The Japanese rider remains sidelined with injury, with the reigning British Talent Cup Champion on replacement duty
The next round of the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship sees the paddock roll into the iconic Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto from the 27th to 29th September, with the Junior Talent Team ready to race after the summer break. Three rounds remain in 2019, and this weekend there are two Moto3™ races for the JTT to attack.
The biggest news for the team on the road to round six of the season is that Yuki Kunii will remain sidelined through injury. The Japanese rider, who was the early Championship leader and is now a multiple-race winner, will be replaced for the event by Briton Scott Ogden as he arrives fresh from wrapping up the 2019 British Talent Cup crown. Next season he’ll be joining the team full-time, so this is a key opportunity to start getting to grips with a whole new challenge. He will race with the number 31.
Rookie teammates Mario Aji, Haruki Noguchi, Max Cook and Billy van Eerde, meanwhile, look to start the second half of the season building on what they’ve learned so far in 2019. Aji began the season with a stunning fourth in the wet at Estoril before a more difficult run, but the Indonesian rider took some solid points last time out at MotorLand that he’ll be aiming to match at Jerez. Noguchi will be looking to equal or better his best finish yet of an eighth place, taken in Barcelona, and cut the gap to Aji – with both enjoying previous knowledge of Jerez, having taken solid finishes at the Andalucian venue earlier in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season.
Max Cook is another who took good results the first time he raced at the track this year, and he’ll be counting on translating that into good pace on the FIM CEV Repsol’s visit as he looks to continue his consistent season. Barring some bad luck, the Brit has been a perennial threat for points this season, and he isn’t far off Noguchi and Aji either. Finally, Billy Van Eerde – who will race with number 29 – wants to get some points on the board and get to grips with the competition. Podium success and a first win in the latter half of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season will give the Australian some improved confidence as the FIM CEV Repsol gets back in gear.
Race 1 for the Junior Talent Team begins at 11:00 (GMT +2) local time on Sunday 29th September, before Race 2 at 14:00.
