- Travis Borg secures a brilliant second place in Moto3™ Junior after fighting for victory until the last corner at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
- Kerman Tinez shows great pace throughout the weekend, while Marianos Nikolis completes a solid first race in the midfield.
- Facundo Llambías maintains an upward trajectory in the Moto2™ European Championship despite arriving with hardly any preseason training due to an injury.
- “The weekend was a success. In Moto3™ we had good momentum from Thursday and Travis had a great second race. It was a well-deserved and hard-earned podium finish,” said Eduardo Villodre, Team Manager of Team Monlau Motul.
- “We are satisfied with the team’s overall performance in this first race of the year. The Moto3™ riders showed from the start that they have the potential to fight at the front, and Travis’s second place is a great reward for the work done throughout the preseason,” commented Jaime Serrano, CEO of Monlau Motul Technical School.
Team Monlau Motul kicked off the 2016 FIM MotoJunior™ World Championship season with very positive feelings at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the championship’s opening venue. The Barcelona-based team showed competitive pace, especially in the Moto3™ Junior World Championship, where Travis Borg came close to victory with a brilliant second-place finish in the second race of the weekend.
On Saturday, after a very close qualifying session , Kerman Tinez was the team’s best-placed driver in eighth position, 0.529 seconds off pole position , while Borg and Marianos Nikolis were 13th and 14th respectively.
The first race, held on Sunday morning, was marked by the close competition at the front and constant overtaking among the leading riders. Borg staged a remarkable comeback, climbing to the top positions and even running in second place, as well as setting the fastest lap, although a crash after being hit by another rider ended his chances.
Tinez, for his part, recovered from a difficult start, in which he dropped to 18th position, and staged a great comeback to rejoin the leading group in the closing stages. The Venezuelan crossed the finish line in sixth place, just half a second from victory, but a penalty relegated him to tenth. Nikolis also showed promise at the start of the race, running in the chasing pack and finished 14th despite suffering a loss of performance from his front tire midway through the race.
In the second race, Borg was once again one of the main protagonists. The Maltese rider made a spectacular comeback from 13th place and remained in contention for the top positions throughout the race. After several overtakes in the final laps, Borg crossed the finish line in second place, just 0.091 seconds behind the winner, securing the first podium of the season for Team Monlau Motul. Thanks to this result, the Maltese rider sits in sixth position in the overall standings after the first round of the season.
The second Moto3™ Junior WCh race also showcased Tinez’s potential, as he was once again battling for the front positions when he crashed. Nikolis, who had to start from pit lane after an incident on the warm-up lap, was unable to finish the race due to a crash.
In the Moto2™ European Championship, Facundo Llambías faced a demanding weekend hampered by an injury sustained during preseason testing, which prevented him from completing his winter preparations. Even so, the Uruguayan once again demonstrated his speed with two superb starts from tenth on the grid. In the first race, Llambías reached fifth place in the early stages, although he subsequently lost pace and finished 18th. In the second race, he again got off to a strong start and remained fighting within the top 10 for much of the race. However, a crash at turn 10 with five laps to go dashed his hopes of scoring points, despite having been running at a solid pace.
For Cesc Obiol, the most important thing was gaining experience in his Moto4™ European Cup debut. The young Spanish rider, who is facing his first season in the championship after his time in MiniGP, failed to qualify for the race, although he completed a weekend focused on adapting and learning within a highly demanding category.
“Overall, the weekend was a success. In Moto3™, we had good momentum from Thursday, and Travis had a great second race. It was a well-deserved and hard-fought second place. He took the lead right away and narrowly missed out on the win. Kerman’s crash was a shame because they were showing very good pace. As for Facundo, we knew we had to rebuild gradually because he practically had no preseason training due to his injury, but he still showed speed and took a step forward in the second race. And with Cesc, we continue working on his adaptation to the championship, which is completely new to him,” said Eduardo Villodre , Team Manager of Team Monlau Motul.
“We are satisfied with the team’s overall performance in this first race of the year. The Moto3™ riders showed from the start that they have the potential to fight at the front, and Travis’s podium finish is a great reward for the work done throughout the preseason. Now it’s time to continue growing and take advantage of the Estoril test to take another step forward,” said Jaime Serrano , CEO of Monlau Motul Technical School.
The next event for Team Monlau Motul in the FIM MotoJunior™ World Championship 2026 will be on the weekend of June 13 and 14 at the Circuito do Estoril (Portugal).
Moto3™ Junior WCh Standings:
https://fimmotojunior.com/results/2026/championship-standing/moto3-jr-wch
Moto2™ ECh Standings:
https://fimmotojunior.com/results/2026/championship-standing/moto2-ech
Moto4™ EC Standings:
https://fimmotojunior.com/results/2026/championship-standing/moto4-ec
