Wet Conditions Make Racing Difficult for Young Racers
Valencia, Spain (October 24, 2008) — Hayden Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., won pole position for the Red Bull Riders Cup race in Valencia, Spain on Friday. The 13-year-old set his best time in the first of two qualifying sessions held today with a mark of 2:02.032, set in slick, rainy conditions. Gillim, representing the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup team, challenged for the race win at the first Red Bull Riders Cup event in Indianapolis earlier this season.
“It was very slick out there but I was pretty happy with my best lap,” said Gillim. “The weather was tough but I was in the top three for most of the first session. I was able to get some good laps in towards the end and that’s when I had my fastest time. I’m disappointed that I crashed on the next lap, though. In the second session, it was raining too hard to go faster. I’ll be looking to get a good start and do well tomorrow.”
Gillim was joined on the front row by three riders from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Mathew Scholtz of South Africa, Matthew Hoyle of Great Britain, and Jakub Kornfeil of the Czech Republic. All 20 riders compete on identical Dunlop-shod KTM RC125 machines, as they have throughout their respective seasons.
“If it rains tomorrow, I have a good position to do well in the race,” said the 16-year-old Scholtz.
The rain fell heavily before the first of three sessions at the beautiful stadium circuit near the Mediterranean, and it continued to rain throughout the day. The conditions were difficult and the group of select riders who won the chance to represent their team in the Rookies Cup event by finishing in the top ten in points during the 2008 season produced an unusual number of crashes on the day. Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies were also challenged with learning a new circuit in the wet.
The first practice session of the day in the full wet saw 15-year-old Jake Gagne of Ramona, Calif., take the fifth position despite a lack of grip. Gagne was the fastest American in the first session. He qualified fifth with a best time of 2:07.205.
“I’m on the second row, which is not so bad. These were the worst conditions I’ve ridden in since I have been roadracing,” said Gagne.
A spate of crashes by many of the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup riders left their machines damaged but none of the team’s riders were injured. 2008 Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup champion Benny Solis struggled to a sixteenth-fastest time, while the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champion, JD Beach, qualified eighth.
“It was a tough day for our guys and the MotoGP Rookies, too,” said Riders Coach Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 World Champion. “We had too many bikes on the ground today and the conditions were really tough. There’s not a lot of grip at Valencia in the wet. I thought the rain might equalize things for our guys but that really wasn’t the case today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but the weather might throw us a curve ball again.”
While racing is a priority this weekend, it hasn’t been strictly business for the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies in Spain. The talented young motorcycle racers arrived early for the event and toured historic Valencia in the days before the race weekend. The young motorcycle racers visited the Old Town section of Valencia and attended the bullfighting museum. They also sampled the local cuisine.
Up for grabs in the unique team competition is the Red Bull Riders Cup trophy. Riders from each squad can add to the team’s tally, with the total points added up to determine the winning side. At Indianapolis, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup team earned the Cup, with Sturla Fagerhaug of Norway winning the race and the Europeans dominating the top ten, and winning 114-26, in wet conditions. Saturday’s 17-lap race will determine which team keeps the Riders Cup until 2009.
1. Hayden Gillim USA 2:02.032* 2. Mathew Scholtz RSA 2:02.220 3. Matthew Hoyle GBR 2:02.876 4. Jakub Kornfeil CZE 2:03.519 5. Nelson Major FRA 2:04.578 6. Markus Reiterberger GER 2:06.302 7. Jake Gagne USA 2:07.205* 8. JD Beach USA 2:07.901 9. Luis Salom SPA 2:09.174 10. Florian Marino FRA 2:09.222 11. Tomas Puerta COL 2:10.309* 12. Sturla Fagerhaug NOR 2:10.759 13. Joey Pascarella USA 2:10.987* 14. Bryce Prince USA 2:11.508* 15. Emerson Connor CAN 2:11.680* 16. Benny Solis, Jr. USA 2:12.647* 17. Austin DeHaven USA 2:13.129* 18. Huntley Nash USA 2:15.221* 19. Leandro Mercado ARG 2:21.429* 20. Daniel Ruiz SPA No time * denotes Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup team member
More, from another press release issued by Red Bull:
Few heroes, few left standing.
Pole position for Saturday’s Red Bull Riders Cup went to the AMA U.S. Team and visiting American 13 year old Hayden Gillim on a day when wet and slippery conditions saw almost all the Red Bull Rookies, including Gillim crash at least once in the three practice sessions. Second fastest was 16 year old South African Mathew Scholtz who led a solid block of MotoGP Team members filling positions 2 to 6.
Scholtz blotted his record by sliding off in each of the three sessions making Matthew Hoyle and Jakub Kornfeil the stars for the MotoGP team as they qualified third and fourth without making an error all day. They were quick and very consistent even as the track began to dry and then got soaked again.
“I’m happy with that,” said 17 year old Englishman Hoyle. “It puts me in a good position on the grid and they say that there is a 70% chance of rain tomorrow so that would be OK. I went out in that final session when it was really wet and went quicker than I did this morning so I’m happy with that.”
Kornfeil, the 15 year old from the Czech Republic was surprised to have done so well. “I don’t like racing in the rain. The wet track isn’t too bad but I hate the rain because it makes it difficult to see. I was feeling good today though and I guess it will be OK if it is wet tomorrow but I think all riders would prefer to race in the dry. The bike is good and I know the track well now so I am hoping for a good race.”
With 8 of the top 10 riders belonging to the MotoGP team the European based squad are favoured to hang on to the Riders Cup but know that things could easily change if they make mistakes as so many of them did in practice. Indianapolis winner Sturla Fagerhaug did himself no favours when he crashed early in the first qualifying session. “The back slid out and as it tried to highside me it wrenched my wrist so the damage was done before I hit the ground,” said the 16 year old Norwegian. “I went out in the second session but I could hardly turn the throttle coming out of the corner, it’s not going to be easy in the race.
Fagerhaug was actually 3rd fastest behind Hoyle and Kornfeil in the wetter second qualifying session but 12th overall thanks to the dryer session being the one he crashed in. So he starts on the third row of the grid. MotoGP Rookies Cup winner JD Beach sits in front of him on the outside of the second row. The 16 year old American also fell and twisted his ankle but claims that it will not slow him down too much. AMA U.S. Cup winner, 14 year old Benny Solis, also slid off in the first qualifying session, missed a few minutes of the second qualifying session while his bike was still being repaired but was unhurt and sits behind Fagerhaug in 16th place on the grid.
Gillim was one of the stars of the Indianapolis Riders Cup race but slid of then in similarly slippery conditions while battling for the lead with Fagerhaug and Scholtz. Wet or dry the pole man is in with a good chance on Saturday. “It was pretty slick out there but I was pretty happy to be near the front through the sessions and happy to be on pole but disappointed that I crashed on the next lap,” said Gillim.
Scholtz sits second and could also be in the hunt for the win but knows he can’t repeat the error strewn day of practice. “I don’t know what to say, three crashes in three sessions. Not good.”