Northern Talent Cup:
Moor and Farkas victorious in Styria
Race1
The Northern Talent Cup is back from summer break and Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team) is back on the top step! In a close-fought battle for victory in Race 1 at the Red Bull Ring, the Hungarian headed a podium covered by just 0.044 seconds, with Lenoxx Phommara (Phommara Team) back on the box in second and Kevin Farkas (Agria Racing Team) taking a debut rostrum in third.
Jonas Kocourek (JRT Brno Circuit) took the holeshot from pole, with the front row staying as-you-were with a solid start for both Loris Veneman (Kahuna Security Racing) and Phommara. The battle then began in earnest, with the slipstream playing a key role at the Red Bull Ring and the three joined in the battle by the likes of points leader Jakub Gurecky (JRT Brno Circuit), Jacopo Hosciuc (Hos Racing Team) and Lorenz Luciano (Junior Black Knights Team) as the latter made a necessarily-good start to move up from P12 on the grid.
Save a couple of stints, the three heading the battle were Moor, Farkas and Phommara for many a lap of the Red Bull Ring, and Farkas had a couple of moments with a gap in the race lead to boot. But Moor was the man on the chase, and the compatriots would concertina back together before the slipstream then kept the group on their tail.
After a crash out for Hosciuc as he tagged the back of Veneman – no harm done for the Dutchman at least – the final couple of laps saw a front six break away in the lead but they were soon joined by Luciano, the rider second in the standings smashing the pole position lap to get himself back into the group. Stepan Zuda (Motoracing23 Klub V ACR) was another in there too, the Czech rider impressing to stalk through from P17 on the grid to battle for the podium.
It all bubbled up until, through the final sector on the final lap, the Moor-Farkas-Phommara battle raged and it was Phommara marginally ahead, defending from Farkas, but Moor wasn’t done. The final corner at the Red Bull Ring is already infamous and the Hungarian wasn’t shy of making a move, diving down the inside and somehow everyone staying within track limits as they straightened up for the drag to the line. The number 92 tucked in and pulled it off to perfection for another impressive victory in the NTC.
Behind that third win in four races for Moor, Phommara and Farkas were almost glued together but it was the Swiss rookie who just took second at the line, adding another 20 points to his impressive season. Farkas nevertheless took his first podium and after a race very much deserving of the achievement from the number 28.
Veneman converted pole to fourth over the line but was then demoted a position for track limits, meaning Assen sparring partner Zuda takes fourth and completes another impressive ride through the field.
Race2
Kocourek once again got away well from pole position, but once again it was a big group fight from the off – with even more riders in the mix on Sunday. At times though it did seem like a replay from Race 1, with Farkas and Moor going toe-to-toe at the head of the race, the numbers 92 and 28 switching positions in the battle for the lead.
Points leader Jakub Gurecky (JRT Brno Circuit) also made a good start on Sunday and was up in the fight a little earlier than in Race 1, with Lenoxx Phommara (Phommara Team) initially the missing presence from Saturday. The Swiss rookie bombed down through the order to much nearer the back of the freight train, and it was a tough start for Lorenz Luciano (Junior Black Knights Team) too as he struggled to get in the same postcode as the podium fight.
It was a battle for the ages but Farkas and Moor were both constants at the front, and there were some standout moves – and moments – from the likes of Leo Rammerstorfer as the Austrian Junior Cup rider made his mark. By the latter laps the likes of Phommara and Luciano were back in the mix though, both making up some serious ground – but drama then struck for the Belgian rider. After making it from P16 to second at one point, Luciano then overcooked it and headed into the gravel – staying upright but rejoining in P16 once more, out of the points and with almost no time left to find some redemption.
Up ahead there was less drama, and heading onto the final lap it was the familiar number 28 in the lead. Turn 3 would, however and of course, cause a shuffle though. Moor was the man on the move and the number 92 threw it up the inside and made it stick, with Kocourek taking over in second too. But Farkas got good drive and down into Turn 4, he struck back to take the lead once more.
The hammer going down at the front for the number 28 meant there was less final corner shuffling on Sunday and Farkas headed in first and out first, keeping tucked in for the drag to the line and staying ahead to take a hard-fought first NTC win. Kocourek kept it clean to take second and get back on the podium after a more difficult Race 1, with Rossi Moor retaining some good momentum with another podium.
It was close just behind but Gurecky did another solid job to take fourth, again off the podium but extending his lead as Luciano failed to score. Phommara’s fight back got him good rewards in fifth too.
