The Circuito do Estoril in Portugal was the scene of the European Moto2 and European Talent Cup at Estoril, in Portugal.
In Moto2™, Eric Granado (Promoracing, photo1) once again achieved a double, the second in a row and his fourth win of the season. The clear leader of the category took victory after pulling away with Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike), Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro) and Lukas Tulovic (Forward Junior Team). Behind the leading riders, Héctor Garzó (Team Wimu CNS) was forced to fight back after starting from seventh place on the grid.
Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike) bore the weight of the race while poleman Tulovic gradually lost touch enabling Héctor Garzó (Team Wimu CNS) to pick him up with two laps remaining. Then Eric Granado (Promoracing) passed Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike) in a surprise move on a corner to take his third victory of the season, with Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro) finishing third to repeat the podium of the previous race in Valencia. Carlos Mercier (Team Hipopótamo) finished as the best classified in Superstock 600 and Eric Granado (Promoracing) was awarded the Repsol free fuel voucher.
In the second Moto2™ race Eric Granado (Promoracing) notched up his second consecutive double by winning out in an electric last lap duel in which Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike) went down trying to overtake him in the chicane. Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro) finished second and Joe Roberts (AGR Junior Team) was third.
Right from the off Lukas Tulovic (Forward Junior Team) took advantage of his pole position to hold first place, while Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike) clashed with another rider on the first corner and fell back to eighth position behind Héctor Garzó (Team Wimu CNS).
Eric Granado (Promoracing) demonstrated his current good form by taking the lead within just a few laps, followed by Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro), Lukas Tulovic (Forward Junior Team), Federico Fuligni (Forward Junior Team), Ricky Cardús Team Stylobike) and Joe Roberts (AGR Team). Around the halfway point of the race, Lukas Tulovic (Forward Junior Team) found himself out of the running when he missed his braking point in a corner.
With five laps to go Joe Roberts (AGR Team) passed Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro) to take third, although the reigning Moto2™ European Championship champion fought back to secure second place after Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike) went down – he finally finished eleventh. Eric Granado (Promoracing) once again won ahead of Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro) and Joe Roberts (AGR Team).
Eric Granado (Promoracing) received his second Repsol free fuel voucher of the day. In Superstock 600 Carlos Mercier (Team Hipopótamo) was once again the winner. After his double, the Promoracing rider has consolidated his lead of the Moto2™ European Championship on 140 points, with Ricky Cardús (Team Stylobike) second with 115 points and Steven Odendaal (NTS Sportscode T Pro) third on 101 points. In Superstock 600, Phillippe Le Gallo (Yamaha Laglisse) is the clear leader with 125 points.
Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) was the protagonist of both the European Talent Cup races. The first race was interrupted on the sixth lap by a red flag when Víctor Alonso (42Motorsport) and Filip Rehacek (Igax Team) crashed in the chicane while Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) was leading the race. For the restart, the grid was organised according to the positions on the last lap before the red flag; the race was shortened to five laps. Poleman Manuel González’s (Halcourier Racing) bike cut out and he had to start from the back of the grid.
Miguel Parra (Blumaq HMA Racing), Simon Jespersen (Team Jespersen), Alejandro Díez (Team Honda Impala) led the restarted race on the first lap with Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) moving quickly up to tenth. The Halcourier Racing rider made a spectacular comeback and was in the lead on the final lap, but a stubborn Eduard Melgar (Grupo Machado-CAME, photo2) resisted fiercely to take the flag by just 0.041 to earn his first victory in the European Talent Cup. Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) finished second ahead of Francisco Gómez (Team Larresport) while Alejandro Díez (Team Honda Impala), fought hard right to the end to take third. The winner of the race received the Repsol free fuel voucher.
In the second European Talent Cup race, Manuel González (Halcourier Racing, photo3) took the victory that had eluded him earlier by beating Simon Jespersen (Team Jespersen) on the finish line by just 0.051, while Meikon Yuji Kawakami (Playstation Laglisse Academy) got onto the podium for the first time this season after finishing third.
From the first few laps, Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) and Simon Jespersen (Team Jespersen) pulled clear, leaving Meikon Yuji Kawakami (Playstation Laglisse Academy) third in no-man’s land. Alejandro Díez (Team Honda Impala) would end up closing in on the Playstation Laglisse Academy rider but couldn’t get past him to earn a podium slot. At the head of the race Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) and Simon Jespersen (Team Jespersen) played cat and mouse as the laps ticked by.
Simon Jespersen (Team Jespersen) was ahead on the final lap but Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) slipped passed him on the finish line to take the win as he had planned and as he later explained. After his second place in the first race Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) had recovered the overall leadership of the category, and his win in the second race consolidated his lead with 97 points. Simon Jespersen (Team Jespersen) has 76 points, Alex Toledo (Cuna de Campeones) 75 and Eduard Melgar (Group Machado-CAME) 74 – three riders within three points. With his first victory in the European Talent Cup, Manuel González (Halcourier Racing) received the Repsol free fuel voucher.
The sixth round of the FIM CEV Repsol will be held in Jerez on the 16 and 17 of September.
Full results on FIM Europe website: http://www.fim-europe.eu/events/406
