CEV Repsol Moto2 European Championship:
the season starts at Estoril Circuit
The 2019 FIM CEV Repsol season started this weekend at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal.
Niki Tuuli (Team Stylobike) took the win in the first Moto2™ race, which was affected by water on the track. Edgar Pons (Baiko Racing Team) took the lead from the pole, but just three laps later Yari Montella (Team Ciatti) passed the Baiko Racing Team rider to pull away, imposing a good pace and posting a series of fast laps. Niki Tuuli also passed Edgar Pons and worked hard to claw back the leading rider.
However, everything changed with four laps to go when Montella went down, losing all hopes of a win. But things went from bad to worse for the Team Ciatti rider: after rejoining in fourth position he fell yet again and, in the end, pulled out of the race. With Niki Tuuli winning and Edgar Pons taking second, the third podium position went to Randam Rosli (Onexox TKRR SAG Team).
The second Moto2™ race was declared dry so all the riders were able to put on slicks. From the start Tuuli took the lead ahead of Edgar Pons and Héctor Garzó (CNS Motorsport), setting a pace that surprised his rivals. However, Garzó put in a series of fast laps and pulled back the Team Stylobike rider, taking Zaccone (Promoracing) along with him. On lap nine Garzó and Tuuli both rode across a wet area of the track and almost went down. Zaccone took advantage of their error and established a lead which he held to the end. Despite falling back to fifth position Tuuli recovered well to cross the line in second place. Pons took the final podium slot by beating Garzó by barely half a second.
With these results, Niki Tuuli leads by 9 points from Alessandro Zaccone and Edgar Pons.
Next round is on 28th April at Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Barcelona, Spain.
