FIM CEV Repsol, Aragon: Sunday roundup – Moto3, Moto2, Superbike
The third round of the FIM CEV Repsol took place this Sunday at the MotorLand Aragon circuit in Spain, as the riders in three classes faced off against one another and the strong winds at the track.
Marcos Ramirez was the winner of the most closely contested class of the day: Moto3. Six riders were involved in the fight for victory, before Ramirez launched his definitive attack with two laps remaining. He was able to take the chequered flag just a few metres ahead of Alonso Lopez and Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who completed the podium. Ramirez remains leader of the Junior World Championship, 15 points clear of Dalla Porta and 19 ahead of Kaito Toba.
In Moto2, two races were held on Sunday and both were won by Steven Odendaal. The second race was reduced to 10 laps due to a red flag at the start –the result of a heavy crash for several riders. Odendaal took the lead early on in both races, imposing his pace and escaping from his rivals. His Sunday successes take him to three victories this season, and keep him in the lead of the overall standings. The South African is 23 points clear of nearest rival, Alan Techer.
Carmelo Morales took a tight double in the Superbike class, winning race one by 0.053s from Santi Barragan and race two by 0.043 from Maximilian Scheib. The 50 points earned by the Spaniard allow him to cut the gap to Barragan in the overall standings to 2 points, 11 behind Scheib.
Marcos Ramírez – Moto3 race winner
“The race was very tough, because we were riding in a large group of six riders and I was always trying to lead. When there were 2 or 3 laps to go I got to the front, pushed as hard as I could and set the fastest lap of the race –matching my time from practice yesterday. Thanks to that lap I was able to get a small advantage of a few metres on the group, which proved to be enough to win in the end.”
Steven Odendaal – Moto2 first & second race winner
“I was surprised by Remy Gardner at the start of the race. He was pushing very hard on the opening lap, but I knew that we had to take things calmly on the opening laps and see what the track conditions were like. I am very happy with this latest win and want to thank my team.
The red flag affected race 2 and the distance was reduced. When we got started again, I tried not to be nervous- although maybe I relaxed too much and had Techer just behind me. That meant that I had to give my all until the final corner in order to take the win. I am very happy for the team, and these results give me a lot of confidence as we head to Barcelona; let’s see if we can do the same job we did here.”
Carmelo Morales – Superbike first & second race winner
“It was a very good round for us, because we managed to take our first points of the season. It was tough for us, because we knew that we couldn’t afford to fail. The first race was fairly tough, because we all had a hard time with the tyres. Barragan passed me on the final laps, which surprised me because I was going fast and thought that I could escape. Luckily, on the final braking point I took a good line and overtook him. It was a nice race –one that was decided on the final lap.
The two races today were closely contested. The first thing I want to do is congratulate Maximilian Scheib, who did a very good job and was a lot stronger than I had expected. I have to thank him in a way, because his high performance forced me to improve and motivates me for the coming races. I also want to congratulate my team, because we had a few problems in free practice this weekend but they were able to solve them and bring me the two wins.”
The FIM CEV Repsol returns in a fortnight at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, on June 12th. At this round there will be two Moto3 and Moto2 races, as well as a single Superbike contest.
Source: CEV Repsol
