Red Bull Rookies Cup
Le Mans will supercharge the French for Red Bull Rookies Cup Round 2
Who is the next Zarco?
Jerez was a huge test for the 26 KTM riders of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, with Saturday's tense 14 laps held on a drying track that examined both the rider's feel and their ability to conserve something of the Pirelli rain tyres. Sunday was dry but cool, but the heat was fierce from the first corner to the last. Saturday's triumphal duo of Beñat Fernandez and Fernando Bujosa dived into the final turn ahead only to be displaced mid-corner by Kiandra Ramadhipa with a genius move for victory.
Fernandez goes to Le Mans with an advantage over his Jerez sparing partner, Bujosa. Fernandez, the 18-year-old Spaniard, won Race 2 last year while fellow countryman, 16-year-old Bujosa, has never ridden there. No one thinks that Bujosa will be far behind after three practice sessions on Friday. Ramadhipa only scored a 12th and a fall last year at Le Mans, but the 16-year-old Indonesian is now a very different class of rider.
Timing board of Johann Zarco Jerez 2007
© GEPA /Red Bull Content Pool
Talking of advantage, the massive and wonderfully nationalistic crowd are likely to be even louder and in greater number than last year when they cheered ex Rookie Johann Zarco to victory in MotoGP.
David Da Costa
© G&G
They will be looking for the next Zarco and cheering on the young French in the Cup, 18-year-old Guillem Planques and 17-year-old David Da Costa. Last year, Planques scored a 5th in Race 2 after being 8th in Race 1. Da Costa scored a point for 15th but fell in Race 2.
Guillem Planques
© G&G
The bare numbers do not do Da Costa justice; he was faster than that last year but missed most of the season through injury. This year, he has already been very much on the pace and qualified on the front row in Jerez. He only finished 15th and 6th, very disappointed. The pace is there; the results will come. Planques is in his 3rd season and was incredibly unlucky in Jerez; a rare technical failure in Race 1 was followed by a fall on Sunday that was not his fault.
It's hard to imagine that Le Mans could provide more excitement than Jerez, but the French venue has produced sensational Rookies Cup races in the past. This Saturday's Race 1 is the 241st Rookies Cup race, the 8th at Le Mans. Past winners include Maximo Quiles, who, of course, currently leads the Moto3 World Championship ahead of fellow ex-rookie Álvaro Carpe.
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