- With a seventh and a second position, Ángel Piqueras increases his lead to 54 points ahead of JuniorGP. compared to second place.
- Rico Salmela, fourth, was the best qualified driver of the team in the only race played in the European Talent Cup.
- Despite his absence due to injury, Brian Uriarte remains one point away from the lead and with the options of winning the championship intact.
- “Fighting for the title in both categories makes us proud. All the drivers did a great job one more weekend. We are already looking forward to the next race to continue progressing,” says Jaime Serrano, CEO of the team.
Team Estrella Galicia 0.0 passed the fourth stop of the FIM JuniorGP World Championship, which took place at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (Portugal). After playing two races in JuniorGP, Ángel Piqueras extended his lead to the overall standings, while Rico Salmela was the best placed of the team with a fourth position in the European Talent Cup.
The first JuniorGP manga maintained equality throughout the race, with no major differences between the top drivers. This provoked an exciting outcome where Ángel Piqueras managed to save two outings -the first of them with two laps left when leading the test- to finish in seventh position. Facundo Llambías climbed thirteen positions to finish 16th and Alex Gourdon finished 20th, while Elia Bartolini suffered a fall in the fourth spin.
The riders had just enough time to regain air before facing the second round of the day at JuniorGP,15 laps away. In this case, Piqueras managed to escape from the squad along with two other pilots with whom a victory was played that escaped him by only 13 thousandths. From behind, Elia Bartolini could make up for the previous fall to finish in 10th position, and Facundo Llambías finished 13th. Alex Gourdon couldn’t finish the race.
Thanks to the points added in Portimão, Piqueras consolidates his lead in the category with 140 points. If before landing in Portugal he was 46 ahead, now become 54 who has over his maximum pursuer. Bartolini, who scored 6 points, is the 14th ranked with 33, while Llambías is 19th with 12 points.
As for the drivers of the European Talent Cup, this time they only had a single test ahead, where Team Estrella Galicia 0.0 could not count on Brian Uriarte, low due to injury. His teammate Rico Salmela, who was starting from third position, was very competitive from first to last lap fighting in the lead for a victory that was not decided until the last moment. Finally, the Finnish driver was left without the deserved reward of the podium, as he finished in fourth position, 11 thousandths of the third.
For his part, the British Amanuel Brinton went from less to more and recovered positions until finishing 14th, a case opposite to that lived Hakim Danish, who finished 20th. Despite his absence, Brian Uriarte keeps his title options intact, as his main rival in the general standings suffered a fall on the last lap. Thus, Uriarte has 123 points, only one from the first. With thirteen more points on his count, Salmela is 5th with 88 points, while Danish is 16th with 24 and Amanuel Brinton, 18th with 14.
“Fighting for the title in the two categories where we compete makes us proud and keeps us working to the fullest. Once again, Angel Piqueras showed his potential and took another step to proclaim himself champion. Brian Uriarte could not be there, but his absence was minimized. Rico Salmela was ahead fighting for victory. All the drivers did a great job and we are already looking forward to the next race to continue progressing,” says Jaime Serrano, CEO of the team.
“Piqueras didn’t have it easy, but he overcame both races with a note. In the first he could have gone to the ground and saved it very well. Llambías and Bartolini fought in the second group and progressed. And Gourdon signed the best result of the season and took a clear step forward,” says Kev Coghlan, Team Manager. “In the ETC, Salmela made the best weekend since he is on the team, and deserved to be on the podium. Brinton was very good in the race, from less to more, and Danish didn’t have a good day. But, as always, the team’s work has been ten,” he concludes.
The teams will have a few days to recover and continue working towards the next event, which will take place on the weekend of 15 and 16 July at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. JuniorGP riders will compete in two races, for one of the European Talent Cup.
