15/09/2024

Solid points for Intact GP juniors in scorching Jerez

The young talents of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team eagerly collected points on the fifth race day of the season at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain. But the yield could have been even better.

A race weekend in Andalusia in mid-September is a guarantee for good weather. The last few days were still in midsummer conditions with temperatures of up to mid-30 degrees in the afternoon, which was not easy to cope with for everyone involved. The only disruptive factor at round five of the 2024 FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship was the wind, which kept picking up from time to time. Both the JuniorGP™ Moto3™ class and the European Talent Cup each had two races on the program this Sunday.

18-year-old Jakob Rosenthaler from Linz in Upper Austria came to Jerez with increased self-confidence, he got at the Grand Prix in Spielberg and most recently in Misano in his first test of strength in Moto3™ World Championship. Rosenthaler was able to put this into practice right at the start of the weekend, as he immediately started at a significantly higher level than a year ago at the same track. His lap times improved from day to day, even if only by tenths of a second. Rosenthaler finished 13th in qualifying on Saturday but moved up one position forward to the fourth row of the grid for the first race on Sunday. A racing accident around halfway through the race cost him a potential top 10 result, which he made up for with sixth place in the second race.

Rico Salmela initially put himself under too much pressure. It was only on Saturday, just in time for qualifying, that the 16-year-old Finn performed in a relaxed manner, which was rewarded with sixth place on the grid. In the races on Sunday, Salmela showed his usual strong level of performance. In the first race, he was one of the main protagonists in the first group behind the frontrunners and finished fifth. In the second race in the afternoon, asphalt temperatures reached measurement of more than 40 degrees, the daredevil unfortunately crashed on the last lap while attempting to finish on the podium. Until then, it had been one of the best races of the year for Salmela.

For Rosenthaler's compatriot Leo Rammerstorfer, the weekend in Jerez de la Frontera turned out to be a rollercoaster ride. The 19-year-old from Upper Austria crashed in the fast right-hand bend behind the paddock on Friday afternoon. A little carelessness in combination with the wind was the cause. The crash cost him a lot of self-confidence, which the ambitious racer from Linz regained at the latest when the starting lights went out for the first race. In a race of a comeback, he was able to catch up with the first chasing group and once there, he set almost the fastest lap times of the group at the end, which put him in contention for a top 10 result. Twelfth place in the end and four valuable points for the championship were nevertheless a good result. In the second race, he had to park his bike shortly before the end due to a technical defect.

In European Talent Cup, 14-year-old Alex Longarela was the only representative of LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team. The almost three-month summer break in the series had an unfavourable effect on the talent from Madrid. Until the team's test in Jerez two weeks ago, Longarela did not sit on a race bike very often during the break. On those two days, as well as on the first days of this weekend, he struggled to find his rhythm again. Things then picked up a bit in qualifying and he secured fourth place in his group and the associated grid position from the second row of P6, where he got away badly twice at the start. After a few laps, Longarela found his speed and finished seventh once and ninth once.

The next stop in the series is the Spanish circuit MotorLand Aragón in three weeks' time.

#JuniorGP Jerez – JrGP Moto3™ Qualiying Results:
1 Guido PINI / ITA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing Team / KTM / 1´45.321
2 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing Team / KTM / 1´45.694 +0.373
3 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / STV Laglisse Racing / Husqvarna / 1´45.879 +0.558
…
6 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 1´46.304 +0.983
13 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 1´46.767 +1.446
19 #5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / 1´47.179 (Q1)

#JuniorGP Jerez – JrGP Moto3™ Race 1 (15 Laps):
1 Guido PINI / ITA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing Team / KTM / 26´34.688
2 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing Team / KTM / +0.085
3 Álvaro CARPE / SPA / STV Laglisse Racing / Husqvarna / +13.094
…
5 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +21.589
12 #5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +22.364
28 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +50.355

#JuniorGP Jerez – JrGP Moto3™ Race 2 (15 Laps):
1 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Seventytwo ARTBOX Racing Team / KTM / 26´40.843
2 Máximo QUILLES / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / +0.319
3 Álvaro CARPE / SPA / STV Laglisse Racing / Husqvarna / +0.444
…
6 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna / +2.949
NC #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna
NC #5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / Husqvarna

FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship:
1 Álvaro CARPE / SPA / Husqvarna / 122
2 Adrián CRUCES / SPA / KTM / 104
3 Jesús RIOS / SPA / KTM / 99
…
11 #27 Rico SALMELA / FIN / Husvqvarna / 47
14 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / Husqvarna / 43
17 #50 Leo RAMMERSTORFER / AUT / Husqvarna / 26

#JuniorGP Jerez - ETC Qualifying 2 Gr A:
1 Giulio PUGLIESE / ITA / CFMOTO Aspar Junior Team / 1´49.063
2 Enzo BELLON / FRA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / 1´49.932 +0.869
3 Marco MORELLI / ARG / MLav Racing / 1´50.077 +1.014

#JuniorGP Jerez - ETC Qualifying 2 Gr B:
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / Seventrytwo ARTBOX Racing / 1´49.054
2 David GONZÀLES / SPA / AC RACING TEAM / 1´49.671 +0.617
3 Jesús TORRES / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / 1´49.805 +0.751
…
4 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / 1´50.011 +0.957

#JuniorGP Jerez - ETC Race 1 (14 Laps):
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / Seventrytwo ARTBOX Racing / 26´14.236
2 Gulio PUGLIESE / ITA / CFMOTO Aspar Junior Team / ++0.042
3 David GONZÁLEZ / SPA / AC Racing Team / +0.172
…
7 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / +0.677

#JuniorGP Jerez - ETC Race 2 (9 Laps):
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / Seventrytwo ARTBOX Racing / 16´29.054
2 Valentin PERRONE / FRA / Frando Racing VHC Team / +0.000
3 David GONZÁLEZ / SPA / AC Racing Team / +0.112
…
9 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team / +3.659

European Talent Cup:
1 Carlos CANO / SPA / 145
2 Marco MORELLI / ARG / 120
3 David GONZÀLES / SPA / 103
…
8 #45 Alex LONGARELA / SPA / 42

#5 Leo RAMMERSTORFER

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 17 / Race 1: P12 / Grid position 19 / Race 2: NC

"After a good start to the weekend, I suffered a major setback on Friday. The bike was pretty battered in a crash, which I'm very sorry about. My self-confidence was also a little shaken. I lacked a bit of feeling on Saturday, but that got better as the day went on. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough for Q2. Nevertheless, I think I had the potential, because I was held up a bit on one lap. I'm happy with the first race, which I started from 17th on the grid and finished twelfth. I was able to catch up with the second group and then kept up well. My start in the afternoon was less successful. I dropped back a few places but was able to work my way up to 15th place. Unfortunately, a technical defect occurred four laps before the end. That meant I couldn't finish the race. That was a shame, because at least one or two points would have been possible. Jerez was an exhausting weekend with a good first day and a good first race. I want to forget the rest as soon as possible."

#27 Rico SALMELA

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 6 / Race 1: P5 / Grid position 6 / Race 2: NC

"Unfortunately, the weekend didn't start as well as we had expected. I had a few problems with the bike and my feeling in general. As the days went on, we made some steps in the right direction. On Sunday everything was really much better. Unfortunately, I had a contact with another rider on the second lap of the first race, which caused me to lose contact with the leading group. After that, however, I was able to fight quite well with the other riders in the group behind. It was quite easy for me to overtake, and I was also very happy with my defence. So overall I had a good feeling this weekend, even though a crash on the last lap is definitely not the way you want to end your race weekend. There's still a lot to do for Aragon, but I'm looking forward to giving it my all there again."

#78 Jakob ROSENTHALER

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (Moto3, Husqvarna)
Grid position 12 / Race 1: P28 / Grid position 13 / Race 2: P6

"The weekend here in Jerez was good in general, even if the start on Thursday was a bit more difficult. It was to see that we had skipped the test, because that gave some of our rivals a small advantage. In the second session, the gap was closed. The self-confidence I gained from my wildcard starts also helped me. I learned a lot there and, above all, I saw how I can ride faster. These two races together with 25 or 26 even faster riders gave me a lot of positives in many areas. Friday then showed how the field lines up. From my point of view, the two practice sessions with twelfth and 13th place were nothing special. It was a bit annoying that we weren't able to improve more on the previous day despite the better conditions. That was also the case on Saturday, we didn't manage to make a bigger jump. To sum up, days of practice were good, but not perfect."

"On race day, we managed to put together a better package, especially as far as I was concerned. In the first race, I was able to keep up in the second group behind the leaders. The pace wasn't particularly high. I think I was pretty much the fastest in my group and was able to get to the front of the group relatively easily. However, I also dropped down due to battles for positions until I crashed together with another rider. In the second race, I was able to implement everything even better and was on par with the front-runners, who were incredibly fast this weekend. It was relatively easy for me to stay in the group. In the end, however, I lacked that little bit to launch an attack. Nevertheless, I'm happy with my performance because it was a fast race, and my pace was very good until just before the end."

#45 Alex LONGARELA

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team (ETC)
Grid position 6 / Race 1: P7 / Grid position 6 / Race 2: P9

"The weekend here in Jerez was not easy for me. The practice sessions on Thursday and Friday didn't go perfectly, but I was able to make up for that in qualifying on Saturday. I got straight into Q2 and was able to secure fourth place in my group, which ultimately resulted in sixth place on the grid. I'm pretty happy with this part of the weekend. Unfortunately, I had a few problems at the start of the races, which meant that I dropped back quite a bit on the first lap and then worked my way back up to seventh place. In the first race I was only 0.7 seconds behind the winner. In summary, the weekend here in Jerez was one to learn and improve - hopefully that will pay off at the next race in Aragon."

JuniorGP 2024: Rd5 Jerez

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