Editorial Note: American Benny Solis, Jr. qualified 23rd on his Baiko Racing Team Kalex in Moto2. Solis’ best lap time was 1:48.017. Solis’ teammate Edgar Pons qualified on pole position with a 1:44.768.
Poles decided in Barcelona
Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in Moto3™, Edgar Pons (Baiko Racing Team) in Moto2™ and Izan Guevara (Cuna de Campeones) in the European Talent Cup will head the grids of their respective categories in the fourth round of the FIM CEV Repsol this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Deniz Öncü earned his first pole in the FIM Moto3™ Junior World Championship with a time of 1:48.571, 0.381 ahead of Aleix Viu (Sama Qatar Ángel Nieto Team) who was second. Öncü and Viu – still hampered by the injury suffered in the last round in Le Mans – were the only riders capable of lapping under 1:49 in the first qualifying session where the best times were recorded. Barry Baltus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) closes the first row of the grid after setting a time more than half a second adrift of the poleman.
Carlos Tatay (Fundación Andreas Pérez 7) will start fourth ahead of Jeremy Alcoba (Laglisse Academy) and Gerard Riu (Baiko Racing Team) in a race where the leader of the category and winner of the last two races Yuki Kunii (Asia Talent Team) is absent due to injury.
In Moto2™ European Championship, Edgar Pons took an electrifying pole position in his last attempt in the second qualifying session to take three out of three poles this season. Pons posted a time of 1:44.768 beating rival Yari Montella (Team Ciatti – Speed Up) by only 0.003 seconds. Niki Tuuli (Team Stylobike) closes out the first row of the grid. Héctor Garzó (CNS Motorsport), Alessandro Zaccone (Promoracing) and Tommaso Marcon (Team Ciatti – Speed Up) make up the second row. Peetu Paavilainen (Redding – Pinamotos RS) was the fastest in the Superstock category.
In the ETC, Izan Guevara will head the grid after taking his second – and consecutive – pole of the season, setting a time of 1:52.664. The Cuna de Campeones rider was the fastest in Group A, while teammate Daijiro Sako (Cuna de Campeones) was the quickest in Group B, finishing only 28 thousandths behind. Guevara will start first, looking for his third win of the season ahead of Sako and Dirk Geiger (Kiefer Racing).
The schedule for next Sunday’s races is as follows:
Moto3™ Race 1 (16 laps) 11.00
Moto2™ Race 1 (17 laps) 12.00
ETC (15 laps) 13.00
Moto3™ Race 2 (16 laps) 14.00
Moto2™ Race 2 (17 laps) 15.00
ETC Series 2 (15 laps) 16.00
As usual, the entrance to the paddock will be free over the weekend. In addition, FIM CEV Repsol fans who go to the tunnel of the control tower of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday morning will be able to join the Pit Lane Walk. Only firstcomers will get a pass for the Pit Lane Walk with a maximum of two passes per person. The Pit Lane Walk will take place at 10.15 am and start from the outside of the control tower.
Television networks and new media platforms in Europe and many countries are showing more and more interest in live broadcasts or on demand videos of FIM CEV Repsol events. New in Spain, DAZN will include the Moto3™ JWCh, Moto2™ ECh and ETC in its programming, showing each of the scheduled races – as will BT Sports in both in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with live broadcasts of all races in each category. Also new is that Canal Plus in France will broadcast all the races live on Canal+ Sport. In Italy, Sky will broadcast live the Moto3™ JWCh, and the Moto2™ ECh races.
In Belgium, GP Inside will offer live broadcasts of all the Championship races. Through Eurosportplayer (Holland and Romania) Eurosport will also offer live coverage of the Moto3™ JWCh, Moto2™ ECh and ETC. In Portugal, Sport TV consolidates its commitment to motorcycling with live or recorded broadcasts of all the races scheduled throughout the season. Hungarian fans will be able to follow the young hopefuls of the ETC thanks to the recorded broadcast of ETC races by the Spiler TV channel.
By means of its digital platform the Motorsport group will broadcast live all the Moto3™ JrWCh, Moto2™ ECh and ETC events, with worldwide coverage except in the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy which will offer the same content through other media partners. The Edgesport Channel will show live all the Moto3™ JrWCh, Moto2™ ECh and ETC races, which will be available 24/7 on various platforms with coverage in Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific Islands, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Solomon Islands, Thailand and Vietnam.
In addition, in those countries without television coverage, all races will be broadcast live on the championship’s YouTube channel.
All the results and information about the Championship are on the official website: www.fimcevrepsol.com