Jerez threw down the gauntlet and the team are gunning for more glory
Jerez was a successful weekend for the Junior Talent Team and now it’s time to head a little further north to Albacete and the penultimate round of the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship. There are 25 points on the table this time and just one race for the Junior Talent Team, so everything is on the line on Sunday.
Yuki Kunii arrives with some good momentum. After taking his first win at Jerez, the Japanese rider has moved up to third in the standings and has 98 points – now within a race win of second place – and he’ll be eager to get back on track to keep his form rolling. Likewise compatriot Ai Ogura, who was crashed out of Race 1 and contention for the win through no fault of his own in Jerez, but he bounced back to get on the podium in Race 2. He’s now P7 in the standings but only two points off sixth, so he’ll be aiming to move closer to that top five – and take the win denied him in Andalucia.
Somkiat Chantra, meanwhile, arrives with a whole different kind of confidence. The Thai rider had good pace at Jerez but crashed, but then he headed home to wildcard in the Moto3™ World Championship in the PTT Thailand Grand Prix. At Buriram on race day, the former Asia Talent Cup champion shone and sliced through the field to take an incredible ninth place. He’ll be walking tall on the way to Albacete, eager to get going.
Tom Booth-Amos also has some good vibes going into the penultimate round. After a difficult season marred by injury, the Brit took his first points of the year in Race 1 at Jerez – and he’s since also announced a move to the Moto3™ World Championship next season. That’s a good springboard for another attack nearer the front and some more points – something Gerry Salim is also aiming for. Salim was a tantalisingly close P16 in Jerez and just outside the elusive points scoring positions so he’ll be gunning hard for them in Albacete.
The one Moto3™ race begins at 13:00 (GMT +2) on Sunday, with 19 laps of Albacete deciding the winner of another 25 points.
