The second event of the European Mini Road Racing Championship was held in Holland on the new TT juniortrack of Assen.A total of 71 riders from 8 different Countries competed at this second European Championship event. After the races in Pomposa (Italy) it was clear that the races in Assen were going to be exciting, thanks to the presence of many strong riders in Assen.
Unfortunately no medals were to be earned in the MiniGP50 class as there were not enough competitors.
Prior to the European Championship races the KNMV organized an international Racecamp: 3 days of riding and learning with teachers from other European races classes, such as EC Stock 600 and the Red Bull Rookies Cup. Many international riders took their chance of getting to know the Assen track.
The European Championship was the first official international event to be held in the junior track of Assen, which is in some parts a copy of the GP track, known for its great level of grip and corner speeds. For the European races a slightly different layout is used, which is exclusively designed for the international events.
The experimental tarmac was well tested over the three days. During the free practices on Friday the weather offered excellent conditions but from Saturday until Sunday the track was covered with heavy rain showers.
Junior A
In this young but important group the Italian riders ruled without doubt. Already in qualifying we saw an all Italian front row with Luca Lunetta on pole and Alex Venturini and Lorenzo Frasca in second and third. Interesting speed came from Czech rider Jakub Gurecky and UK rider Casey O’Gorman who had broken his collarbone during the Pomposa races.
The first race held under dry conditions saw an excellent result by Alex Venturini who won the battle in the last lap. Luca Lunetta came in second just 0.4 sec behind Alex. Third rider on the podium was Jakub Gurecky scoring his first European success.
Race two started as a wet race, Luca Lunetta was the quickest on the wet tarmac with Alex Venturini in second. Close racing in the end saw Lorenzo Frasca come in third place but the finish was within 1 thousand of a second with Jakub.
The main race held on Sunday was again under wet conditions. Disaster struck Alex Venturini, whose bike stopped in the first lap. Conditions where very wet and Luca Lunetta played the safe card in order to win the EC title. The third race was won by Lorenza Frasca with Jakub Gurecky in second and Casey O’Gorman in third.
Junior B
Dutch rider Collin Veijer of course felt strong at his home race but the competition proved to learn fast in qualifying. With Andrea Natali on pole, Collin Veijer in second and Mattia Falzone on the four stroke machine in third position, the races where going to be very exciting.
In the first race some small problems in the first lap for Andrea Natali saw him drop back in the field. Collin Veijer made excellent progress and secured a comfortable lead over the first couple of laps. The race was only decided in the last laps when Andrea passed Mattia to secure second and important points for the championship. With National rider Collin Veijer in first position, Andrea Natali in second and Mattia Falzone in third, the top 3 of the championship found one another once again.
The second race started under heavy rain, all riders of course had wet tyres and Andrea Natali made the best of it in the beginning, As the rain started to pour down heavier, Collin Veijer started to close the gap. At that point the race direction decided to stop the race because of unsafe conditions at the track. Andrea Natali won this second race with Collin Veijer in second and Mattia Falzone in third.
The last and most important race was again a wet race. After some problems with his helmet on Saturday Andrea Natali prepared well on Sunday, and there was no doubt in who would win this race. Both Andrea and Collin where too fast for the rest of the competition. Andrea Natali won the final race and the championship with Collin Veijer in second. After problems for Mattia Falzoni we saw Emiliano Ercolani grab the third spot at the podium.
Senior Open 50
Nobody in the paddock or on track doubted about the skills of Michael Carbonera. After winning all races in Pomposa he repeated his performance in Assen and he has become the European champion with all wins.
Dutch rider Scott Deroue joined the championship in Assen to compete with Michael but sadly there where too many technical problems with Scott’s bike and the great battle never arrived. Italian Roberta Ponziani again had a strong performance and only missed points in the last race when her bike stopped. Czech rider Vit Bromvsky showed strong performances in Assen and grabbed the bronze medal.
NSF100
Compared with Pomposa there where a lot more NSF100 riders present in Assen. A mixture of fast German, Czech and Dutch riders guaranteed a great show.
The first dry race was definitely a “thriller”, in which Ondrej Vostatek showed he could beat the national riders. Second and third on the podium where Rick Dunnik and Loran Faber.
The other two races where under wet conditions, tyre choice was crucial and different choices where made. Loran Faber showed that Dutch riders are familiar with rain and won race 2. A surprise in second place arrived from Till Belczykowski: the German rider only qualified in 13th place but showed great skills in the rain. Third place went to Ondrej Vostatek.
The final race for double points was the most important: the fight for gold. In a very wet race Loran faber did what needed to be done, he won the race but with Ondrej in second position he did not secure enough points for the European title. Till Belczykowski was third again, underlining his excellent performance in the rain. The gold medal went to Ondrej Vostatek, silver to Loran Faber and bronze to Pomposa winner Aaron Schäfer.
Full results on FIM Europe website: http://www.fim-europe.eu/events/118
