Carpe and Pini take FIM JuniorGP™ honours as title battles heat up under scorching Portuguese sun.
The FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship made its way to the south of Portugal for Round 4 of the campaign, and beneath the baking heat of a scorching Algarve sun, six phenomenal races unfolded to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
FIM JuniorGP™ honours went the way of Alvaro Carpe (STV Laglisse Racing) and polesitter Guido Pini (SeventyTwo Artbox Racing Team) after two captivating battles, while Roberto Garcia (Fantic Cardoso Racing) completed the double in the Moto2™ European Championship. There was plenty of joy too for Carlos Cano (SeventyTwo Artbox Racing Team) in the European Talent Cup, while birthday boy Archie McDonald (MRE Talent) went from pole to P1 in the Stock European Championship.
FIM JuniorGP
Having secured a last gasp victory in Barcelona, Alvaro Carpe repeated the trick in the opening race of the FIM JuniorGP™ category in the south of Portugal. The STV Laglisse rider played his cards to perfection, having battled with a large group before he formed part of a breakaway trio alongside polesitter Guido Pini and Casey O’Gorman (Team Estrella Galicia 0’0). 
As the race entered the endgame, O’Gorman faded slightly to a comfortable third, but it was riveting stuff as it looked like class debutant Pini would do enough to hold off his Spanish rival, but once again, Carpe produced some last corner fireworks to snatch victory on the line.
In terms of the Championship, Championship leaders Marcos Uriarte (CFMoto Aspar Junior Team) and Jesus Rios (MRE Talent) both failed to see the chequered flag, though Uriarte remained the title leader by just six points.
The second race of the day proved just as exciting, though this time Guido Pini ensured history didn’t repeat itself as the Italian held out for the win. The Italian kept it cool out front and avoided late dramas this time around by keeping three tenths in his back pocket coming out of the final corner. Maximo Quiles (Team Estrella Galicia 0’0) crossed second, beating Carpe in a dash to the line, with Jesus Rios, a three-time race winner already in 2023, just missing out on the podium.
In terms of the Championship, Uriarte’s frustrating day continued as he could only muster a P10 finish, meaning Carpe takes over as Championship frontrunner, with Rios moving into second at the expense of the former leader.
Moto2 European Championship
Having secured a dream debut Moto2™ ECh pole position on Saturday, Roberto Garcia made it Portimao perfection as he did the double on Sunday. Race 1 saw an electric start as Alberto Surra (Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro) took the holeshot ahead of Garcia, but the polesitter quickly responded as the two went toe-to-toe across the opening lap. Both riders broke away from the rest of the pack, but didn’t relent as they traded overtakes across 16 entertaining laps, with some truly sensational efforts from both riders. In the end, it was the polesitter Garcia who had the last laugh in an epic battle, making his final move with just a couple of laps remaining and then opening up a two second gap to take his second win of the campaign, and become the new Championship leader.
As Garcia romped home to victory, the on track excitement continued as Alberto Ferrandez (Finetwork Team) charged hard in the finale to steal the final podium place away from Dani Muñoz (Gas Up Racing Team), his third of the campaign.
If the opening race was frenetic, Race 2 was coolness personified as Garcia once again claimed an early opening lap lead from pole, and he failed to relinquish it over the course of the race to ensure he made it back-to-back wins in the Algarve. Once again Surra had to settle for second place, while Unai Orradre (STV Laglisse Racing) secured his second podium in as many rounds after Daniel Muñoz crashed out of third place.
All that means Garcia will head to Jerez in September with an 18 point advantage over Mattia Casadei (Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro), with Surra just one point further behind.
European Talent Cup
Carlos Cano came out on top of a thrilling multi-rider battle for victory in the European Talent Cup. The Spaniard started second on the grid and proved a consistent race threat, leading over the line for more than half the race. In classic ETC fashion, a large group of riders huddled up with podium and victory ambitions, but it was Cano, Giulio Pugliese (CFMoto Aspar Junior Team) and polesitter David Gonzalez (AC Racing Team) who were the main protagonists out front. The likes of Pau Alsina (Team Estrella Galicia 0’0), Alex Longarela (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team) and Valentin Perrone (Frando Racing VHC Team) all played a part in the fight for honours, but it was Cano who ultimately proved good value for the win, as he beat Pugliese and Gonzalez in a dash to the line.
It means the Spaniard is right back in Championship contention, slashing Marco Morelli’s advantage to just four points, with the Argentinian coming home in seventh as he had a quiet race relative to the high standards he has set in the current campaign.
Stock European Championship
It proved the perfect birthday weekend for Archie McDonald, as the Australian rider backed up his maiden Stock ECh pole with victory following a thrilling last lap shootout with Mario Mayor (Yamaha GV Racing). Having led every lap, McDonald slipped to second place as Mayor made his move as they came across the line for the penultimate time, with both riders almost colliding down the front straight. It seemed Mayor had done enough for the victory, but McDonald invented a brilliant final corner maneuver to poke his nose in front as they took the chequered flag, helping crown the perfect weekend in Portugal for the #69.
Mayor’s second place and 20 points sees him go level with the absent Lorenzo Dalla Porta atop the Championship standings, while Adrian Rodriguez crossed the line in third, helping him move to P3 in the standings.
For more info checkout our dedicated FIM JuniorGP™ news page superbike-news.co.uk/cev-repsol/
You can also find all the results, videos, photos and information regarding the championship on the official website: www.fimjuniorgp.com/en
