Joel Kelso fifth in Valencia as 2019 FIM CEV Repsol concludes

2019 FIM CEV Repsol

Round Eight – Valencia

Jeremy Alcoba has been crowned champion of the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship in the best way possible, winning the first of the two races at Valencia, with Carlos Tatay claiming the second win.

Aussie Billy Van Eerde, meanwhile, ended a tough season in the class with two solid finishes. The Aussie was outside the top 20 but in a group battle in Race 1, and in Race 2 was knocking on the door to some points.

Just 0.115 separated him from fifteenth, with the number 29 forced to settle for P16 – but in a deep field, that’s a solid showing for the youngster after his swift rise from the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup.

In the Moto2 European Championship, Edgar Pons also said goodbye to the FIM CEV Repsol with a victory.

In the European Talent Cup, Iván Ortolá finished the season as he began in Estoril, with a win, while Joel Kelso raced to his strongest result of the season in fifth, claiming nine championship points and moving up to 17th in the overall standings.

Moto3 Junior World Championship

Jeremy Alcoba didnt waste his first chance at the title, beating José Julián García – who took his first podium of the season – and Aleix Viu in the opening race.

It was an exciting race, with a leading group of up to 15 riders. A number of riders shared the lead, such as Daniel Holgado, Ryusei Yamanaka and Carlos Tatay, among others.

With two laps to go, a touch between Daniel Holgado and David Salvador left them out of options for a podium place, and allowed Aleix Viu to make the most of a great comeback, paving the way for José Julián García to take third after a race spent as part of the leading group. Jeremy Alcoba received the Repsol free fuel cheque as a result.

Aussie Billy Van Eerde finished Race 1 in 28th, having claimed 20th and 15th in the two qualifying sessions.

In the second FIM Moto3 race Carlos Tatay took another victory, his fourth of the season. Barry Baltus joined him on the podium, along with Adrián Fernández, achieving his first podium in the category.

Once again Davide Pizzoli started poorly from pole, losing so many positions that in an effort to make up lost ground he went down on the fifth lap along with Julián Giral.

Ahead, Carlos Tatay pulled clear followed by a large group led by Barry Baltus. Aleix Viu, David Salvador and José Julián García were involved in a multiple fall which decimated the chasing group. In the end, Carlos Tatay won alone, followed by Barry Baltus and Adrián Fernández. Carlos Tatay received the Repsol free fuel cheque.

Billy Van Eerde improved on his Race 1 placing to claim 16th in Race 2, just missing out on the points.

Billy Van Eerde

“2019 season is now finished. Thank you to the whole Junior Talent Team squad for this amazing year! It was a very difficult year for me but you have supported me throughout all, I’m thankful for this opportunity and will come back next year stronger than before!”

The final classification of the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship saw Jeremy Alcoba as champion, Carlos Tatay runner-up and Xavier Artigas in third.

Moto3 Junior World Championship Results

CEV Repsol Moto2

Edgar Pons ended his FIM CEV Repsol Moto2 season by winning the final race. As soon as the light went out, Héctor Garzó made good on his pole start to take the lead. Miquel Pons however threw away his podium chances when he went down on the first lap.

Héctor Garzó and Edgar Pons pulled clear as the laps went past. Behind them, Tommaso Marcon  and Yari Montella were fighting for the last podium slot. On the last lap, Edgar Pons overtook Héctor Garzó, who had led for the entire race.

Tommaso Marcon did the same to Yari Montella in the last corner. However, a dangerous maneuver on the final straight was sanctioned by Race Management and Marcon lost third place in favor of his teammate.

The Repsol free fuel cheque went to Yari Montella, while the championship ends with Edgar Pons as champion, Héctor Garzó second and Alessandro Zaccone in third position.

CEV Repsol Moto2 Results

European Talent Cup

Iván Ortolá closed the season in the ETC as he began – by winning. The Ángel Nieto Junior Team rider took his third win of the season in a thrilling race that was not decided until the last lap.

Fermín Aldeguer, Lorenzo Fellon, Marcos Ruda, Diego Moreira, Adrián Cruces, David Alonso, José Antonio Rueda, Roberto García and Joel D. Kelso (Leopard Impala Junior) formed the group of riders in with a chance of the podium.

On the tenth lap, Lorenzo Fellon and David Alonso went down while Diego Moreira crashed with two laps left. Iván Ortolá won the race and was joined by Fermín Aldeguer and Adrián Cruces on the podium, with Marcos Ruda just out of the honours in fourth.

Joel Kelso was fifth, battling with Jose Rueda who took sixth, with just 0.05s seconds separating the duo, who were just 0.5s off race winner-pace.

Iván Ortolá received the Repsol free fuel cheque, while Izan Guevara finishes as ETC champion followed in the general classification by Iván Ortolá, runner-up, and Fermín Aldeguer in third.

Joel Kelso

“Last report of the season and I’m very happy about how the weekend went in Valencia! We had some difficult days because it wasn’t an easy track to learn for me, so I needed some time to feel good on the bike on this circuit, but we arrived on Saturday and we were very strong.  We made a little mistake in qualifying, after a crash in the first session, and we had to start from the 13th position on the grid, but we fixed the mistake and today we knew we could have fought for the podium.

“After a strong warm up finished in P4, I had a good start on the race and I managed to gain lot of positions in the first lap, then I enjoyed the race in front, always in the front group fighting for the first places, even if I had to avoid a crash just in front of me. I tried to make up positions in the last laps and get that podium we all wanted, but it was impossible, anyway we finished very close to the first three places in fifth place, so we can be very happy about that! We couldn’t catch the podium, but we fought for it, we showed we had the speed in all the three races we made together, so I’m very happy about my first races in the ETC.

“I have to thank all the team, the sponsors and all the people who gave me this opportunity to race in the European Talent Cup, it was an incredible experience and I’m just happy I have been able to make it. Now I am waiting for some news for 2020 and I hope to be able to tell you soon what will be my projects for next year. Thanks to everyone who supported me this season.”

European Talent Cup Results