Fagerhaug – disaster to Triumph – Again!
Sturla Fagerhaug won a perfectly judged race to claim his second victory of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season. The 17 year old Norwegian crossed the line just 0.266 seconds ahead of 16 year old Czech Jakub Kornfeil after the pair had played cat and mouse over the last laps, each hoping the other would lead the final run to the line.
They had broken away from a rabid battle for third. The final place on the podium eventually went to Daijiro Hiura but only after the 14 year old Japanese had dug deep in his considerable talent over the final lap that ended with three crashing as they exited the final turn. Alejandro Pardo high-sided violently and the two South Africans behind him, Brad Binder and Mathew Scholtz came together as the avoided the tumbling Italian.
What ended as a Fagerhaug command performance did not start like that at all. From a well crafted pole he went backwards to 17th. “I just gave it too much throttle and flooded the engine. It just wouldn’t go. I really thought that was it, I wasn’t going to win. I tried to settle down and pass people as quickly as I could but I made a few mistakes and got re-passed as well. Then it started to work and I was able to get through to the front.”
“Luckily Jakub and I were able to get away from the rest of the group. I wanted to do most of the leading because I wasn’t sure what Jakub’s pace would be if he were in front. Then I hoped he would lead over the last few laps so that he couldn’t just pass me out of the slipstream on the run into the line. I got him to go ahead but then he slowed and I had to pass again. We couldn’t go on like that for long because I knew the others would catch us so I then just went as fast as I could to try and get a bit of a gap on the final lap and it worked,” concluded Fagerhaug.
Kornfeil admitted he had done everything he could. “I knew that it was best to let Sturla do the leading. He is so fast and that way we could get clear of the others. Every lap I was testing the run in to the finish line to see how I might pass him on the last lap. I knew that was my only real chance. Then on the last lap he was just a bit too quick and I wasn’t close enough. Still I really enjoyed the race and in Assen I am going to try and go one better.”
Hiura said that third place was very simple. “I just rode the last lap as hard as I could. It was such a hard race, so much overtaking, it was very difficult to get a rhythm and impossible to get away, riders were overtaking everywhere, on the last lap I just turned the throttle full open. Third is OK but in Assen I really want to win.”
Fourth man home Florian Marino was very frustrated after being in the hunt for the win for almost the entire race. “I wanted to get on the podium, I really think I was fast enough but it was just like Jerez, some guys making crazy passes and I would get pushed wide then another two guys could get by as well. It was like that the whole race. I know it is up to me to ride better and get away like Sturla and Jakub did but it is very difficult.”
His feelings were echoed by Jake Gagne, the 15 year old Californian who had got into a good looking 3rd place only to crash on lap 9 of the 14. “It was pretty crazy, some really mad overtaking moves that just slowed us all down so the front two got away. I finally got clear and on my own but then lost the rear coming through the downhill final turn.”
It was the same place that caught out Pardo on the final lap. “The back end just came round and snapped, I went over the high-side,” reported the 15 year old Italian who ended the day nursing a painful inner thigh area with a large pack of ice!
“It was a hard race,” said Scholtz. “Just too much overtaking in the wrong places, I had got up to 2nd but then it was just crazy and I went right back again,” reported the 16 year old. “Then on the last lap Pardo high-sided, Brad braked to miss him and I hit Brad.”
None of the fallers were seriously injured and with Danny Kent finishing 7th behind Daniel Ruiz and Arthur Sissis, Fagerhaug now leads the Cup by 20 points from the 15 year old Englishman with Kornfeil moving to 3rd a further 12 points adrift. The 4th of the 8 race season takes place at Assen on June 27th. For those who missed the live web feed, the first 2 races are already viewable on the Rookies website www.redbullrookiescup.com and Mugello will soon be uploaded.
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Mugello, Italy May 30, 2009 Race Results (all on KTM RC125s and Dunlop tires):
1. Sturla FAGERHAUG (NOR), 14 laps, 29:25.764 2. Jakub KORNFEIL (CZE), -0.266 second 3. Daijiro HIURA (JPN), -5.248 seconds 4. Florian MARINO (FRA), -5.286 5. Daniel RUIZ (SPA), -5.947 6. Arthur SISSIS (AUS), -6.873 7. Danny KENT (GBR), -6.919 8. Dylan MAVIN (AUS), -8.842 9. Alexander KRISTIANSSO (SWE), -12.096 10. Nico THÖNI (AUT), -12.200 11. Robin BARBOSA (FRA), -12.223 12. Benny SOLIS (USA), -28.349 13. Hayden GILLIM (USA), -28.493 14. Xavier FIGUERAS (SPA), -28.537 15. Taylor MACKENZIE (GBR), -36.873 16. Juan PERELLO (SPA), -36.928 17. Mathew SCHOLTZ (RSA), -51.729 18. Fraser ROGERS (GBR), -54.265 19. Thomas VAN LEEUWEN (NED), -106.667 20. Brad BINDER (RSA), -1 lap, DNF, crash 21. Alejandro PARDO (ITA), -1 lap, DNF, crash 22. Jacob GAGNE (USA), -6 laps, DNF, crash 23. Nelson MAJOR (FRA), -6 laps, DNF, crash 24. Joshua HOOK (AUS), -6 laps, DNF, crash 25. Kevin CALIA (ITA), -11 laps, DNF, crash
Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 8 races):
1. Fagerhaug, 70 points 2. Kent, 50 3. Kornfeil, 38 4. Hiura, 32 5. Schultz, 29 6. Marino, 26 7. Pardo, 21 8. Kristiansson, 20 9. Ruiz, 18 10. TIE, Mavin/Calia/Gagne, 12
15. TIE, Major/Binder/Gillim/Figueras, 9
21. Solis, 4
More, from a press release issued by Jake Gagne’s publicist:
JAKE GAGNE CHALLENGES IN ITALY
Mugello, Italy (May 30, 2009) — Jake Gagne of Ramona, Calif., fought for a podium finish in the Mugello, Italy round of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup event on Saturday. Gagne impressively ran in third position before crashing out in the final corner with six laps to go. He was unhurt after the fall.
“I was able to run strong but in the end, it did not go my way,” said Jake. “It’s encouraging to run up front against this level of competition and it was fun to race in Italy.”
After the opening doubleheader in Jerez, the Mugello race gave 25 of the world’s best young racers another shot for glory. The race was won by Norway’s Sturla Fagerhaug.
Gagne, who earned third in the Riders Cup race in Spain last fall after winning races at Road Atlanta and Indianapolis, tried to earn another podium finish on the day. “I qualified eighth and got a good start in the race. It was really aggressive in the front and there were some tough passes and maybe some moves that held us all back. Sturla and Jakub (Kornfeil) started getting away so I put my head down because I had to get with them,” said Jake. “I made it up to the third spot and pulled about a second and a half in the next couple of laps.”
Unfortunately, Jake crashed with six laps to go. “In the final corner, I lost the rear end and then I was on the ground. That was my race,” said Jake. “It would have been cool to get on the podium again but I’ll have to wait for another chance. I learned a lot and it was good for my confidence to run near the front. I’m looking forward to the next round in the Netherlands.”
Despite the fall, Jake remains the top American in the series points standings in 12th place.