Rins wins as Marquez crashes out at Catalunya, Torres takes lead in Moto2

More than 22,000 people enjoyed a weekend of spectacular racing at the Circuit de Catalunya, which culminated Sunday with the third round of the CEV Buckler 2011.

Alex Rins dealt a lethal blow to the championship with his victory in the 125GP class. Rins, along with his partner Alex Marquez, has proven the CatalunyaCaixa team is one step ahead of its rivals, having maintained alternating wins between to two since the start of the season. Just behind them, a riveting fight for third included a tight group of seven riders comprised of five Italians, a Czech and the Spanish Guevara. During the race it was clear that the victory would be played out on the last lap, with the action taking place at the penultimate corner, where Marquez crashed and handed the victory and 25 points to Alex Rins. Second was the Czech Miroslav Popov, followed by Italian Romano Fenati after a penalty was given on Francesco Bagnaia – who was third across the line – for passing on a yellow flag.

In Moto2, victory and leadership went to Jordi Torres, whose result at the Catalunya race came easier than expected. After a great start by Tizón, Torres passed into the lead and tried to pull away from his pursuers. Behind Tizón, Carmelo Morales struggled against bike set up and cold tires, falling from third back into eighth. Ivan Moreno inherited Morales’ place in third, but then also fell from the front in the sixth lap, leaving Torres in the lead more than five seconds ahead. The thrill of the race was the recovery of Morales, who made his way back through the pack to finally cross the line in second, ahead of Koyama in third, who scored his first podium in Moto2.

Also busy cementing his championship victories due to falls of his main rivals is Santiago Barragán in the Stock Extreme class. Barragán added his third victory of the year in Catalunya, perhaps his most difficult win of the season. The start saw a tight group lead the pack, comprised of Del Amor, Berto López, and Ferrer, with Smith and Silva further back. On the fifth lap Del Amor – who is second in the championship – crashed, leaving Lopez to lead the race, only to crash his BMW out of the lead one lap later. Enrique Ferrer inherited the lead position and seemed able to stay in front of Barragán, but the Kawasaki rider broke away on lap nine to fly to another victory. Behind him, Silva again rose to second place, while behind Ferrer could not handle the pressure of Kyle David Smith, who added his first podium in Stock Extreme. The first is privateer was again Mariñelarena Alexander, who is now fifth overall.

The World Endurance rider Daniel Ribalta was the winner of the Kawasaki Ninja Cup race. Racing by invitation of the organization, Ribalta looked almost obligated to win, given his level of experience. But the task was not easy, because also joining the race was former World Champion Araujo Adrià who gave Ribalta stiff competition. Ribalta could only shake Adrià on the last lap, putting Adrià in second. Third place went to Miguel Poyatos.

The fourth round of the CEV Buckler 2011 will be held on July 10th at the Circuito de Albacete.