Unpredictable weather conditions make first race of Spanish championship a gamble
Over 11,000 spectators witnessed the start of the CEV Buckler championships in weather condition so unpredictable that the teams and tyre manufactures where kept on their toes for the whole day. Wet or dry tyre choices could mean scoring points or not. Despite these changeable weather conditions, that created a lot of doubt on their choice of tyre, this weekend saw spectacular racing in all categories.
In the Moto3 class the Pole setter, German rider Philipp Öttl, who had been consistent all weekend, lead the race from the start but had to fight hard for a win against his main rival, Alejandro Medina who had started second on the grid behind him. Medina chased the spray of Öttl right up to the checkered flag. Eventually he secured second ahead of Briton John McPhee, who scored third on the podium to take the bronze.
The conditions worsened in the Moto2 race, what seemed to be weather that was drying the track turned out to be very wet, catching a large percentage of the teams off guard. Most riders were equipped with slick tyres, a miscalculation that caused major problems. Lap four saw the appearance of the red flag after an incident on the turn into the start-finish straight, requiring a restart. Shortly after the restart, heavy rain, almost monsoon conditions, poured on Jerez circuit continuing to test the rider’s abilities. Although the race had been declared wet prior to the start, most teams chose to use slicks tyres. Those who decided to use slicks had to rush in to the pits to switch to wets. Amusingly though, Spaniard riders Dani Rivas, Australian Kris McLaren and American Kenny Noyes bravely chose to continue in torrential rain on dry tyres, securing podiums positions for their efforts.
In the Stock Extreme, a race that was cut short by four laps after an incident called for a red flag, past Kawasaki Ninja Cup winner Kyle Smith showed tremendous skills in the wet, successfully managing his wet tyres on a track that he knew was beginning to dry out quickly. Smith led the field for most of the race to secure the first win of the year in the Stock Extreme class. Second over the line behind Smith was Carmelo Morales after his return to this class for 2012. Morales was followed over the line by Xavi Fores to complete the podium lineup.
The Kawasaki Ninja Cup Finalized the first race weekend of the CEV Buckler championship. The race, as in the Moto2TM and Extreme Stock races, saw an incident that forced the appearance of the red flag stopping the race. After the restart, Oliver Habib set the pace to achieve the win. The Andorran took the flag ahead of Spaniards Ignacio Contreras and Julio David Palao.
The next round of the CEV Buckler 2012 will take place at the newly added circuit of Los Arcos Navarra – during the weekend of 21 and 22 April.
Source: CEV Buckler
