Round 5 of the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship will soon be hitting the track near Alcañiz
MotorLand Aragon: a modern classic outpost of speed set high in the old Kingdom of Aragon, where a long history of racing stretches back for decades and is celebrated on one of Spain’s newest and most stunning venues. Technical, long and challenging, the 17-corner, 5.1km ribbon of MotorLand will be a new challenge for the Junior Talent Team – and one they’re eager to start.
Yuki Kunii remains the Junior Talent Team rider ahead in the standings in fifth with 55 points, and after surgery following the round in Barcelona he’ll be eager to get back on track and keep adding to that tally. He’s now only eight points ahead of Somkiat Chantra, however, as the Thai former Asia Talent Cup Champion’s sophomore season charge continues and his big step up only gets more and more impressive.
Ai Ogura is for even closer company. Six points off Chantra and with podiums in Valencia and at Le Mans, the Japanese rider’s speed isn’t in doubt. But it’s been a year of ups and downs for Ogura thus far, and he’ll want to get back on the scoreboard and kick start a run of some more consistency to really start challenging at the top of the standings. Gerry Salim, meanwhile, will be aiming to keep learning and getting closer to the front. The top twenty will be the aim with an eye on the points, and the Indonesian rider will be pushing hard from his first taste of the track.
For Tom Booth-Amos, though, it will be a return from a number of injuries that have hampered the British Talent Team rider’s season so far and it can’t come soon enough. After more surgery and now back to much fitter, Booth-Amos will be gunning hard to replicate his Estoril form at MotorLand – with a lot to learn but the Brit eager to get back on track.
Last year Ogura was in the top ten, Kunii in the points and Chantra just outside them – can that change this season? All eyes will be on the Junior Talent Team for qualifying on Saturday before the single Moto3™ race on Sunday at 13:00 (GMT +2).
