had a very powerful engine. When you keep defending, you lose momentum. Those opening laps were actually quite straightforward for me,” Päivärinta explained.
Koski and Nieminen Victorious in the Classic Classes
Roope Pitkonen led the opening laps of the Classic / Retro Superbike race before Ari-Petteri Kuivalainen and Anssi Koski joined the fight for victory. Kuivalainen held the lead until lap six, when Koski moved into first place. Kuivalainen’s rhythm faded during the closing laps, and he ran off the circuit on the final lap. Koski cruised to victory while also setting the fastest lap of the race.
Pitkonen finished second, Mikko Harsunen third and Kuivalainen seventh.
“That was racing at its very best. It was great that the guys kept pushing hard and really challenged me. We got to race properly instead of riding alone,” Koski said.
The results of Saturday’s Classic / Retro Superbike race were amended on Sunday following an officials’ error. Koski and Kuivalainen retained first and second place respectively, while Pitkonen was promoted to third.
In the ICGP class for classic 250cc and 350cc two-stroke motorcycles (International Classic Grand Prix), Topi Mustonen made another outstanding start from pole position and quickly built a lead, just as he had done in Saturday’s winning ride. Portugal’s Fernando Mendes settled into second place.
A few laps later, however, Mustonen was forced to retire, handing the lead to Ilari Nieminen. Behind him, Mendes and Germany’s Matthias Bormann battled over second place until Bormann and Great Britain’s Richard Peers-Jones began fighting for third.
The chequered flag fell with Nieminen taking victory ahead of Bormann and Peers-Jones. Mendes managed to nurse his machine across the finish line in fourth despite technical problems.
“It feels great. It’s a shame Topi had mechanical trouble. It would have been nice to race against him. My riding was a little better than yesterday,” Nieminen reflected.
Seventy-five-year-old Richard Peers-Jones first raced at Imatra in the 1974 World Championship aboard a 500cc machine he had bought from Barry Sheene. After decades away, he returned to Imatra in 2019 with the ICGP series and once again lined up on the historic street circuit this weekend.
With that, the 60th Imatranajo came to a close, and the Jarno Saarinen Circuit Imatra fell silent for another year.
Results
60th Imatranajo – Imatra
Sunday, 5 July 2026King of Imatra (Open Superbike)
- Eemeli Lahti (FIN), Aprilia – 15:58.411
- Niko Lehtiranta (FIN), BMW +4.610
- Nico Müller (GER), BMW +6.838
- Ville Valtonen (FIN), Ducati +41.188
- Markus Karlsson (SWE), BMW +50.151
ESR Superbike
- Eemeli Lahti (FIN), Aprilia – 18:25.399
- Niko Lehtiranta (FIN), BMW +9.872
- Kenny Koskinen (FIN), Aprilia +13.574
- Lukas Maurer (SUI), BMW +22.923
- Ville Valtonen (FIN), Ducati +24.086
ESR Supersport
- Gary Johnson (GBR), Suzuki – 19:29.980
- Rasmus Nurmi (FIN), Yamaha +0.203
- Juho Kantola (FIN), Ducati +0.731
- Niko Tanskanen (FIN), Yamaha +20.293
- Juho-Oskari Mähönen (FIN), Yamaha +43.556
Open Supersport
- Gary Johnson (GBR), Suzuki – 15:38.878
- Juho Kantola (FIN), Ducati +0.026
- Rasmus Nurmi (FIN), Yamaha +7.919
Sidecars
- Pekka Päivärinta (FIN) / Adam Christie (GBR), Yamaha – 16:48.004
- Sam Christie (GBR) / Tom Christie (GBR), Yamaha +14.888
- Bennie Streuer (NED) / Manon Vissenberg (NED), Yamaha +24.641
Classic / Retro Superbike
- Anssi Koski (FIN), Aprilia – 16:24.203
- Roope Pitkonen (FIN), Suzuki +11.368
- Mikko Harsunen (FIN), Suzuki +31.860
ICGP (250cc & 350cc Two-Stroke)
- Ilari Nieminen (FIN), Honda – 17:55.688
- Matthias Bormann (GER), Yamaha +51.004
- Richard Peers-Jones (GBR), Yamaha +53.792
Full results:
https://speedhive.mylaps.com/livetiming/A1C26E0E6307C0E9-2147484145
60th Imatranajo
3–5 July 2026Jarno Saarinen Circuit Imatra
Facebook: www.facebook.com/imatranajo
Instagram: www.instagram.com/imatranajo
Tickets:
www.lippu.fi/artist/imatranajoOfficial Event Programme:
Vauhdin Maailma 6/2026Organizer:
Imatran Moottorikerho ry.
www.imk.fiEuropean Series Road Racing:
esroadracing.comImage: Harjukuvat