13/10/2024

Intact GP juniors score points at MotorLand

Seventh and eighth place for LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team in JuniorGP™ Moto3™ race on Sunday. However, newcomer Fynn Kratochwil caused a surprise by qualifying for the main races in European Talent Cup and also scoring his first point.

For the second-last stop of the current FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship, teams and riders took the trip to the outback of Spain eastern coastline, to race at MotorLand Aragón, not far from Alcaniz, this weekend. While the JuniorGP™ Moto3™ class only contested one race on Sunday, the young up-and-coming riders in European Talent Cup had two races on their agenda. Apart from a rainy Saturday, the weather was kind to the participants on the other days.

With seventh place on Sunday, 18-year-old Jakob Rosenthaler from Upper Austria was the best-placed of LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team’s trio in JuniorGP™ Moto3™ class. Building on the experience from the Grand Prix just over a month ago at MotorLand, Rosenthaler and his crew worked primarily on tyre management during both days of free practice sessions. In qualifying at a wet track, a crash in the final minutes cost the rider from Linz a possible promotion to Q2. With grid position 20, the prospects for the race were not exactly rosy. Nevertheless, Rosenthaler delivered a great performance and also benefited from his work in practice sessions with used tyres.

Rico Salmela saw the chequered flag one place behind his team-mate. The 16-year-old Finn underlined his talent with a brisk pace during all dry free practice sessions, while he lacked a bit of experience in qualifying in very unfamiliar conditions for him. In the race, however, Salmela elegantly fought his way forward from the fifth row of the grid. A place in the top five was within reach, but like many others, Salmela struggled with grip issues towards the end.

After a difficult start to the weekend, Leo Rammerstorfer delivered another test of his talent on the wet Saturday. The Linz-based rider was still a little shaken up from the heavy crash in Jerez, which is why it took him a while to regain confidence with his machine though, everything was forgotten in rainy conditions. Rammerstorfer mastered the direct entry for Q2 with fifth place in Saturday morning’s Practice session. In the afternoon, he needed a few laps to understand the situation before securing a good grid position on the fourth row with tenth place. In the race, a minor incident in the first corner cost him a better result. After the good starting position, 16th place at the line did not meet expectations, but the weekend can still be seen as positive, especially because he learned a lot that will help him in the future.

In European Talent Cup, all eyes were on Fynn Kratochwil, who was competing with LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team for the first time. The 14-year-old from Thuringia, who has only recently recovered from a foot injury, delivered a great weekend on his debut in an international racing series. Kratochwil was not impressed by the changed conditions on Saturday but surprised everyone in Practice session with sixth place in his group and qualified directly for Q2, where he finished 13th. This meant he started the first race on Sunday from the ninth row. In this race, he put the icing on the cake with 15th place and his first point. In the second race, Kratochwil saw the chequered flag in 19th place, but also impressed with fighting spirit and great lap times.

The FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship 2024 enters its season finale on the weekend of November 21

#JuniorGP Aragón – JrGP-Moto3™ Qualiying Results:
1 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing Team / KTM / 2´11.223
2 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / STV Laglisse Racing / Husqvarna / 2´11.259 +0.036
3 Milan PAWELEC / POL / STV Laglisse Racing / Husqvarna / 2´12.480 +1.257
…
10 #5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 2´14.397 +3.474
13 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 2´15.077 +3.854
20 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 2´14.542 (Q1)

#JuniorGP Aragón – JrGP-Moto3™ Race (14 Laps):
1 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / STV Laglisse Racing / Husqvarna / 27´59.798
2 Maximó QUILES / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / +1.722
3 Casey James O’GORMAN / IRL / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / +1.845
…
7 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +6.601
8 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +8.612
16 #5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +18.567

FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship:
1 Álvaro CARPE / SPA / Husqvarna / 147
2 Jesús RIOS / SPA / KTM / 104
3 Adrián CRUCES / SPA / KTM / 104
…
11 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / Husvqvarna / 55
13 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / Husqvarna / 52
18 #50 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / Husqvarna / 26

#JuniorGP Aragón - ETC Qualifying 2 Gr A:
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing / 2´14.292
2 Kerman TINEZ / VEN / MIR Racing Finetwork Team / 2´14.510 +0.218
3 Mikey LOU / USA / MIR Racing Finetwork Team / 2´14.935 +0.643

#JuniorGP Aragón - ETC Qualifying 2 Gr B:
1 Kristian DANIEL Jr / USA / AGR Team / 2´15.423
2 Luca AGOSTINELLI / VNM / Team ECHOIVT Pasini Racing / 2´15.884 +0.461
3 Alejandra FERNÁNDEZ / SPA / AC RACING TEAM / 2´16.631 +1.208
…
13 #20 Fynn KRATOCHWIL / GER / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / 2´18.390 +2.967

#JuniorGP Aragón - ETC Race 1 (13 Laps):
1 Gulio PUGLIESE / ITA / CFMOTO Aspar Junior Team / 27´11.877
2 Marco MORELLI / ARG / MLav Racing / +0.223
3 Carlos CANO / SPA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing / +0.261
…
15 #20 Fynn KRATOCHWIL / GER / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / +8.547

#JuniorGP Aragón - ETC Race 2 (13 Laps):
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / Seventrytwo ARTBOX Racing / 26´53.522
2 David GONZÁLEZ / SPA / AC RACING TEAM / +0.175
3 Marco MORELLI / ARG / MLav Racing / +0.235
…
19 #20 Fynn KRATOCHWIL / GER / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / +18.901

European Talent Cup:
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / 186
2 Marco MORELLI / ARG / 156
3 Giulio PUGLIESE / ITA / 138
…
32 #20 Fynn KRATOCHWIL / GER / 1

#5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 10 / Race: P16

"The first two days I found it difficult to get into the weekend. At the beginning, I didn't really have the base for what I can normally do. Then the weather changed on Saturday. In the rain, the conditions are automatically more difficult. But I was able to build up a good feeling in the wet right from the start. We worked well together as a team and were then able to finish the qualifying session in sixth place. Unfortunately, I had a small highside in between, but I was still in a good position right from the start. So, I was able to qualify directly for Q2. That worked out very well and I was able to secure tenth place on the grid. I was very happy on Saturday. In the race, the first few laps were a bit chaotic, but in the end, I was able to set fast lap times again. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to score any points this weekend, but I had a very good feeling again, especially at the end, and I'm looking forward to the last race in Valencia. I'll have time to prepare well over the next few weeks and then I'll really step on the gas!"

#27 Rico SALMELA

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 13 / Race: P8

"This weekend was really good. The feeling with the bike was very good, both in the dry and in the wet. We didn't have the best qualifying, so we had to start from 13th place, but we did a good job, especially in the first laps. After six or seven laps my tyre was done and started to slide a lot. So, I was really struggling at that point. But the rest was really good. I was fighting for the podium in the leading group of the race. So, I was very happy. Overall, it was a very positive weekend. We still have a lot to improve on tyre management, but I'm already looking forward to Valencia. I can hardly wait to race there again."

#78 Jakob ROSENTHALER

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 20 / Race: P7

"You could say it was a difficult race weekend with a happy ending. We had a lot of problems with the material and the technology on the first two days in the dry. Nevertheless, we tried to get the best out of it, which we managed to do. Friday was a good day. We tried out a lot in terms of the tyre’s behaviours to find a good set-up for the race. My times were relatively consistent, and the pace was also okay. Unfortunately, Saturday was not easy due to the difficult weather conditions. During the morning’s Practice session, the time window to set a fast lap was very tight. Unfortunately, I couldn't take advantage of that and when it started to rain more heavily again towards the end, it was impossible to improve. Qualifying, however, was good again. The times were pretty fast, even though there was a lot of water out on track. I was doing well until I unfortunately crashed on the last lap and couldn't improve enough to get into Q2. I had to start the race from 20th on the grid and was able to fight my way up to the leading group in the first few laps. That remained the case for the rest of the race. I tried to attack again on the last lap. I'm still happy with seventh place."

#20 Fynn KRATOCHWIL

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (ETC)
Grid position 25 / Race 1: P15 / Grid position 24 / Race 2: 19

"During the first two practice sessions on Thursday, I was able to get used to the style of working in the team and my lap times were relatively fast though. Free practice sessions were very helpful for me, and I was able to take a lot from them into the weekend. Unfortunately, it was wet on Saturday, but I still managed to qualify directly for Q2. That was a pretty big success. We then found a good set-up with the bike for qualifying, but unfortunately the weather conditions caused a few difficulties. On the last lap, I slammed on the brakes and highsided by myself and ended up in P25 on the grid. The races went well right from the start. I had a few problems at the start of the first race and didn't have an easy first laps, but then I was able to fight my way up from the back to 15th position. I was able to improve my lap time quite a bit. Our aim was to be able to take part in the main race first. So of course, it's great that I was able to score my first point straight away. My start in the second race was better than before. I was able to keep up straight away and then fought my way up to P20. That was a race in which I was able to learn a lot again. All in all, Aragón was a very instructive and fun weekend. Thanks also to the team; I felt very comfortable straight away."

JuniorGP Aragón

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