Repsol CEV/FIM Moto2 European Championship
Circuito do Estoril, Portugal
March 24, 2018
Final Qualifying Results:
1. Augusto Fernandez, Spain (Suter), 1:44.466
2. Xavier Cardelus, Andorra (Kalex), 1:44.624
3. Jesko Raffin, (Kalex), 1:44.707
4. Marcel Brenner, Switzerland (Kalex), 1:44.953
5. Ivo Lopes, Portugal (Yamaha), 1:45.217
6. Dimas Ekky, Indonesia (Kalex), 1:45.453
7. Edgar Pons, Spain (Kalex), 1:45.732
8. Lukas Tulovic, Germany (Tech3), 1:46.538
9. Alessandro Zaccone, Italy (Kalex), 1:47.235
10. Tommaso Marcon, Italy (Speed Up), 1:47.711
13. Benny Solis, Jr., USA (Kalex), 1:47.752
More, from a press release issued by Repsol CEV/FIM Press Office:
First poles of the season go to Pagliani, Fernández and Baltus in Estoril
On a day marked by wind and awkward track conditions Manuel Pagliani (Leopard Junior) in Moto3™, Augusto Fernández (Easyrace) in Moto2™ and Barry Baltus (Reale Avintia Academy) in the European Talent Cup earned their first poles in the FIM CEV Repsol and will lead off the starting grids of their respective categories after dominating the qualifying sessions of the first round of the season this weekend at the Circuito do Estoril.
Manuel Pagliani (Leopard Junior) took his first pole in the FIM CEV Repsol by setting the fastest Q1 and Q2 time in the Moto3™ Junior World Championship with a time of 1:47.676 achieved in a very competitive Q2 session in which Thomas Edward Booth-Amos (British Talent Team) finished a mere 0.032 behind the poleman with Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) trailing the Leopard Junior rider by just 0.075.
The top fifteen riders set times within a second of the poleman, showing clearly how level the Moto3™ playing field is, with two new riders qualifying for the front row. Raúl Fernández (Angel Nieto Team) will lead off the second row of the grid followed by Yuki Kunii (Asia Talent Team) and Jeremy Alcoba (Junior Team Estrella Galicia 0.0).
In Moto2™ Augusto Fernández (Easyrace) gained his first pole in the Moto2™ European Championship. The Easyrace team rider posted the best time of 1:44.466 in Q2 on the Suter to head the grid ahead of Xavier Cardelús (Team Stylobike) and Jesko Raffin (Swiss Innovative), who make up the first row. Local rider Ivo Lopes (Eni-Motor7-Pequeño Motos) takes fifth slot – and is also the top Superstock 600 rider – behind Marcel Brenner (H43 Team Nobby-Talasur) and ahead of Dimas Ekky ( Astra Honda Racing Team) who closes out the second row of the grid. Edgar Pons (AGR Team) and Lukas Tulovic (Team Wimu CNS) start on the third row, in seventh and eighth position respectively.
In the ETC, Barry Baltus (Reale Avintia Academy) leads off in the two races that take place this Sunday at the Estoril track. The Reale Avintia Academy rider posted a 1:52.401 to earn his first pole position at the FIM CEV Repsol. Next to him will be Francisco Gómez (Larresport Bradol) and Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Blumaq HMA) in a grid made up of riders with the best qualifying times from the 49 registered riders, who had to be divided into two groups for the qualifying sessions.
The first round at the Circuito do Estoril has a two-race program for Moto2™ and ETC, with one race in Moto3™. The European Kawasaki Z Cup returns to the FIM CEV Repsol although not until the second round of the season in Valencia on April 29.
Next Sunday’s race schedule is as follows:
ETC Race 1 (16 laps): 11.00
Moto2™ Race 1 (18 laps): 12.00
Moto3™ (17 laps): 13.00
ETC 2 Race 2 (16 laps): 14.00
Moto2™ Race 2 (18 laps): 15.00
The entrance to grandstands A, B and E will be free over the weekend with a paddock pass which will also enable fans to take part in the Pit Lane Walk on Sunday. The meeting point will be at the control tower at 10:05.
The FIM CEV Repsol’s TV presence continues to grow both in Europe and in the rest of the world. In Spain, Movistar MotoGP broadcasts live all of the scheduled races of the Moto3™ Junior World Championship, Moto2™ European Championship and European Talent Cup, as does BT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Italy, Sky will broadcast live the Moto3™ Junior World Championship and the Moto2™ European Championship races.
Eurosport, through Eurosportplayer (France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Romania), will also offer live coverage of all of the Moto3™ Junior World Championship, Moto2™ European Championship and European Talent Cup races. In Portugal, Sport TV consolidates its commitment to motorcycling by broadcasting live or recorded versions of all the races scheduled throughout the season. For the first time Hungarian fans will be able to enjoy the European Talent Cup thanks to recorded broadcasts by the Spiler TV channel.
Fans in Latin America, the United States, Canada and France will be able to experience recorded versions of all the races through Motosport TV, while their OTT will broadcast the races live. Band Sports television extends its coverage of the FIM CEV Repsol by showing recorded versions of the Moto3™ Junior World Championship and Moto2 ™ European Championship. Also joining TV coverage of the championship, the Edgesport Channel will broadcast live all the Moto3™ Junior World Championship, Moto2™ European Championship and European Talent Cup races, as well as being available 24/7 on various platforms with coverage in Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific Islands, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Solomon Island, Thailand and Vietnam.
In addition, in those countries without television coverage, all races will be broadcast live through the championship’s Youtube channel.
All the results and information about the Championship are on the official website: www.fimcevrepsol.com
More, from a press release issued by AGR Team:
AN EXCITING 2018 SEASON IS STARTING
AGR participates with 3 riders between Moto2 and Moto3
It is a fresh start for the Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team. We keep competing, now to increase our base, and this season with three riders: the former European Moto2 Champion Edgar Pons, along with the promising American rider Benny Solís, and in Moto3 with the 15-year-old talent from Valencia, Josito García.
The first race takes us to the good old Estoril circuit, in a rainy day. In Moto2, the second qualifying was the one that allow the whole grid to set the fastest times, due to the track conditions. Our riders will start from 3rd row (Edgar) and 5th row (Benny). In Moto3, the young Josito García will start from 11th row.
For our riders, the track was new, except for Benny, who some years ago was able to ride in Portugal when competing at the RedBull rookies. The three of them crashed: Edgar in a place where he did not have good visibility and with barely four laps he finished just over one second away from the pole position, but he has the chance to get a good result. Meanwhile, Solís dedicated his time to get to grips with the Kalex, which he likes, though it is more difficult on wet tarmac. In Moto3, Garcia rode fast on Thursday with good conditions; on Friday, with a wet track, he crashed twice on the same spot due to issues with a shock absorber. The rider from Valencia kept his motivation despite that and had his third crash of the weekend. He will start from behind and he has pain on his knee, but he is looking forward to making his debut with the AGR.
Moto2 #57 Edgar Pons –Kalex / 7th / 1.45.732 +1.266: “It was a strange Qualifying. In the morning, it was done on wet tarmac, but we felt well without having to take too many risks, as we knew the afternoon session would be faster. In the second session we went out with a lot of motivation and a very good set up. The track wasn’t completely dry, there were wet patches and I crashed in the third lap. I was able to get the bike to the garage and the team responded in a very professional way, repairing it against the clock. I could finish another 3 laps and I was improving on every part, but it wasn’t enough. I’ll start from seventh, but I’m confident and hoping to have a dry race, although I think we can have a good start of the championship in any conditions “.
Moto2 #35 Benny Solís –Kalex / 13rd. / 1.47.752 +3.286: ” The first day on Thursday was a good day for us, it was dry, and I was able to always keep improving, again getting more laps on the Kalex and every single time we were a little faster, which is positive. Yesterday we did many laps on the rain in the second session, always faster. In the second session we didn’t ride much because I had a bit of a challenge with visibility, with the visor. Again, today it was a good day, my first time doing qualifying. In the first one it was wet, I went out, tried to do my best, I felt comfortable. Not pushing like crazy because the weather and I knew the second qualifying was going to be in better conditions and during the second one I felt very good but unfortunately in the final lap, when I was pushing 100% we had a small issue. I feel good with the bike, we did good lap times. Tomorrow is going to be my first race with the bike, so I’m very excited. “.
Moto3 #20 Josito García García –KTM / 31st / 1.50.208 +2.532: “We had a wet track and high wind. In the first Qualifying I felt well, in the second I was ok but after three laps I had to stop due to a red flag because of some crashes. I went out again and pushed, but on the last corner I crashed and after that I couldn’t go out again. Starting from 31st means that we need to recover positions, but mostly finish the race and get as many points as possible. “.