The countdown to the start of the 2024 FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship is nearly over, with the stunning Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli ready to welcome the field back into action for Round 1: Motor Valley and Emilia-Romagna. It’s the first time the fabulous Adriatic venue hosts the Championship for a standalone round, and the start of another chapter of history for JuniorGP™. So what can we expect in 2024?
FIM JuniorGP
In JuniorGP™, plenty of fast faces return from last season, looking to make their mark and succeed Angel Piqueras as Champion. Alvaro Carpe (STV Laglisse Racing) is the top finisher back on the grid in 2024 but his first goal will be simple: win. Despite finishing P3 last year, victory was elusive for the Spaniard. But not so for compatriot Adrian Cruces (Finetwork Team), who finished fifth overall and won in the very final round – form he’ll be looking to continue this season.
Then there are the likes of Eddie O’Shea with the new MLav Racing team, home hero Alessandro Morosi – now with the Aspar Junior Team – and Cormac Buchanan (AGR Team), all of whom are looking to get on the podium. The shuffle to decide the pecking order is sure to start early, and with rookies like Max Quiles (Estrella Galicia 0,0) joining the fold too, the race is very much on to make experience pay.
One race winner from last year will be sidelined through injury though: Arbi Aditama (Astra Honda Racing Team). The Indonesian will be cheering on his fellow JTT riders but likely also hoping no one at the front has that perfect 50-point haul from Round 1 before he’s back on track and looking to start his own campaign for glory.
Moto2 European Championship
In the Moto2™ European Championship, Alberto Surra (Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro) is the top returning finisher, and he’ll likely be racing the likes of Mattia Rato (FAU55 Tey Racing), Roberto Garcia (Fantic Cardoso Racing) and Unai Orradre (STV Laglisse Racing) once again. But there’s an influx of new faces with some serious CVs about to test the experienced runners.
Reigning FIM Enel MotoE™ World Champion Mattia Casadei joins Team Ciatti – Boscoscuro, and he’ll have the jump on two other famous faces joining the grid too. The first is Moto3 ™ Grand Prix winner Kaito Toba, who will line up with PromoRacing, and then there’s Jorge Navarro. The Spaniard will join the grid with Forward Eest Racing, bringing his record of two Moto3™ Grand Prix wins, seven further Moto3™ podiums and 10 Moto2™ World Championship podiums with him, as well as his podium form from the World Supersport Championship. But neither he nor Toba will be at Round 1 as they race in Assen, so it’s all hands on deck for those racing in Misano to get ahead of the game before they join the fray.
European Talent Cup
The European Talent Cup, meanwhile, promises another season of close competition. As a host of the fastest faces from 2023 move up, it’s David Gonzalez (AC Racing Team) and Jesus Torres (Estrella Galicia 0,0) who are the top finishers coming back – and both will want to prove it with podiums from the off. Gonzalez took one last season, but Torres has not yet been on the rostrum. The field is a full one though, as ever, with an influx of new talent from across the world and across the Road to MotoGP™ – so who will start the season on top as many move up?
Given the success of the ETC and just how many riders have moved into the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, this year they’re racing to do the same too – but from 2024 there is no single rider set to be selected to race in the Rookies the following season. With so many having made the move, the fastest can expect to make their mark anyway!
Stock European Championship
Finally, the second ever season for the Stock™ European Championship promises another great showdown. Marco Garcia (Easyrace Team) is the top returner, having completed the top three overall last year, and he can expect more competition from the likes of Dino Iozzo as the South African returns with IUM Motorsports, Australian Archie McDonald with MRE Talent, and Mario Mayor (Yamaha GV Racing) and Adrian Rodriguez (SF Racing) – none of whom are strangers to the top five.
The stage is set for another season creating Champions for the 2024 FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship, and it all begins at Misano. So tune in for the first race weekend of the season from around the world!
11:00 – JuniorGP™ Race 1: 16 laps
12:00 – ETC Race 1: 15 laps
13:00 – Moto2™ ECh Race: 17 laps
14:00 – JuniorGP™ Race 2: 16 laps
15:00 – ETC Race 2: 15 laps
16:00 – Stock™ Race: 17 laps
You can find all the results, videos, images and information about the Championship on the official website: www.fimjuniorgp.com
For more info checkout our dedicated FIM JuniorGP™ news page superbike-news.co.uk/cev-repsol/
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of https://www.fimjuniorgp.com/en
