The start of the Moto3 Junior World Championship: the double victory of Jesus Rios / JuniorGP

For the first time in the history of the “FIM JuniorGP World Championship” (formerly CEV), the season opener did not take place at the Spanish race track, but the series chose the Misano World Circuit in Italy for the event. The race track not far from Rimini on the Adriatic coast is not unfamiliar territory for some of the participants. In recent years, the Moto3 class has been a guest at the San Marino Grand Prix several times. Last weekend, all the teams and riders from the Moto2 European Championship, the European Talent Cup and the European Stock Championship traveled to Italy.

Conditions were consistently good. In the dry weather and temperature around 15 degrees in the last few days, the young racers gave an exciting motorcycle game. This includes the German Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team, which is competing this year with a total of four riders in the Moto3 and ETC categories.

Jesus Rios was the best player in the “Junior GP Moto3” class in Misano. On his KTM from the MRE-Talent Team, he was the fastest qualifier on Saturday, followed by compatriot Adrian Cruces (KTM) and South Africa’s Ruche Moodley (KTM). Rios was also ahead in a thrilling race on Sunday. In the first race, he initially relegated Italian Alessandro Morosi (CFMoto) to second by 0.022 seconds and Spaniard Marcos Uriarte (CFMoto) to third.

The two Top Austrians Jakob Rosenthaler (12th starting position) and Leo Rammerstorfer (20th starting position) from the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Youth Team also showed their talent in this race. They got their first points in tenth and twelfth place. Teammate Rico Selmela from Finland, on the other hand, who impressed with a fifth place in qualifying in his first Moto3 race weekend, was ruled out by a crash after leading a few laps.
In the second race, Rios won ahead of Cruces and New Zealander Cormac Buchanan (KTM). Three of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team remained without points, Rammerstofer took 20th place, Selmela and Rosenthaler had to retire due to an accident.

In ETC, 14-year-old Alex Longarela from Madrid will represent the colors of the German Intact GP team. Longarela put in a strong performance in his debut in the highly competitive youth series and placed fifth in his group in qualifying. He started the race from eighth place, but missed the checkered flag twice because he fell down each time.

The next stop in the series is the “Circuito do Estoril” in Portugal on the first weekend in May.