Moto2 European Championship, ETC and Stock:
mixed weather conditions throw up some surprise results at the Circuito do Estoril
Rain, sun, then a bit more rain was the order of the day at the Circuito do Estoril, with debut winners emerging from the tricky conditions. Carlos Cano (SeventyTwo ARTBOX Racing Team) doubled up in the European Talent Cup, while Mattia Casadei (Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro) and Roberto Garcia (Fantic Cardoso Racing) shared the spoils in the Moto2 European Championship. Meanwhile, in the Stock race, Adrian Rodriguez (SF Racing) became a winner in the class for the very first time.
Moto2
Race 1 of the Moto2 European Championship was all about Casadei’s wet weather dance to a commanding victory as the Italian sailed to his first 25 points in the class. 12 seconds was his advantage at the chequered flag over second place Jorge Navarro (Forward EEST Racing), the experienced Spaniard picking up a podium in his first outing, as Taiga Hada (GAS UP Racing Team) returned to the rostrum for the first time since 2021 with a well-earned P3.
Race 2 saw contrasting conditions emerge as a dry race unfolded, with Garcia producing a scintillating comeback to claim a debut win from P15. Casadei didn’t have an answer for the Spaniard in the afternoon but a P2 – and 45 more points – sees him take the Championship lead into Round 3. Third place went to Alberto Ferrandez (Finetwork Team), that’s his second podium of the season, with Alberto Surra (Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro) crashing out in Race 2 as the Italian endures a tougher weekend at the office in Estoril.
ETC
It was wet, but it was a wonderful performance from Cano in the opening European Talent Cup race of the day as the young Spaniard proved a ray of sunshine amid the miserable Estoril conditions on Sunday morning. The #71 went from pole to the top step in Portugal with almost six seconds in his back pocket as Misano victor Marco Morelli (MLav Racing) settled for second, with Fernando Bujosa (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) coming through the long lap penalty loop and some stiff competition for the final podium place. Victory saw Cano move to within 20 points of title leader Morelli, with a second race to come.
It was a case of same outcome, different circumstances in Race 2 as Cano made it a perfect Portuguese weekend with another win, but this time it was much closer than a few hours earlier. In the dry conditions, the top 10 crossed the line 0.9s apart in a brilliant ETC encounter that saw Jesus Torres (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Valentine Perrone (Frando Racing VHC Team) stand on the rostrum for the first time in 2024. After Morelli crashed out in Race 2, Cano tops the Championship heading to Barcelona.
Stock
In the final race of the day, drama was delivered in spades. Rodriguez came from P4 to take a maiden Stock Championship victory in a restarted race, with Iker Garcia (Yamaha GV Racing) and Francisco Ruiz (DR Andifer Team) debuting on the podium in the class.
Having seen the track dry out after morning rain, the heavens opened once more after just three laps, with polesitter and then race leader Dino Iozzo (IUM Motorsports) highsiding and hitting the deck coming out of Turn 9. The red flags waved and the race restarted, but without the South African on pole as he and teammate Declan Van Rosmalen launched from pitlane after deciding not to go out with the rest of the field. That left Rodriguez unobstructed as he got the perfect launch, though Garcia, Ruiz and Alex Millan (Team Zivimotor) all took turns in the lead.
It was a tight-knit quartet until the final lap, when Rodriguez then posted the best race lap as he stole a march to victory, with Millan the one to lose out in an entertaining podium battle. Lorenzo Dall Porta (Yamaha GV Racing), Misano winner and current Championship leader, came home in a lonely P5 to preserve his lead.
