Voight scores CEV podium | Van Eerde injured

2020 FIM CEV Repsol Circuito De Jerez – Angel Nieto

Images courtesy of FIM CEV Repsol

Friday Qualifying

Qualifying for Round 3 and 4 of the 2020 FIM CEV Repsol on Friday saw riders take to the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, with qualifying practice times setting the grid for Saturday and Sunday’s races!

After the fierce competition, Daniel Muñoz took his first pole position of the year and the first of his FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship career. Moto3 pole position was at the mercy of the track conditions, with many riders not besting their lap time from the morning’s QP1 session. The top 3 would all set their quickest lap time in QP1 rather than QP2, leaving Izan Guevara, championship leader Pedro Acosta to line up on the grid behind Daniel Muñoz.

18-year-old Australian Billy Van Eerde from the Hunter Valley in NSW (Asia Talent Team) was due to start from eighth but was injured during QP2, breaking the femur in his left leg, ending his weekend and turning the focus to recovery after needing surgery as a result. With typical recovery from this kind of injury being in the region of eight weeks, whether Billy will be back in time for the season final remains in question.

Billy Van Eerde Racing statement:

“Quick update on Billy after his crash in Q2 yesterday. Unfortunately he has a broken femur in his left leg and went into surgery last night to have it pinned and repaired. He is very disappointed which is to be expected after a great qualify in Q1. Not sure when he will be back, but now he needs to focus on his recovery. We would like to give the Junior Talent Team the biggest shout out for helping out with all the transfers to hospitals and his hospital care. They have been absolutely amazing and we can’t thank them enough. Also to Paula who stayed by his side until Brian arrived at the hospital this morning. Thank you everyone for all your kind messages of support. He is OK, in a little discomfort and we will know more in the coming days.”

Fellow Aussie 17-year-old Joel Kelso from Darwin, qualified in 15th for the weekend – with van Eerde’s withdrawal moving him to 14th on the grid, with Senna Agius 29th, both also in the Moto3 class.

In the Moto2 European Championship it was Yari Montella who claimed pole position once again, while the final pole position went the way of Zonta Van Den Goorbergh, as he picked up his maiden pole in the European Talent Cup. 14-year-old Australian Harrison Voight from the Gold Coast qualified strongly in sixth in the European Talent Cup, with 14-year-old Jacob Roulstone from Jamberoo, NSW, starting the grid from 16th.

Round 3 – Saturday

In the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship, Xavi Artigas took the first race win of the weekend, choosing the perfect time to pick up his second win of the season. Artigas would end up winning by just under a second from Daniel Holgado with third place Gerard Riu less than a tenth behind.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Artigas though, he entered the final lap in the middle of a battle along with then joint championship leader, Pedro Acosta. However, Acosta would crash out at Turn 6, leaving him with 0 points and now trailing Artigas by 25 in the standings.

Top performing Australian in van Eerde’s absence was Joel Kelso finishing in 11th place, having started from last after an electrical issue caused him to miss pit opening, while Senna Agius came home in 17th. A string of earlier mechanical issues had seemed solved for Kelso, after receiving a new engine Thursday night before Friday’s qualifying.

In the Moto2 European Championship, Yari Montella ruled the roost once again as the Italian pulled clear and won by 4.3 seconds. He was challenged by Alessandro Zaccone in the early laps, and Zaccone would come home in second, taking his best finish of the year so far. Niki Tuuli would have his worst result of the season so far, with third place being a testament to the Finn’s consistency in 2020.

Speaking of consistency, David Alonso would start the day by taking victory in the first HETC race, despite actually crossing the line in second behind Zonta Van Den Goorbergh. The Dutchman was dropped one place after exceeding track limits thus finishing second as Australian Harrison Voight picked up his first podium of the year after being promoted from fifth to third. Fellow Aussie Jacob Roulstone finished 18th.

Race 2 came all the way down to the final corner. Alonso would lead going in but had to fend off the attack from Van Den Goorbergh, leaving them both open to a charging Marco Morelli to pick up his first HETC win. Alonso would finish second, and so off the top step for the first time, as Alberto Ferrandez picked up third.

Harrison Voight suffered from mechanical issues in Race 2, finishing in 18th, with Jacob Roulstone the top Australian finisher in 16th.

Round 4 – Sunday

For the second day in a row, FIM CEV Repsol took to the Jerez circuit for a new race day and the action rolled on as Round 4 got underway at the historic venue.

In the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship, Izan Guevara and Jose Julian Garcia split the wins between them with both riders taking their first career victory in the class.

In FIM Moto3 race 1, the drama went all the way to the final turn with Guevara eventually prevailing, but that was only after he was able to dodge the luckless David Salvador who crashed out at the final turn after clipping the rear wheel of Pedro Acosta. Acosta would lose what looked likely to be a race win and come across the line in third as his main Championship rival, Xavier Artigas, would pip him to second place.

Joel Kelso was unfortunately taken out in Race 2 when another rider overcooked the second corner, taking out his front wheel, leaving him too sore to continue racing, with Senna Agius the top – and only – Australian finisher as a result in 17th.

Joel Kelso

“Unfortunately due to a mechanical issue I was unable to start from my original position, in the end I’m happy with the race to come from last to 11th is a great achievement! Unfortunately during race two [Sunday, Round 4, Race 1] I got taken out, I will not take part in Race 3.”

The second race would eventually go the way of Jose Julian Garcia after last lap, last corner track limits drama gifted him the win. It was Izan Guevara who crossed the line in first place, but he was stripped of picking up the double as he exceeded track limits at the final turn, forcing him to drop 1 place, meaning Garcia took the top step. Behind Guevara in second was Pedro Acosta, adding a third place to the one he picked up in race 1. Senna Agius was once again the only Australian finisher in 18th.

Moto2 fired into life with Keminth Kubo taking the holeshot, but the Thai rider would eventually slip back to take fifth. Yari Montella barged his way to the front at the end of lap 1 and didn’t look back from there, racing into the distance to win by six-seconds. Behind him, Alessandro Zaccone ran second for much of the race before taking a trip through the gravel at turn 11, eventually coming home in ninth place. That meant that the still recovering Niki Tuuli picked up another second place as he held Alejandro Medina at arms length as he took the first Moto2 podium of his career.

Zonta Van Den Goorbergh raced to victory in a restarted HETC race. The race was red flagged after Filippo Farioli highsided out of Turn 6 but was fortunately unhurt. A five-lap dash followed, with Van Den Goorbergh controlling it from the front. Chaos ensued behind as Angel Piqueras, Marco Morelli and Adrian Cruces all crashed out at the final turn on the final lap. In the aftermath of the final corner drama, David Alonso and his teammate Ivan Ortola took second and third. The final HETC race of the weekend saw Harrison Voight race to eighth, with Jacob Roulstone 16th.

Harrison Voight

“Race 3 at Jerez was the toughest race I’ve ever had with almost 14 or so riders in the front group. At the end I finished 8th so I’m happy but I knew the result could of been better. I gave it my all with my elbows out and being aggressive. Overall it’s been a great weekend and we made some big improvements from the previous rounds. Big thank you to everyone in the team SIC 58 Squadra CORSE, Mum and Dad and to everyone that was cheering on from home.”

2020 FIM CEV Repsol Circuito De Jerez Results
Rounds 3 & 4