European Junior Cup Final Roundup The European Junior Cup class, for young riders from all over the world racing Ninja 250R machines, concluded at the recent Magny-Cours round, with Aussie Matt Davies the inaugural champion. After six rounds the European Junior Cup Championship culminated in impressive style, with an exciting nine lap race on Sunday October 2 that saw the top seven covered by only 2.769 seconds at the flag, and the first champion in this class crowned. Matt Davies from Australia took his Davies Autos backed machine to fourth in the Magny-Cours race, but with his only real rival Tom Busch (ADAC Sachsen/KraftwerkS) out on lap 6 after a fall, his final championship win was unopposed, despite the furious fight for the top seven places in France. Davies was a worthy champion, having won four races in a row from Monza to Nürburgring and the having led the series after the fourth round at Silverstone. This series, which pitches young riders together on identical Kawasaki Ninja 250R machinery, has certainly worked in terms of teaching young riders race craft, as the battle at the front at the final round was intense, with positions changing on a corner-by-corner basis and the leading pack often riding as one unit. The Magny Cours podium saw British rider Josh Harland (Yambits NYRRSC), NZ’s Jake Lewis (Palmer/Macrete/Jack Sands) and Spain’s Ruben Fenoll (Baiting) finish 1-2-3, with Davies fourth. Fenoll was overall third in the final points table, behind Davies and Busch. An impressive 22 riders scored championship points at one time or other, in a class that brought a new sight and sound to half a dozen WSBK race weekends across Europe, and gave lots of young riders their first taste of real international competition.