Portimao a rollercoaster of ups and downs for young Aussies

2022 FIM JuniorGP World Championship
Round 5 – Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve held Round Five of the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP World Championship over the weekend, with four races run across the three classes,  with plenty of on-track action.

José Antonio Rueda (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) secured yet another win in the JuniorGP, while Brian Uriarte (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) took the win in the single Hawkers ETC race.

The spoils were shared between Alex Escrig (Yamaha Philippines Stylobike Racing Team) and Lukas Tulovic (Liqui Moly Intach GP Junior Team) in the Moto2 European Championship, with Senna Agius just missing the top step of the podium in Race 2.

Autodromo do Algarve – Portimao | 2022 Finetwork FIM JuniorGP

JuniorGP Race 1

JuniorGP saw Adrian Cruces (Cuna de Campeones) start from pole position for the first time his career, but it was Syarifuddin Azman (SIC Racing) who took the holeshot into Turn 1 from the middle of the front row.

It didn’t take long for José Antonio Rueda (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) to climb his way up from sixth place on grid into the lead and clear away with the race win out the front.

Filipo Farioli (Aspar Junior Team) was determined to cling onto the championship, but it wasn’t to be as a freight-train of riders battled it out for second place.

The battle went on all race long until disaster struck on the last lap as three riders collided into Turn 1, causing David Alonso (Aspar Junior Team) and Harrison Voight (SIC 58) to crash out of the race, with Filipo Farioli (Aspar Junior Team) losing time and dropping down to fifth spot.

Farioli was later awarded a time penalty of 55 seconds, equivalent to a ride through penalty. This left a depleted battle for second with Syarifuddin Azman (SIC Racing) taking it, and Adrian Cruces (Cuna de Campeones) taking his first podium in third.

Harrison Voight

“What a pity to end what was a great weekend! I was strong being up in the front of the group battling for 2nd. Unfortunately starting the last lap, a rider made a stupid move making contact with another rider to then hitting me. Taking the positives about this race, it was well and truly the best race I’ve had until this situation. I’ll keep chipping at it, soon we will arrive back on the podium. I’m glad to hear Alonso is okay after this incident also.”

Jacob Roulstone was the top Aussie finisher as a result, in 17th, while New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan finished 19th.

Cormac Buchanan

“My first race in the junior world championships and I was just 0.5 seconds from achieving my goal of snatching points. Argh! When I consider it’s only been three days since I first swung a leg over this KTM Moto3 machine, I am pretty darn excited for the future and what I know is possible. The race itself was a brutal introduction to the intensity of the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP ranks. I got a good start from P18 on the grid, but unfortunately some riders crossed in front and crunched me, which forced me wide at turn one. Then another rider took me off the circuit at turn three – and that’s just moments into the first lap! What an initiation! I rejoined the race dead last but managed to pass some riders and then bridge a five second gap to get into the group battle for 14th place. Overall it was a good race considering it was my first time in JuniorGP, and although obviously the result was not what I expected, I learned a massive amount this weekend and know I have the pace to make an impact. My crew Javi, Sergi, Xavi and Jhony along with rider coach Angel and my mental skills coach Camino Coaching did a stellar job and I appreciated their expertise as I embark on new territory here in Europe. What does the future hold now? We are working hard to put a campaign together so we can try and capitalise on the opportunities we have in front of us for the remainder of the season. I want to continue developing my riding and race craft against the world’s best young riders. Moments like these don’t happen by chance. Thank you to everyone who has backed me so far to get to this point and are with me 100 per cent for this incredible ride that is GP racing.”

Rueda now holds the JuniorGP lead with an enormous lead on 178-points, ahead of second-placed Azman on 97. The gap to third is closer, with Salvador on 95-points.

Harrison Voight sits 12th in the standings on 35-points.

JuniorGP Results Race 1

JuniorGP Standings

Moto2 European Championship Race 1

The first race of the day for the Moto2 European Championship saw Lukas Tulovic (Liqui Moly Intact GP Junior Team) take an early lead to the race, but after a series of gear selection mistakes the German was forced to carve his way back through the pack to reclaim second.

Trying to capitalise on Tulovic’s mistakes, rookie sensation Senna Agius (Promoracing) put the hammer down at the front, until he eventually crashed out of the race at Turn 5.

It was Alex Escrig (Yamaha Philippines Stylobike Racing Team) who eventually took the win, fending off Tulovic to take back-to-back wins with Xavier Cardelus (Promoracing) rounding out the podium.

Moto2 European Championship Race 2

It was the usual suspects again in Race 2 with Tulovic taking an early lead to the race and controlling it from the front for the majority of the race.

Senna Agius (Promoracing) was on a mission however, and the young Australian fought his way through and put Tulovic to the test with some incredible moves in the closing stages of the race.

A last lap scrap saw Agius dive up the inside of Tulovic at Turn 13, for Tulovic to then steal the win on the line after a superb exit out of the final corner. Just 0.055-seconds separated the two riders across the line.

Alex Escrig (Yamaha Philippines Stylobike Racing Team) was just hanging onto the coattails of the top two, and brought his Kalex home in third, 0.264-seconds off the lead.

Dani Muñoz was the winner for Stock class in both races.

Senna Agius

“Tough pill to swallow today. Race 1 I crashed out of the lead because of a mistake I shouldn’t have made. Race 2 was a great race for us. I tried everything and made some nice moves to take the lead but I got slip streamed to the line by much. I’m trying to manage every situation that’s thrown at me the best I can with no mistakes but today made me realise how much I want it after making some.”

Tulovic expanded his lead to 180-points over the weekend, with Race 1 winner Escrig second in the standings on 140-points. Senna Agius is third on 126-points.

Moto2 European Championship Race 1 Results – Top 20

Moto2 European Championship Race 2 Results – Top 20

Moto2 European Championship Standings

European Talent Cup (ETC) Race 1

The Hawkers European Talent Cup got off to a rough start after poleman Dodó Boggio (Aspar Junior Team) high sided out of the lead on lap 1, causing chaos on the first lap and bringing out the red flags.

The restart saw a race-long battle with the front guys which was decided by just 0.006s with Brian Uriarte (Team Estrella Gallicia 0,0) beating Joel Esteban (Aspar Junior Team) to the line.

Casey O’Gorman (VisionTrack Racing Team) rounded out the top three, scoring back-to-back podiums for his 2022 Hawkers ETC campaign.

Aussie Carter Thompson finished in 12th.

Carter Thompson

“Round 5 at Portimào done and what an experience. Every track I go to this year for the European Talent Cup is new and what a “steep” learning curve it was this weekend. They don’t call this track the rollercoaster for nothing. Learnt a lot, tried my best, had good pace but again need to work on my starts. Finished P12 and happy to come away with some points. Now for summer break and some hard training getting ready for the next rounds of ETC and ATC. Huge thanks to my team, Luis, Salvaa and Adriana and the whole AGR team for all the work and help over the weekend, I appreciate it very much. Next ETC round is at Aragon.”

Esteban now leads the ETC standings on 115-points to Guido Pini on 100, with Dodo Boggio third on 96. Carter Thompson is 18 on 17-points and Cormac Buchanan is 28th with a single championship point.

European Talent Cup (ETC) Race 1 Results

European Talent Cup (ETC) Standings