Third race, second victory for Lorenzo Savadori, Italy. Even a off-track excursion could not stop Championship leader Italian Lorenzo Savadori winning his second race of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup ahead of arch rival Frenchman Johann Zarco. He finished an equally great second on a bike down on power after he was hit by fellow Frenchman Cyril Carrillo braking for the hairpin. They were joined on the podium by Britain’s Matthew Hoyle. Out on Dunlop slick tyres for the first time at Donington after three wet practice sessions a good number of the Rookies chose to take a second sighting lap as allowed under the rules and get a little dry track time. A fantastic start by Britain’s Stuart Mitchell saw him lead for the first half lap until he drifted wide letting Spaniard Luis Salom underneath. Carrillo was second by the end of the lap ahead of Savadori and Mitchell. Starting from the back of the grid after recording no qualifying time because he fell in the first free practice session Zarco completed the first lap in tenth. The Lead group of four broke away with Salom, Savadori, Carrillo and Mitchell battling at every turn. The group was caught by Briton Jamie Mossey but he was forced to take a ride through penalty for jumping the start. Salom stopped on lap 4 with a technical problem. By the end of lap 5 Zarco was up to fourth and the fastest man on the track. Two laps later Savadori led by less than a second from Carrillo and Zarco with fourth man Reiterberger 5 seconds behind but ahead of Mitchell. Clearly the man to watch after his charge through the field Zarco snatched second from Carrillo and suddenly he was leading as Savadori ran off the track. It was an all action lap 8 as Carrillo then hit the back of Zarco as they braked for the Melbourne hairpin at the end of the lap. Suddenly Zarco had an almost six second lead ahead of Reiterberger with Deane Brown a superb third in his first ride since breaking his leg and wrist in an early season British championship round. Savadori had regained the track 7th and Carrillo 11th. Though Zarco was leading the chasing pack were faster as the Frenchman struggled with the loss of power from the bent exhaust and the rear mudguard rubbing on the tyre. Behind him Reiterberger, Brown, Hoyle, Trabalon, Mitchell and Savadori cut his lead to just 3 seconds in a couple of laps. They were lapping a second quicker than the lone Frenchman with 7 of the 17 laps remaining. With 5 laps to go Zarco’s lead was only 2 seconds and the chasing pack of 6 could smell blood. Just 4 laps to go and the lead was 1.8 seconds. The six man pack banged fairings and elbows as they chased. A lap later Savadori had charged to the head of the pack and was breathing down Zarco’s neck. Mitchell crashed out of the pack with three laps to go. Savadori and Zarco fought for the lead at each corner but with 3 laps remaining the Italian managed to take the advantage and started the final lap with a 1.6 second lead over Zarco. He was now also under extreme pressure from Hoyle with Reiterberger and Brown not far behind. Trabalon crashed out of the group before starting the last lap. On the final lap Zarco stole second back from Hoyle braking at the end of the back straight and help off his challenge over the final two corners. A great run from the back of the grid gave Cameron Beaubier sixth and Lucy Gloeckner seventh. “That was such a tough race.” said Zarco. “From the start I had to fight through from the back but the start was good and it went pretty well. I didn’t take any chances and I could see I was catching the leaders OK.” “Then Lorenzo went off and I was in the lead, that was great but I could not believe it when I felt the bike hit me from behind as I braked for the hairpin. I managed to stay on but from then the engine had no power. I just rode it as smooth and fast as I could. I knew they were catching but I just couldn’t go any faster and when Lorenzo passed me I realised that it was over. All credit to him, he rode a great race.” Savadori had done a great job of recovery after his mistake. “I was trying to get away and braked a bit too hard, the back wheel came off the ground and stepped out in a big way, I had to run off the track. After I went off the track I thought it was impossible to win. Zarco and the others were so far in front. I thought the best that was possible was a podium. I just kept trying, trying. Only right at the end did I realise that I could catch Zarco and win.” Third man Hoyle was just as happy. “At the beginning I was just going backwards through the pack. I just had to settle down and concentrate. Then I started to improve and slowly I was catching the other guys. It just got better and I caught the leading group and really enjoyed it. It’s fantastic to get on the podium and I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t do it again now.” 2007 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Championship Donington Park, England June 23, 2007 Race Results (all on KTM 125s): 1. Lorenzo SAVADORI, ITA, 17 laps, 30:03.675 2. Johann ZARCO, FRA, -1.827 seconds 3. Matthew HOYLE, GBR, -2.315 seconds 4. Markus REITERBERGER, GER, -3.204 seconds 5. Deane BROWN, GBR, -3.614 seconds 6. Cameron BEAUBIER, USA, -11.217 seconds 7. Lucy GLÖCKNER, GER, -15.347 seconds 8. Cyril CARRILLO, FRA, -16.633 seconds 9. Jamie MOSSEY, GBR, -25.390 seconds 10. Daniel KARTHEININGER, GER, -34.664 seconds 11. Lukas SEMBERA, CZE, -43.765 seconds 12. Sturla FAGERHAUG, NOR, -44.727 seconds 13. J.D. BEACH, USA, -49.715 seconds 14. Adam BLACKLOCK, GBR, -52.908 seconds 15. Javier CHOLBI, SPA, -76.703 seconds 16. Kevin SÁNCHEZ, SPA, -1 lap 17. Robert GULL, SWE, -1 lap 18. Cristian TRABALON, SPA, -2 laps, DNF, crash 19. Stuart MITCHELL, GBR, -3 laps, DNF, crash 20. Luis SALOM, SPA, -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Peter SEBESTYEN, HUN, -16 laps, DNF, crash 22. Kris TURNER, USA, -5 laps, DNF, pitted Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Championship Point Standings (After 3 of 8 races): 1. SAVADORI, 70 points 2. ZARCO, 61 points 3. REITERBERGER, 30 points 4. HOYLE, 29 points 5. CARRILLO, 24 points 6. FAGERHAUG, 21 points 7. SALOM, 20 oints 8. BROWN, 19 points 9. GULL, 17 points 10. TURNER, 16 points 11. SEMBERA, 14 points 12. TIE, MITCHELL/BEAUBIER/SCHÖNBERGER/KARTHEININGER/BEACH, 11 points 17. TRABALON, 10 points 18. GLÖCKNER/BLACKLOCK, 9 points 20. MOSSEY, 7 points 21. CHOLBI, 6 points 22. SEBESTYEN, 3 points More, from Kris Turner’s Father Danny Turner: FIRST PERSON/OPINION: Via e-mail: Kris knew he would have a tough race before it even started–when taking his out lap he attempted a practice start and the bike would not even pull under Wide Open Throttle when doing a start. He started 19th on the grid, and by the time they had gone 20 feet he was last; at the end of the first lap he was 17th. He worked his way up to 12th by lap four. Towards the end of lap six the bike quit on him and he coasted into the pits; after four laps the chief mechanic checked his bike and he rejoined the race. He stayed out with the bike still running poorly under part throttle conditions, turning laps into the 1:46s. They are saying the bike will be fixed for Assen; I hope so. Danny Turner Chattanooga, Tennessee