On a record-breaking day at the historic Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, new names and familiar faces came to the fore.
The 2022 Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship has arrived halfway through its 25th season of action, with the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto hosting the fourth round of the Championship battle. A sunny and scorching Saturday was the prelude to what promises to be an exciting day of racing on Sunday, with hotly contested qualifying. In the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship, it is Collin Veijer (AGR Team) who took pole position, while Lukas Tulovic (Liqui Moly Intact GP Junior Team) and Maximo Martinez (Team Honda Laglisse) won pole positions in the European Moto2™ Championship and the Hawkers European Talent Cup respectively. All poles were set in the morning, while temperatures soared in the afternoon.
JuniorGP:
Dutch Collin Veijer produced a breathtaking lap which allowed him to take the first pole position of his career in JuniorGP™. The 17-year-old had already set a tenth time during the last qualifying session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which allowed him to achieve two consecutive personal bests and take the 44th pole position since the introduction of Moto3 ™, the first for the Netherlands. He is joined on the front row by the Championship leader, Jose Antonio Rueda
(Team Estrella Galicia 0,0), which is aiming for a fourth consecutive victory from the middle of its fifth front row in a row, where it has always been in the top two. In third position, it is the first front row of his career for Philip Farioli (Aspar Junior Team), with only 0.096s difference between the first three.
At the head of the second row of the grid, the Colombian driver
David Alonso (Aspar Junior Team), which was just over a tenth behind. Achieving his best qualifying of the season, Alonso is looking for a second victory in 2022 and will be in the battle throughout Sunday. Joining him on the second row in fifth position on the grid,
Syarifuddin Azman (SIC Racing), who captured a third consecutive top 5 after qualifying. The Malaysian driver ensured that five different nationalities were at the front of the grid, a first in 2022.
Angel Piqueras (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) completes the second row, with the Spaniard looking for the first victory of his career.
Moto2:
In the Moto2™ ECh category, a red flag in the first session halted the action for a short time due to track conditions, but at the end of the day it was the championship leader, Lukas Tulovic, who took pole, the German hoping to return to victory after two second places last time. With his first front line of the season, Xavi Cardelus (Promoracing) was only 0,022s from pole, whileAlex Escrig (Yamaha Philippines Stylobike Team) is on the front row for the second time in 2022 and starts in third position ahead of the two-time winner of the Barcelona race, Senna Agius (Promoracing).
European Talent Cup:
The Hawkers European Talent Cup action was fierce as always, with title holder Maximo Martinez who took pole by setting the fastest lap time in the cooler morning temperatures. This is his second pole at Jerez and his first of the season. Last year he won a double, including a first career victory, and he hopes to repeat the successes of 2021. Second on the grid and with the opportunity to take the championship lead, the Italian Guido Pini (AC Racing Team) will aim for the first victory of his career, while the Finn Rico Salmela (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0), who won their first front row of the year, completes the peloton. At the top of the ranking, Joel Esteban (Aspar Junior Team) is absent due to illness, which makes HETC a land of opportunities this weekend.
Race program for the FIM Finetwork JuniorGP™ World Championship for Sunday July 3:
11:00 a.m. – Race 1 JuniorGP™: 16 laps
12:00 – Hawkers ETC Race 1: 15 laps
13:00 p.m. – Moto2™ ECh: 17 laps
14:00 p.m. – JuniorGP™ Race 2: 16 laps
15:00 p.m. – Hawkers ETC Race 2: 15 laps
