- With a second and third place, Salmela moves into second place in the JuniorGP™ standings, while Casey O’Gorman and Pau Alsina also finished in the top 10.
- Mateo Marulanda, with 11th place, achieved the team’s best result in the European Talent Cup.
- Facundo Llambías completes the only Moto2™ race in ninth position.
- “We’re leaving Jerez satisfied with Salmela’s podium finishes, as she’s having a spectacular start to the year, and with other exciting results. The hot conditions didn’t make things easy, but both the riders and the technical team performed at a high level,” said Jaime Serrano, team CEO.
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 secured two podium finishes this past weekend at the second round of the FIM JuniorGP™, held at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto. As he did at the opening round at Estoril, Rico Salmela was one of the fastest JuniorGP™ riders and once again took the podium, this time with second and third places. This is the third podium finish for the Finnish rider in three races.
In the first race of the day, Salmela and Casey O’Gorman remained among the fastest throughout, and with just a few laps remaining, the Finn took the lead. After a fierce battle with his rivals, Salmela managed to finish in second place, while O’Gorman finished sixth after a very complete race. Debutant Pau Alsina finished 11th.
After a much-needed break, the riders got back on their bikes for the second race of the category, where the representatives of Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 completed another hard-fought event. In fourth place with ten laps remaining, but still well behind the top three, Salmela completed a spectacular final stretch that allowed him to take the lead and finish in third place. A few seconds behind, O’Gorman crossed the finish line in sixth place, and Alsina in eighth.
With two podium finishes, Salmela is second in the overall standings with 52 points, while O’Gorman is eighth with 20 and Alsina is 12th with 13.
The Jerez circuit also hosted two rounds of the European Talent Cup, where the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders gained experience in a consistently close category. In the first round of the day, luck was elusive, with only Colombian Mateo Marulanda managing to finish in a creditable 11th place, following crashes by his teammates Nikola Miroslavov and Oliver Cantos.
A better outcome came in the second race, where Marulanda repeated his strong performance on the Honda and finished 11th again. Cantos, meanwhile, made up ground and finished 17th, while Miroslavov finished 21st.
With these results, Marulanda is in 13th place overall with 19 points, while Miroslavov is 27th with 3.
Meanwhile, in the only scheduled Moto2™ race, Facundo Llambías fought for intermediate positions in a race that was affected by a red flag in the opening stages. At the restart, the Uruguayan put in a strong performance that allowed him to finish in 9th place and score his first points of the year. He is 14th in the overall standings with 7 points.
“We’re leaving Jerez satisfied with Salmela’s podium finishes, as she’s having a spectacular start to the year, and with other exciting results. The hot track conditions didn’t make things easy, but both the riders and the technical team performed at a high level. These strong results motivate us to continue working hard for the next race,” said Jaime Serrano , team CEO.
Max Moro , Team Leader Project, is also on a positive note : “Salmela was spectacular, but O’Gorman also worked very well throughout the weekend. And Alsina confirmed his good adaptation to the category. It’s a shame we couldn’t get better results in the ETC, but our riders are working very well and knowing where they can improve. In Moto2™, Llambías didn’t have an easy weekend, but after the restart, he performed at a high level.”
Following the same line of effort, perseverance, and confidence, Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 is preparing for the next stop of the championship, at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (France) on July 6. The JuniorGP™ and Moto2™ riders will compete in a single round, compared to two in the ETC.
