Grassia takes crucial maiden EJC win at Magny-Cours
Round 6 – France
Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, France
Paolo Grassia (Chiodo Moto Racing) has come out victorious at the end of the enthralling 11-lap, sixth-round race of the Wil Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, which was contested today at the Magny-Cours circuit in central France. This is a crucial maiden win in the series for the 16-year-old Italian, who not only denied Mika Perez (Granshagen Racing Team) an early title win, but also dramatically improved his own chances for the ultimate prize.
The opening of the race saw Hungary’s Richard Bodis (H-Moto Team) and Mika Perez swapping positions between themselves several times, with a nine-way pack locked together at the front. The battle for the win continued with Grassia trying to dictate the pace on the five rivals left for the win. It wasn’t until the penultimate lap that Grassia managed to pull away, eventually crossing the line with a two-second advantage over team mate Alfonso Coppola. Dorian Laville (Team Laville Mi&Do) completed the podium in third place, ahead of Perez and Lausitzring race winner Harun Cabuk (KNN54-TMF).
Early leaders Bodis and Giuseppe de Gruttola (SK-Racing Team) crashed out at turn 13 on lap 10, while fighting for the win. Avalon Biddle (Avalon Biddle Racing) successfully retained the FIM Europe Women’s Cup title courtesy of today’s 11th overall finish.
With only the doubleheader at Jerez left in the season, Perez still holds a healthy 25-point lead over Grassia, with Laville (-38) and Coppola (-46) still mathematically in contention for the title.
Paolo Grassia 84
Winner
The race was incredible! We have worked well during the whole weekend and yesterday’s third place in qualifying really worked in our favour. During the race, I tried to push as hard as I could in order to pull away but I only managed to do that in the last two laps. I would like to thank Team Chiodo Moto for giving me the perfect bike today and my family.
Gerry Bryce
Series Director
Wow, what a race! It’s been possibly one of the best EJC races ever, with six riders in contention for the win up to the final moments. In the end Bodis and De Gruttola came together and crashed out, while Paolo Grassia took the chance to pull away and win his first EJC race. I’m really pleased to see some new faces on the podium and I now look forward to Jerez, where Mika Perez will launch his final assault to the title.