American Mikey Lou Sanchez finishes 5th in ESBK PreMoto3 at Estoril.
Heading into practice at the fourth round of the ESBK PreMoto3 Championship, 13-year-old Mikey Lou Sanchez saw some rain and mixed conditions at the Estoril Circuit, but the forecast called for dry conditions for Saturday’s qualifying and Race One as well as Sunday’s Race Two. In spite of the forecast, Mikey Lou and the team decided to mount up and ride in a wet session just in case the weather forecasters were wrong. The session went well and Mikey Lou was near the top.
Saturday had clear skies and qualifying was hectic with 32 riders looking to make it to the front of the grid. Mikey Lou improved his times throughout the 25-minute session and ended up ninth on the grid.
In Race One he broke away with the lead group of nine riders. The pace was quick and faster than he qualified with some riders crashing and bringing out a red flag on lap nine of 12. With the race being two thirds completed it was declared a finish with Mikey Lou getting sixth.
In ESBK, the top nine finishers from Race One use their finishing positions as their grid spots for Race Two. So, Mikey Lou started sixth and began charging when the lights went out. During that race, he put in some excellent laps and on lap 11 of 12 he did his fastest lap catching the leaders. On the last lap, he came out of the last turn in fourth position and got drafted at the line and finished a very strong fifth.
“It was a great race and thanks to my team and my guy Caco for all the work and helping me,” said Mikey Lou. “We are going to get ready to improve at Navarra in three months.”
“I’m really proud of this kid. The last couple of laps…the way he charged… I like it. I’m proud,” said Michael Sanchez, Mikey’s father.
The next ESBK round will be on September 16-17 at the Circuito de Navarra.
We would like to thank our sponsors: Roadway Traffic Control, HJC Helmets, Texas Motorcycle Academy, Williams Custom Painting, San Marcos Iron Doors, Moto Liberty, 212 Decals, Southern Adrenaline, Corsa Werks, Shawn Knoche, Ben Fondu, Fred & Maggie Beck, Mark Niemi, Theo Bick, Paul Stamper, Stacy Pawelek
