Thompson takes Rookies Race 2 heart-stopper in Jerez

Four wide into the final corner in Jerez and Australian Carter Thompson came out ahead of Hakim Danish, Kristian Daniel Jr. and Marco Morelli.

Thompson’s first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory was all the more remarkable as the 17-year-old had served a long-lap penalty for a high-speed bump with Veda Pratama that caused the Indonesian to fall.

From the long-lap loop, Thompson rejoined in 9th with just 3 laps remaining. His charge back was mirrored by Beñat Fernandez, who had been given a similar penalty for a collision with Brian Uriarte that put Saturday’s winner in the gravel. Fernandez failed to serve his penalty perfectly, so he had to repeat, yet the 17-year-old Spaniard still managed to cut through to finish 5th.

Carter Thompson takes his first win
“It was definitely a crazy race. A lot happened, the conditions were quite a lot different to the rest of the weekend, the track was so much cooler that there was more of a drop in rear tyre grip so I was really hunting for that at the end.”

“It’s a boost to my confidence and now I know I can run at the front. It’s the first time in Rookies Cup I’ve really been fighting for the win , so now I know how it all works. It should definitely be a big help for the rest of the year.”

Hakim Danish 2nd again to lead the points table
“I feel very happy to make the podium again,” said the 17-year-old Malaysian with his usual smile. “I feel confident that I can run at the front, now I just have to find that little bit extra to win the races. I have been working very hard with my training and I know I am so close. I just have to keep working, keep doing the same thing and just push a little bit harder every time.

“It is great to be leading the Cup points going to Le Mans, and I am confident that I can fight at the front again.”

Kristian Daniel 3rd and on the Rookies podium for the first time
“Not too bad considering what happened yesterday,” said the 16-year-old American, recalling Saturday’s fall. “Honestly, it was super nice the whole race. I was just trying to make passes where I saw, like, okay, this guy’s not gonna stay with the fast guys, I need to get past them.

“I gotta say I was a bit lucky with some of the crashes, you know, like, obviously Brian went out, and the double long-lap for Beñat but I also made some smart passes, so I think I really deserved this one and it was really good racing all the way until the end. Huge respect to Carter. I don’t know even how he caught back up to us, to win after a long-lap.”

Marco Morelli wide at the last corner to finish 4th
“Well, I’m not happy, but well, I tried,” stated the 17-year-old Argentine. “I tried to make a start and stay with the fast group. I got like P7, P6. I could see that it would be one group to the end. I did some overtakes and was leading sometimes. But then in the last lap, they passed me, I passed, and in the last corner, I tried my best. I was late on the brakes, I almost got the bike stopped, but just a bit too wide and missed the podium.

“I’m not happy as I missed some points but must be happy because I didn’t crash.

Beñat Fernandez 5th after double long-lap penalty
“Yeah, it was quite difficult. When I did the long-lap I just touched the green, so I had to do it again. After that, there were two laps remaining and on the last lap, some fell and I ended up P5.

“I’m really happy for my pace, for my performance, but I know I could win. But it’s okay anyway, I’m really happy for the pace. I just need to improve and think a bit more about the bike and that’s it.”

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