2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies weekend wrap from Mugello

2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
Round 3 – Mugello, Italy

Images by Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull Rookies Race One

Max Quiles proved the master of the most treacherous conditions to take a wet Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Race 1 victory in Mugello.

The 14-year-old Spaniard kept his head while those around, and mostly in front of him, were losing theirs. Second was 21-year-old Thai Tatchakorn Buasri with Finnish 14-year-old Rico Salmela holding off Spanish 15-year-old Angel Piqueras for third.

It was a contest of attrition with Gabin Planques, Casey O’Gorman and New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan all leading but falling.

Max Quiles – P1

“I come from Murcia and there it never rains, it’s always hot, it rained at the test in Portimão and I remembered some things from that. So actually I was quite comfortable in the wet. In the last few laps I slowed so that I would not crash or anything like that and I am really happy to win. I wanted to win and I was pushing to win. When I was catching the leaders I was really determined and if they had not crashed I would have tried anyway. I knew that I could catch them, at least I was going to try.”

15-year-old New Zealander Buchanan took the positives from leading for three laps but was disappointed at crashing.

Cormac Buchanan

“Very disappointed, this was a great opportunity for me. I saw the gap come down a little bit and I tried to push a little more but not too much, I just went into the corner the same as usual and tucked the front. Devastated but we showed the potential and tomorrow we’ll try again.”

Jacob Roulstone finished 16th, riding out the tricky conditions to come home safely, while much of the field crashed out.  Countryman Harrison Voight did not take part.

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Race One Results

Red Bull Rookies Race Two

Collin Veijer flicked out of the slipstream of Filippo Farioli’s KTM and willed his identical RC 250 R alongside and ahead as the pair led a pack of 13 Red Bull Moto GP Rookies across the Mugello finish line covered by just two-seconds.

It was a masterly performance by the 16-year-old Dutchman who was never too far from the front along with pole man Farioli the 17-year-old Italian.

It had been one of the truly great Cup races and third went to Tatchakorn Buasri, the 21-year-old Thai by just one-thousandth of a second over 15-year-old Briton Eddie O‘Shea.

The conditions were so different to Saturday’s soaker and 15 laps in virtually perfect conditions allowed the youngsters to produce their best with no one coming close to breaking away and places swapping many times every corner.

Collin Veijer

“I knew what I wanted to do on the last lap. I thought I could get far enough ahead that they would not be able to catch me before the line. I had tried it a few laps earlier and I thought it was possible. So I went for it on the last lap to make a gap but then Filippo came past and I thought, ‘well maybe that is not so bad,’ and I got in behind him and concentrated on making a perfect run through the last corner and into his slipstream. I had no idea how close the others were behind me I was just concentrating on Filippo. It is great to get the win. I had tried to break away but I was running long gearing and I couldn’t do it, a great race.”

Cormac Buchanan had a better Race 2, finishing 11th after fighting his way back to the lead group. From fighting for seventh at one points Buchanan dropped back to P17, before recovering to almost move into the top-ten.

Cormac Buchanan – P11

“Well that’s a wrap folks! This was a great race for me. I had a plan and I achieved my goal that I had set for myself coming into this weekend.  The start of the race I moved forward but to be honest it wasn’t amazing progress. The front group pulled a little gap and I knew that I had a lot better pace so I focused on closing the gap to the rider ahead. The group I was in wanted to battle when I was more set on getting to the lead group. With 6 laps left I got there – the pace was fast and I settled into a rhythm. I passed a few riders and studied the riders in front to find my strong points and where they were quicker. In this race there was no such thing called a clean move. I had to get my elbows out and contact was a usual occurrence. With four laps left to go I made my way into P7 and felt quite comfortable, being able to run the pace of the leaders. Unfortunately in the penultimate lap two riders had a coming together and I was tagged in the domino effect so I lost a lot of time and dropped to P17. I pushed like crazy to get back into a good points position but I was only able to manage P11. Congrats to my AGR Racing Team teamate Collin Veijer on an epic win! I was only 1.6 seconds away from the checkered flag in a very fast race. I set the second fastest lap time which was a great positive also as it was a PB for me in Italy. I am finally starting to feel like the same person I was at Portimão. This motivates me for the next round in Sachsenring and it was a great way to end the weekend. A lot of things learned this weekend and majority of them are positive. We made strides and need to keep on this same trajectory for the coming races. Huge thanks for all the messages of support throughout the weekend – it fuels the fire! Honoured to MotoGP race director Mike Webb take the time out of his incredibly hectic schedule to come down to pit lane and check in after my race. Sometimes it feels like kiwis are as rare in the paddock here as they are at home so it’s always great to hear a familiar accent. Now time to relax for a day before cranking into training again to be ready for the next one!”

Jacob Roulstone finished in 20th position, but it was a much closer run race, sitting 22.091s off the leader.

Jose Rueda holds the standings lead after Round 3 on 101-points, five-points ahead of Collin Veijer, with Race 1 winner Max Quiles a distant third on 71-points. Harrison Voight drops to 10th after not being able to compete the round, with Jacob Roulstone in P19 and Cormac Buchanan in P20, both on nine-points a-piece.

Race Two Results

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Standings