Northern Talent Cup:
action at TT Assen
Race 1
Race 1 of Northern Talent Cup Round 4 didn’t disappoint, with the battle going down to the final chicane and almost nothing deciding it at the line. But it was Belgian rider Lorenz Luciano (Junior Black Knights Team) who came out on top, just 0.044 ahead of Stepan Zuda (Motoracing23 Klub V ACR) over the line as the Czech rider took his first podium of the season in second. His compatriot and points leader Jakub Gurecky (JRT Brno Circuit) took third, incredibly from P20 on the grid.
It was home hero Loris Veneman (Kahuna Security Racing) who took off like a shot from the front row, with some of the track wet and some dry but the Dutchman flying early. Behind him a group formed quickly though, with six riders initially battling for supremacy in the lead and Gurecky already one of them early on, the Czech rider shooting through from P20 on the grid to get in the mix.
Some were stronger in the wet, some in the dry, some around some sectors and some others, but the outcome was another classic freight train fight at the front. Zuda and Damian Boessenkool (Team KNMV) were making up ground hand over fist before they also joined the battle, making it eight riders vying for three places on the podium… and one win.
It all came down to the final chicane and a shootout to the line in the end, with Luciano playing it to perfection to gas it towards the flag and stay ahead. Zuda took second and his first podium of the season, with the fight for third then just as close as four riders fanned out across the track after a final chicane shuffle – but Gurecky was just ahead to make it a clean sweep of podiums so far this season.
Veneman was forced to settle for fourth but it’s nevertheless an impressive race and qualifying for the Dutchman as he leads a trio of home heroes: Beekmans took fifth, with Boessenkool sixth. Only just over a tenth separated the number 65 from Gurecky on the podium, it was that close.
Lennoxx Phommara (Phommara Team) was back at the front again and the Swiss rookie took his turn leading before coming home in seventh a little off the group ahead, with Niklas Kitzbichler (Racing-Team-Kitzbicher) also a force to be reckoned with before ending up eighth after a couple of dramatic excursions late on that the Austrian was able to just about get back under control.
Ninth place went to polesitter Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team) as the Hungarian had a harder race day nearly a week after his first win. He was shuffled right back early on before recovering good ground, beating Jonas Kocourek (JRT Brno Circuit) to P9 by only a couple of tenths.
Race 2
Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team) smashed it out the park at the TT Circuit Assen in Race 2, the Hungarian putting the pedal to the metal early to bolt away from a huge group battle for second. That was won at the line by Niklas Kitzbichler (Racing-Team-Kitzbichler) as the Austrian finally took that first podium, with points leader Jakub Gurecky (JRT Brno Circuit) once again pulling off an impressive recovery ride to third, from 20th on the grid.
With sunny skies overhead and some redemption to find, Moor wasted no time hitting the front and getting the hammer down. Initially Jacopo Hosciuc (Hos Racing Team) tagged onto the back of him but then early drama hit for the Romanian as he suffered a technical issue. For a while thereafter, Moor’s gap to the pack hovered at a couple of seconds, but as the battle raged behind the number 92 slowly disappeared into the distance. Keeping it clean, tidy and quick throughout, he crossed the line with over seven seconds in hand to make quite a statement on Sunday.
Behind, the battle saw some of Race 1’s usual suspects up at the front. Lorenz Luciano (Junior Black Knights Team), Kitzbichler, Loris Veneman (Kahuna Security Racing), Kas Beekmans (Team KNMV), Stepan Zuda (Motoracing23 Klub V ACR) and more were joined by Gurecky, FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders’ Kevin Farkas, Tibor Varga (Forty Racing Team), Lennox Phommara (Phommara Team), Jonas Kocourek (JRT Brno Circuit) and Damian Boessenkool (Team KNMV) in an almighty showdown at the Cathedral.
Chopping and changing, it was anyone’s race but this time as the final chicane dawned for the final time, Kitzbichler had put himself in the perfect position. The Austrian was almost neck and neck with Gurecky on the final push to the flag and a photo finish it was, split by just 0.009 as Kitzbichler put his Race 1 bad luck to bed to just pip the points leader. Gurecky still took another podium to keep his 100% podium record in tact in 2021 though, and once again from P20 on the grid.
Loris Veneman was forced to settle for fourth and just missed out on the podium once again, but the Dutchman managed to fight off Race 1 podium finisher Zuda as the number 23 had another impressive race but couldn’t quite get back on the box. Luciano was next up, losing out in the shuffle and forced to settle for a few fewer points than he likely wanted given Gurecky was on the podium.
Varga took a step to dice it out at the front on Sunday and takes home seventh, ahead of Kocourek and Farkas. Phommara fought in the group but then got a Long Lap for shortcutting through the green, the Swiss rookie taking it on the last lap and therefore forced to settle for tenth.
Boessenkool crashed out, and there was final chicane drama for Beekmans as he tagged Zuda and then Valentino Herrlich (Busch und Wagner Racing Team). Beekmans and Herrlich both went down, but riders ok.
