Northern Talent Cup:
action at Sachsenring!
Race 1
Jakub Gurecky (JRT Brno Circuit) has done it again! The Czech rider made it four in a row with another impressive win to begin Round 3, although this time it was a different victory. Starting well from pole and fighting it out in a five-rider battle for the podium, the number 59 then pulled the pin with perfect timing to get back onto the top step. Rookie Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team) took his first NTC podium in second as the Hungarian finds his feet, with Lorenz Luciano (Junior Black Knights Team) in the fight once again and the Belgiian taking third.
Gurecky got the best start from pole, taking the the holeshot and making an early statement on his dry weather pace. Five riders started to pull away in a front group straight away though and he couldn’t escape: Gurecky, Moor, Luciano, Jacopo Hosciuc (Hos Racing Team) and Kas Beekmans (Team KNMV), with that seemingly set to decide the podium even early on.
Gurecky and Moor seemed to have an edge at times, the two initially the duo to watch, but the group remained steadfast as they headed three or four wide into the first corner and down the stunning Sachsenring waterfall. Positions switched, one would lose ground and another fight back – and then was one brief moment of slight contact between Hosciuc and Luciano too, before it was elbows out down the straight to boot. But it would remain a five-rider fight to the flag.
On the last lap, however, Gurecky made sure he’d be the one leading that battle over the line. The Czech rider pulled the pin to perfection to suddenly create some breathing space, then holding on for the rest of the lap to cross the line ahead for an incredible fourth win in a row. Moor took second after shadowing the number 59 for much of the race, that the Hungarian’s first podium and a better reward for his impressive debut, with Luciano taking third.
That leaves Beekmans just off the podium in fourth, but it’s nevertheless one of his best rides yet, and Hosciuc will be looking for more on Sunday as he completed the top five after a podium here last year. The battle for sixth just behind saw Kevin Farkas (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders) edge out Niklas Kitzbichler (Racing-Team-Kitzbichler), with Stepan Zuda (Motoracing23 Klub V ACR), Jonas Kocourek (JRT Brno Circuit) and Tibor Varga (Forty Racing) close on the chase to complete the top ten.
Race 2
We have a new first time winner! After some incredible pace in preseason prefaced a rollercoaster first two rounds for Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team), the Hungarian took his first podium in Race 1 of Round 3… and on Sunday he went one better. The rookie duelled it out against Jakub Gurecky (JRT Brno Circuit) on the final lap, making a move stick at the final corner to become the first to defeat the Czech rider in the last five races. Gurecky, nevertheless, increases his points lead as Jacopo Hosciuc (Hos Racing Team) completed the podium.
From the off the stage was set for another similar battle, but on Sunday the podium finishers had a few more names to contend with. Lorenz Luciano (Junior Black Knights Team), Kas Beekmans (Team KNMV), Kevin Farkas (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders) and Niklas Kitzbichler (Racing-Team-Kitzbichler) were all in the fight at the front, with a small freight train swapping and changing positions around the Sachsenring. With Farkas and Kitzbichler making a big step forward, the points were even more crucial for those near the top of the standings.
This time around, Moor wasn’t content to let Gurecky lead onto the final lap after the Czech rider outfoxed the field on Saturday, and instead the Hungarian blasted round Turn 1 for the final time in the lead. And he hung on until Gurecky hit back down the Waterfall, but Moor would have one final shot – and he took it to perfection. Keeping it pinned down the inside of the final corner, the number 92 crossed the line just half a tenth ahead to take his first ever NTC win.
Gurecky may have lost the victory and the chance at five in a row, but the Czech rider increased his advantage to 42 points at the top of the table, impressing once again and, once again, in the dry. Hosciuc won the squabble for third just ahead of the rest, the Romanian moving forward after a fifth on Saturday and back on the rostrum.
Fourth went to Farkas as he picked his way through to his best result yet after an impressive fight, with Luciano the man to lose out in the latter stages and the standings as he completed the top five. Beekmans took sixth after another impressive and solid performance once again from the consistent Dutchman.
Kitzbichler took seventh place at the flag, which equals his Race 1 result, but the Austrian only lost out on the podium late on after getting much nearer the front – and pulling some choice moves to boot.
Stepan Zuda (Motoracing23 Klub V ACR) charged from 24th to eighth in an impressive display, ultimately ending up in a lonely ride after doing so much work early on but being unable to catch the front group. Jonas Kocourek (JRT Brno Circuit) and Tibor Varga (Forty Racing) once again completed the top ten, also in some clear air each.
