05/05/2024

Intact junior Rico Salmela storms to victory in Estoril

On the second race weekend of FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal, German based LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team celebrated an impressive maiden win in the category with its 16-year-old promising talent from Finland.

The somewhat outdated race track not far from the Portuguese capital Lisbon played host to teams and young riders of the most important junior series this weekend. The area at the Atlantic coast also had some capricious weather in store. After good conditions on Thursday and Friday, the weather changed on Saturday afternoon and that’s why qualifying sessions took place at a wet track.

After a disappointing start to the season for LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team two weeks ago in Misano, the tide turned fundamentally in Estoril. Its ambitious JuniorGP Moto3 line-up with 16-year-old Finn Rico Salmela and Jakob Rosenthaler and Leo Rammerstorfer, both from Upper Austria, showed what they can and want to do in free practice sessions already.

A sudden change in the weather brought rain on Saturday afternoon, after Salmela and Rosenthaler had moved straight into Q2 in during the morning’s practice session. However, Rammerstorfer coped well in a wet Q1 and secured third place and thus a place in Q2. While Salmela set the seventh-best lap time in the rain, Rammerstorfer surprised everyone with ninth place. Both started from third row on Sunday. Rosenthaler, on the other hand, unfortunately crashed during his first time attack and therefore did not set a lap time. Due to penalties for other riders, he moved up to P16 on the starting grid.

It looked like a completely rainy race day in Estoril until midday on Sunday though, the rain stopped around 45 minutes before the start of the race. Due to the critical weather conditions beforehand, all races had already been shortened to two thirds of the original distance. But before the start of the Moto3 race, nobody had expected the track to dry so quickly, which led to stressful moments on the grid.

Nevertheless, almost all participants opted for slick tyres and a dry set-up at short notice. Despite damp patches along a lap, Salmela clearly felt comfortable and charged forward with determination coming from third row. After the Finn's bad luck in Misano, today’s first victory came at the right time for him and the entire team.

Rosenthaler also put in a good performance and finished tenth. A questionable decision by the race control, which ended with a “long lap penalty”, probably cost him a better result. Starting from 16th on the grid, the 17-year-old worked his way forward position by position until he was battling spiritedly in the top 10 after just a few laps.

After his strong performance in qualifying the day before, Rammerstorfer finished a solid race in eleventh place. Despite some uncertainties on the increasingly drying track, five points for the championship is a good reward for him too.

In European Talent Cup, 14-year-old Alex Longarela from Madrid literally outdid himself in the first race in what was run initially heavy rain. Longarela finished qualifying in sixth place in his group, which meant twelfth place on the grid in the combined standings. Starting the race from the fourth row, he once again proved his talent with fourth place in very difficult conditions. In the second race in the afternoon on a dry track, things did not go quite as expected for the ambitious racer. Coming home in 16th place, Longarela finished just outside the points.

The seven-event racing series begins this year with three races every two weeks. The next stop is the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya the weekend after next.

#JuniorGP Estoril – JrGP-Moto3™ Rangliste Qualiying:

1 Cormac BUCHANAN / NZL / AGR Team / KTM / 1´57.807

2 Casey James O´GORMAN / IRL / Team ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0 / Honda / 1´58.357 +0.550

3 Jesús RIOS / SPA / MRE Talent / KTM / 1´58.507 +0.700

7 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 1´59.145 +1.338

9 #5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 2´00.041 +2.234

18 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / -

#JuniorGP Etoril – JrGP-Moto3™ Rennen 1 (10 Runden):

1 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 17´46.777

2 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / CFMOTO Aspar Junior Team / CFMOTO / +2.538

3 Cormac BUCHANAN / NZL / AGR Team / KTM / +2.582

10 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +20.742

11 #50 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +20.781

FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship:

1 Jesus RIOS / SPA / KTM / 50

2 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / CFMOTO / 46

3 Alessandro MOROSI / ITA / CFMOTO / 42

7 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / Husqvarna / 25

13 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / Husqvarna / 12

17 #50 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / Husqvarna / 9

#JuniorGP Estoril - ETC Ergebnis Qualifying 2 Gr A:

1 Valentín PERRONE / FRA / FRANDO Racing VHC Team / 2´05.828

2 Benat FERNÁNDEZ / SPA / FRADNO Racing VHC Team / 2´05.888 +0.060

3 Kristian DANIEL Jr / USA / AGR Team / 2´6.262 +0.434

6 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / 2´07.564 +1.736

#JuniorGP Estoril - ETC Ergebnis Qualifying 2 Gr B:

1 Carlos CANO / SPA / SEVENTYTWO ARTBOX Racing Team / 2´03.135

2 Vasileios PANTELEAKIS / GRE / AC Racing Team / 2´05.029 +1.894

3 Fernando BUJOSA / SPA / Team ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0 / 2´05.847 +2.712

#JuniorGP Estoril - ETC Rennen 1 (10 Runden):

1 Carlos CANO / SPA / SEVENTYTWO ARTBOX Racing Team / 20´46.949

2 Marco MORELLI / ARG / MLav Racing / +5.914

3 Fernando BUJOSA / SPA / Team ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0 / +18.727

4 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / +24.074

#JuniorGP Estoril - ETC Rennen 2 (10 Runden):

1 Carlos CANO / SPA / SEVENTYTWO ARTBOX Racing Team / 20´46.949

2 Jesus TORRES / SPA / Team ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0 / +0.148

3 Valentin PERRONE / FRA / FRANDO Racing VHC Team / +0.225

16 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / +7.114

European Talent Cup:

1 Carlos CANO / SPA / 70

2 Marco MORELLI / ARG / 65

3 Valentín PERRONE / FRA / 45

16 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / 13

#27 Rico SALMELA

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 9 / Race: WINNER

"I had a good weekend and an incredible race. It was a bit difficult for me at the beginning because the track was still wet in places when we started. Fortunately, I was able to build up a feeling quickly. I tried to stay with the leading group from the start and then managed to catch up and take the lead towards the end of the race. I worked hard on my pace all weekend. With my starting position on third row, we did some good base work despite the rain on Saturday. In the end, my pace was really good, and I think that was evident in the race. I'm very happy with my results from this weekend. I would like to thank my sponsors and the whole team."

#5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Startplatz 9 / Rennen: P11

"Estoril was a very instructive weekend for me. I think that's the best way to describe it. After I had a good start on Thursday, I thought it would be a bit easier on Friday. I had planned to find one second, but that didn't happen because I didn't have such a good feeling. Maybe I also put a bit too much pressure on myself. That's why I hit a wall, so to speak. On Saturday morning in the dry things went better again, even if I didn't manage a decent lap. That's why I had to go into Q1, where it started to rain. But I managed the adaptation to wet conditions well and made it into Q2 which was a big goal for the weekend. I also had a good feeling in Q2 and was happy about my starting position on third row. Before the race, it was once again very difficult to predict what would happen. Fortunately, our tyre choice was right. Even though I was perhaps a little too cautious at first because I had never experienced track conditions like this before. But in the end, I’m happy with eleventh place and scored some good points. Unfortunately, a lapped rider got in my way on the last lap, otherwise my first top 10 might have been possible."

78 Jakob ROSENTHALER

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Startplatz 16 / Rennen: P10

"The outcome is disappointing for me because I had started the weekend well in free practice sessions in the dry. Saturday morning was also good, even if it could have been better, but I got straight into Q2 with 13th place. But then the casino began. In Q2, I immediately followed another rider who had already gained experience riding in the wet in Q1. That was my mistake because I crashed on my first flying lap. I wanted too much, but finally I ended up with no lap time. The race started with a stressful situation because I had been prepared for a wet race since last night. I think it was surprising for everyone that the track dried so quickly. We made the right decision by changing to slick tyres and my race was good overall though, I didn't have such a good feeling. Unfortunately, I also had to serve a penalty. Without this, sixth or seventh place might have been possible. I was already close to the group and ready to start overtaking them. But then I got a ‘long lap', which was very questionable from my point of view after we saw the video."

#45 Alex LONGARELA MONTES

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (ETC)
Startplatz 12 / Rennen 1: P4 / Startplatz 12 / Rennen 2: P16

"I look back on my weekend with mixed feelings. I qualified for fourth row although, that could have gone better. In the first race, I basically had a good feeling in the rain. The weather was a bit of a challenge for me at the beginning, as it took me a while to get used to the conditions. In the end, however, I was able to build up a good feeling with the bike and made it to fourth place within the short distance of ten laps. The second race wa a bit more difficult but now I'm even more motivated for Barcelona. I'll be training a lot until then so that I can get the best out of myself there."

JrGP Estoril

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