Fabio Quartararo, in Moto3, Xavi Vierge and Jesko Raffin, in Moto2 and Carmelo Morales, in Superbike, achieved their victories during the first round of the FIM CEV Repsol held after the summer break.
The start of the race in the smallest category was chaotic. In the first try, the bike of the championship’s leader, Fabio Quartararo, stopped just before the start and so the procedure had to start again, with the French now starting from the last place of the grid. Nevertheless, in the third lap, when Quartararo had already climbed to 12th, Australian Remy Gardner had a dramatic crash –and was also hit by another bike- which forced to stop the race for safety reasons, as his bike was in the middle of the track.Fabio Quartararo, in Moto3, Xavi Vierge and Jesko Raffin, in Moto2 and Carmelo Morales, in Superbike, achieved their victories during the first round of the FIM CEV Repsol held after the summer break.
After two months of break, the FIM CEV Repsol resumed the competition and started this weekend the last part of the Championship at the Navarra Circuit. After today’s races, there are only the Portimao (Portugal) and Valencia rounds left. At the Navarra Circuit Fabio Quartararo achieved his sixth victory of the year in a race that was reduced to 9 laps after a first part that was cancelled in lap 3 and that the French started from the last place, as his bike stopped just before the start. Thanks to the 25 points he gathered in the end, Quartararo will have his first chance to secure the Championship during the next race.
Over at Moto2, Xavi Vierge and Switzerland’s Jesko Raffin shared the wins in the two races held today and in Superbike, Carmelo Morales achieved the victory the same day he made his return to the championship after fracturing his leg at the Barcelona round held in June.
In two months, the FIM CEV Repsol will resume the action and it will do so out of the Spanish borders. This time, the three classes of the championship will travel to Portugal for the round that will be held at the Circuito do Algarve next November 2nd, where Moto2 and Superbike will have two races.
Moto3
Fortunately, the Australian rider was able to go back to his box walking, although he wasn’t at the start of the new race, this time with only 9 laps and with Fabio Quartararo again on pole position. The French rider took this new chance and led the race from flag to flag, achieving his sixth win of the season. Second place was for Jorge Navarro and third for the Italian rider Niccolo Bulega. Maria Herrera, who started from tenth, finished seventh.
With this new success, Quartararo will play his first match ball to win the title again in the next round that will take place at the Portimao Circuit (Portugal), as he leads the overall standings with 52 points over Jorge Navarro and so he would be Champion if he finished the race ahead of the rider from Valencia. They are the only two riders that still have chances to claim the title. The third placed, Japanese Hiroki Ono, is 83 points behind, with only 75 still up for grabs.
Moto2
The intermediate class had today two races at the Navarra Circuit and the Barcelona rider Xavi Vierge and Swiss Jesko Raffin shared the victories. In the first race, Vierge, who was in the top group since the beginning of the race, launched his attack in lap 12 and took the lead. A place he was able to defend in the last corners against Edgar Pons, who was finally second by only 41 thousandths.
In the second race, Switzerland’s Jesko Raffin and German Florian Alt took advantage of the penalties received by Edgar Pons and Alan Techer to take the lead and fought for victory in a beautiful battle that lasted until the very last lap. In the end, it was Raffin who got the upper hand thanks to an overtaking manoeuvre in the last corner.El suizo podría apuntarse el título a su favor en la siguiente prueba ya que Moto2 celebrará en Portugal dos carreras y actualmente Raffin lidera la general con 32 puntos de ventaja sobre Florian Alt y 53 sobre Edgar Pons.
The Swiss rider might secure the title in the next round, as Moto2 will have two races in Portugal and now Raffin leads the overall standings with a 32-point advantage over Florian Alt and 53 over Edgar Pons.
Superbike
Carmelo Morales returned to the FIM CEV Repsol in style by achieving a crushing victory. The rider from Barcelona suffered a serious injury –he had a fracture in each of his legs– during the round held in Catalunya and he missed the race in Albacete. He arrived in Navarra still with crutches. But that did not prevent him from taking the pole position yesterday and winning the race today. With an advantage of more than 4 seconds, Morales did not leave any chance to his rivals and dominated the race from start to finish. Santi Barragan, second, and Kenny Noyes, third, accompanied him on the podium at the Navarra Circuit.
In the overall standings, the first three will arrive to the double race in Portugal with a difference of only 4 points. The current leader is Ivan Silva, who was fifth today, followed by Santi Barragan, 3 points behind, and Kenny Noyes, at 4 points.
Fabio Quartararo >> Audio >> Audio FR
“The bike stopped in the grid and I had to go back to the pit lane for my mechanics to see what happened. Then, following the rules, I had to take the last place of the grid, but I had a good start and I was twelfth already in the second lap. The race was interrupted due to a crash and there was a red flag. So at the restart I was on the pole position again and I thought it was the moment to forget what had happened and push as hard as I could to get some advantage. I did it in the end and I won the race. I’m very happy with the work done by the team and Honda during the whole weekend “.
Xavi Vierge >> Audio
Moto2 first race winner
“During the whole weekend we’ve been working to have a good pace for the race. We started the first race with the top group and by mid race I decided to push, although I had already had a scare and I didn’t feel perfect on the bike. But I was able to build some advantage and then in the last lap I pushed hard and was able to win. I want to thank the team and congratulate the riders that accompanied me on the podium”.
Jesko Raffin >> Audio
Moto2 second race winner
“In Free Practice sessions on Friday I could only do 15 laps because we had a lot of trouble and we couldn’t find a solution. That is why the Qualifying were like a practice for us, in order to set-up the bike, and it was difficult to improve the times. Although the fourth place is not bad, you can always get the pole position. In the first race the bike had a lot of rebound but in the second we were able to improve it and, after the penalties received by Edgar Pons and Alan Techer I was second behind Florian Alt. I increased the pace to catch him but in the last laps the back brake failed and it was very difficult to overtake him, so I was at the limit in the last lap and took the win. I want to thank the team for their work during this weekend”.
Carmelo Morales >> Audio
Superbike race winner
“This weekend was fantastic. I had feelings I hadn’t had for years, nearly as when I won my first Spanish Championships. About today’s race, I didn’t feel I needed to win, what I needed was what I did yesterday. That was one of my challenges since I was writhing in pain at the Barcelona Circuit. I was lucky to be in last week’s tests. Yesterday the feeling was incredible and we finished the weekend in style. I want to thank the team for their support for such a long time and also thank my family, my friends and the fans, specially my girlfriend, because we suffered a lot”.
