SM & S3 Junior European Championship:
double round in Bulgaria
Fantastic and renowned all-asphalt Supermoto track in Pleven, Bulgaria, best S1GP venue for a number of seasons in a row, was the host of the last rounds of the 2022 S3 Junior European Championship and rounds 3 and 4 of the SM Junior European Championship, under the perfect organization of the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation.
The weather conditions were very unfriendly on Saturday with rain, however the weather turned better on Sunday.
Saturday’s round of SM Junior started with a clear win of Czech rider Matej Kokes (HUQVARNA) in Race 1, who managed to build and maintain a good gap to second place Estonian rider Mathias Vetkin (TM). In both races third and fourth places were respectively for Estonian Rasmus Ebelmann (HUSQVARNA) and Spanish Ramon Godino (YAMAHA), while Vetkin managed to pull a win in the second race to tie Kokes in points and win the overall, as Kokes finished right after Vetkin.
S3 saw a clear winner in both races, as Championship leader Giani Catorc (KTM) from France took the holeshots and won by big margins both races. Local Bulgarian riders Radostin Mihaylov (KAWASAKI) and Jivko Ivanov (KTM) joined Catorc on the podium in second and third place respectively, just in front of fourth place from Estonia Karl Takk (GAS GAS).
On Sunday round, things got interesting in SM Junior Race 1 as Vetkin made a mistake in the warm-up lap and had to start from the pitlane as the last rider of the race. Kokes took profit of the mistake and managed to get out in front and lead without any big emotions. But Vetkin did a wonderful catch-up race and managed by the end of the 10lap race to reach second place in front of Ebelmann, Godino and Austrian Christoph Steiner (KTM), who were third-fourth and fifth in the race. Vetkin managed to win the second race and the overall in front of Kokes, while the 3-5 place came in the same order.
In S3 Bulgarian rider Mihaylov won the first race in front of Catorc, who had some problems with a crash in mid-race. Even so, he did a good second race and claimed the race, overall and won the Championship. Third for the overall was Ivanov, while fourth again finished Takk.
The SM Junior Championship will now move to Italy in Castelletto di Branduzzo for next round on 24th-25th September.
Overall classification
S3 Junior
1. Giani Catorc Ginov, France, 50 points
2. Radostin Mihaylov, Bulgaria, 44 points
3. Jivko Ivanov, Bulgaria, 40 points
SM Junior – Round 3
1. Mathias Vetkin, Estonia, 47 points
2. Matej Kokes, Czech Republic, 47 points
3. Rasmus Ebelmann, Estonia, 40 points
SM Junior – Round 4
1. Mathias Vetkin, Estonia, 47 points
2. Matej Kokes, Czech Republic, 47 points
3. Rasmus Ebelmann, Estonia, 40 points
