Mixed conditions for FIM JuniorGP at Estoril

2024 FIM Junior GP Championships
Round Two – Estoril

Following a fantastic curtain raising weekend in Misano, the second round of the 2024 FIM JuniorGP World Championship saw competitors head to the Circuito do Estoril for six more races around an iconic piece of Portuguese asphalt.

Rain and fog may have caused some unwanted delays on qualifying day in Estoril but once the action resumed, it didn’t disappoint.

Young Kiwi Cormac Buchanan (AGR Team) claimed a debut FIM JuniorGP World Championship pole. Angus Grenfell earned 21st place on the JuniorGP grid.

Carlos Cano (SeventyTwo ARTBOX Racing Team) topped qualifying in the European Talent Cup.  Aussie youngster Marianos Nikolis qualified 25th.

MotoE World Champion Mattia Casadei (Fantic Cardoso Racing) bagged a first Saturday P1 in the Moto2 European Championship. Harrison Voight would start from 17th after problems in Qualifying.

Dino Iozzo (IUM Motorsports) took pole position in the Stock class. Aussie youngsters Archie McDonald and Declan van Rosmalen qualified 14th and 17th, respectively.

Sunday morning also started very wet but the precipitation steadily eased as the day wore on.

JuniorGP Race One

With the rain stopping an hour or so before JuniorGP lights out, large parts of the Estoril surface had dried up as mixed tyre options were selected for the only race of the day.

Jesus Rios (MRE Talent) and Casey James O’Gorman (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) were two of the top riders who opted for at least one wet tyre, but the eventual podium finishers went for slicks at both ends.

Salmela wasn’t in the fight for the podium at the start, but the Finn bridged the gap rapidly and once he hit the front, there was no looking back as he streaked away from the field.

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O’Gorman suffered a late crash out of second place just as the Irishman was piling on the pressure after setting the fastest lap of the race. O’Gorman’s demise left pole-sitter Cormac Buchanan (AGR Team) and Marcos Uriarte (CFMOTO Aspar Junior Team) to squabble over P2 and P3.

In the end, Salmela won by 2.5s as Uriarte pipped third-place Buchanan to P2.

Cormac Buchanan – P3

“It was a really good race for me. We went with the slicks last minute and it was still quite a wet track so
the priority for me was to come home with some points. Third place is a solid result.

“I think today the win was on the cards but there’s a few little things to improve and that comes with
experience. Avoiding the crash detached me from the leader so I think if that didn’t happen we could have
been in for more but third is still really good points for the championship and we keep focused on this.

“With such a cold track the tyres weren’t performing to their optimum and I still had the wet set up so in
those circumstances, you have to consolidate. Considering where we were on Friday with the big crash and
injury, I’m really happy to get another podium.

“My plan was always to get away fast and try to make the group as small as possible. I made a strong start and pushed really hard in the opening laps. It was really difficult because the conditions were changing all the time but it was good to lead the race and I felt really comfortable so this gives me really good confidence heading into Barcelona.”

Angus Grenfell crossed the stripe in 16th place to just miss out on scoring points.

Championship leader Rios crossed the line in P26 to pick up no points from Estoril but aims to bounce back on home turf in Barcelona next time out.

JuniorGP Race Results

JuniorGP Championship Points

1. JESÚS RIOS 50
2. MARCOS URIARTE 46
3. ALESSANDRO MOROSI 42
4. ADRIÁN CRUCES 40
5. CORMAC BUCHANAN 32
6. EDDIE O’SHEA 29
7. RICO SALMELA 25
8. CASEY JAMES O`GORMAN 24
9. DANIAL SHAHRIL 17
10. MÁXIMO QUILES 17

Moto2 European Championship Race One

Casadei’s splashed his way to a commanding victory as the Italian sailed to his first 25 points in the class in the opening Moto2 race of the day. 12 seconds was his advantage at the chequered flag over second place Jorge Navarro (Forward EEST Racing), the experienced Spaniard picking up a podium in his first outing.

Taiga Hada (GAS UP Racing Team) returned to the rostrum for the first time since 2021 with a well-earned P3.

Harrison Voight slipped off in the tricky conditions on the second lap and could not get his machine going again.

Moto2 European Championship Race One Results

Moto2 European Championship Race Two

Race 2 saw contrasting conditions emerge as a dry race unfolded, with Garcia producing a scintillating comeback to claim a debut win from P15.

Casadei didn’t have an answer for the Spaniard in the afternoon but a second place – and 45 more points – sees him take the Championship lead into Round 3.

Third place went to Alberto Ferrandez (Finetwork Team), that’s his second podium of the season.

Alberto Surra (Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro) crashed out in Race 2 as the Italian endures a tougher weekend at the office in Estoril.

Voight made amends for his race one mistake by bagging good points for seventh place in the second contest.

Moto2 European Championship Race Two Results

1. Roberto Garcia
2. Mattia Casadei +1.850
3. Alberto Ferrandez +2.391
4. Taiga Hada +4.763s
5. Eric Fernandez +6.105
6. Francesco Mongiardo +8.027
7. Harrison Voight +8.930
8. Jorge Navarro +9.847
9. Johan Gimbert +11.726
10. Ivo Lopes +13.399
11. Lorenzo Fellon +15.796
12. Mattia Volpi +18.897
13. Mattia Rato +19.236
14. Eduardo Montero +24.336
15. Jacopo Hosciuc +29.782
16. Gianpaolo Di Vittori +39.303
17. Chanon Inta +39.524
18. Charles Aubrie +77.169
    DNF Daniel Munoz
    DNF Kaito Toba
    DNF Unai Orradre
    DNF Alberto Surra

Moto2 European Championship Points

1. MATTIA CASADEI  58
2. ROBERTO GARCIA  55
3. ALBERTO FERRÁNDEZ 41
4. ALBERTO SURRA 38
5. TAIGA HADA 36
6. JORGE NAVARRO 28
7. ERIC FERNÁNDEZ 27
8. FRANCESCO MONGIARDO 25
9. UNAI ORRADRE 16
10. DANIEL MUÑOZ 16
11. HARRISON VOIGHT 15
12. JOHAN GIMBERT 15
13. MATTIA RATO 14
14. LORENZO FELLON 12
15.  IVO LOPES 6

Stock European Championship Race

In the final race of the day, drama was delivered in spades. Rodriguez came from P4 to take a maiden Stock Championship victory in a restarted race, with Iker Garcia (Yamaha GV Racing) and Francisco Ruiz (DR Andifer Team) debuting on the podium in the class.

Having seen the track dry out after morning rain, the heavens opened once more after just three laps, with polesitter and then race leader Dino Iozzo (IUM Motorsports) highsiding and hitting the deck coming out of Turn 9. The red flags waved and the race restarted, but without the South African on pole as he and his Australian team-mate Declan Van Rosmalen launched from pitlane after deciding not to go out with the rest of the field. That left Rodriguez unobstructed as he got the perfect launch, though Garcia, Ruiz and Alex Millan (Team Zivimotor) all took turns in the lead.

It was a tight-knit quartet until the final lap, when Rodriguez then posted the best race lap as he stole a march to victory, with Millan the one to lose out in an entertaining podium battle.

Lorenzo Dall Porta (Yamaha GV Racing), Misano winner and current Championship leader, came home in a fairly lonely P5 to preserve his lead.

Archie McDonald bagged a couple of points from a 15th-place finish in the tricky conditions. 23 riders finished, while nine did not make the chequered flag.

Stock European Championship Race Result

1. Adrian Rodriguez
2. Iker Garcia +1.271
3. Francisco Ruiz +1.288
4. Alex Millan +2.206
5. Lorenzo Dalla Porta +18.774
6. Demis Mihaila +22.857
7. Nil Roig +29.839
8. Mario Mayor +32.971
9. Kavan Quintal +34.866
10. Ruben Romero +44.505
11. Goncalo Ribeiro +49.119
12. Davide Fabbri +62.296
13. Carlos Vialle +67.397
14. Archie McDonald +69.196
15. Joan Santos +69.236

Stock European Championship Points

1. LORENZO DALLA PORTA 36
2. FRANCISCO RUIZ 27
3. ADRIÁN RODRÍGUEZ 25
4. IKER GARCÍA 25
5. MARIO MAYOR 21
6. ANDY VERDOÏA 20
7. NIL ROIG 19
8. DINO IOZZO 16
9. ALEX MILLÁN 13
10. DEMIS MIHAILA 13
11. ARCHIE McDONALD 10
12. BORJA JIMÉNEZ 9
13. RUBÉN ROMERO 8
14. KAVIN QUINTAL 7
15. JOSE LUIS ARMARIO 7
16. MARCO GARCÍA 6
17. GONÇALO RIBEIRO 5
18. DAVIDE FABBRI 4
19. KILIAN NESTOLA 4
20. CARLOS VALLE 3

European Talent Cup Race One

Carlos Cano went from pole to the top step in Portugal with almost six-seconds in his back pocket as Misano victor Marco Morelli (MLav Racing) settled for second.

Fernando Bujosa (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) came through the long lap penalty loop and some stiff competition for the final podium place.

Aussie youngster Marianos Nikolis just missed out on the points with a 17th place finish.

European Talent Cup Race One Results

1. Carlos Cano
2. Marco Morelli +5.914
3. Fernando Bujosa +18.797
4. Alex Longarela +24.074
5. Luca Agostinelli +27.068
6. Jesus Torres +27.285
7. Pablo Olivares +31.165
8. Vasileios Panteleakis +31.346
9. David Da Costa +32.660
10. Giulio Pugliese +33.362
11. Gabriel Tesini +38.021
12. Valentin Perrone +42.697
13. Rocco Sessler +42.893
14. Gonazlo Perez +42.911
15. Seiryu Ikegami +44.452
16. Edoardo Bertola +45.300
17. Marianos Nikolis +45.595
18. Evan Boxberger +93.875

European Talent Cup Race Two

It was a case of same outcome, different circumstances in the second bout as Cano made it a perfect Portuguese weekend with another win, but this time it was much closer than a few hours earlier.

In the dry conditions, less than a second covered the top 10 at the flag in a brilliant ETC encounter that saw Jesus Torres (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Valentine Perrone (Frando Racing VHC Team) stand on the rostrum for the first time in 2024.

Marianos Nikolis bagged three-points from his 13th place finish from what was a 32-rider field.

European Talent Cup Race Two Results

1. Carlos Cano
2. Jesus Torres +0.148
3. Valentin Perrone +0.225
4. Seiryu Ikegami +0.238
5. Pau Alsina +0.317
6. Giulio Pugliese +0.620
7. Fernando Bujosa +0.734
8. Leonardo Zanni +0.743
9. Benat Fernandez +0.902
10. Gonzalo Perez +0.936
11. Benjamin Caillet +4.526
12. Pablo Olivares +4.550
13. Marianos Nikolis +4.950
14. Luca Agostinelli +5.864
15. Kristian Daniel Jr +5.913

European Talent Cup Points

1. CARLOS CANO  70
2. MARCO MORELLI 65
3. VALENTÍN PERRONE 46
4. JESÚS TORRES 45
5. GIULIO PUGLIESE 41
6. DAVID GONZÁLEZ 36
7. LEONARDO ZANNI 33
8. FERNANDO BUJOSA 25
9. LUCA AGOSTINELLI 20
10. PAU ALSINA 19
11. SEIRYU IKEGAMI 18
12. KERMAN TINEZ 18
13. GONZALO PÉREZ 17
14. GABRIEL TESINI 16
15. BENJAMIN CAILLET 14
16. ALEX LONGARELA 13
17. PABLO OLIVARES 13
18. BEÑAT FERNÁNDEZ 12
19. MARIANOS NIKOLIS 11
20. VASILEIOS PANTELEAKIS 8