Gone are the CEV, whose initial name Campeonato de Espana de Velocidad had difficulty fitting in with the international dimension of the championship, and long live the JuniorGP which much better symbolizes the pre-Grand Prix positioning of this competition!
In fact, among the three categories offered by the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship, only the European Talent Cup and the JuniorGP are really interesting for finding the gems of tomorrow, even if the Moto2 European Championship has allowed riders like Fermín Aldeguer to join the intermediate category of the Grands Prix.
But to all honor, let's first talk about JuniorGP, once initiated with 125cc 2-strokes and which has seen names like Héctor Barberá, Álvaro Bautista, Aleix Espargaró, Pol Espargaró, Stefan Bradl, Efrén Vázquez, Alberto Moncayo, Maverick Viñales, Álex Rins, Álex Márquez, Fabio Quartararo, Niccolò Bulega, Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Dennis Foggia, Raúl Fernández, Jeremy Alcoba, Izan Guevara and Daniel Holgado.
The top four of the 3 Moto2021 season including the reigning champion Daniel Holgado, Iván Ortolá, David Muñoz et Joel Kelso, have all left the category to take the next step in their career, meaning the highest placed repeater in the category is the Spaniard david savior (Laglisse Academy). Two podiums in 2021 have positioned him fifth in the general classification and he is still looking for a first victory. The Colombian David Alonso (Aspar Junior Team) is the second best repeater in the category. The 2020 Hawkers European Talent Cup winner is also aiming for a first victory in the category, for himself and his country, after two podium finishes in 2021. The third best driver remaining in the category is Syarifuddin Azman (SIC Racing), with the Malaysian the only race winner on the 2022 grid, while all three have FIM Moto3™ World Championship experience under their belt.
French side, besides the two rookies Théo and Alex Gourdon, we note the presence of Antoine Bonnard (IGAXTeam) on the official website, even if it is not on the list of those present in Estoril.
The stage before the JuniorGP is called the Hawkers European Talent Cup and takes place only on basic Honda Moto3s.
Here again, most of the tenors of the 2021 season have moved up to the higher category in 2022, like the 2021 vice-champion
Adrian Cruces (Cuna de Campeones), Xabi Zurutuza (Angeluss MTA Team), Alvaro Carpe (STV – MT Helmet – MSI) and Jacob Roulstone (Aspar Junior Team), all race winners in 2021.
In these conditions, the Spanish reigning champion Maximo Martínez (Team Laglisse Honda) looks like a scarecrow after three victories last year and four podiums in the last five races. The second best returning runner is Brian Uriarte (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0), with a fourth place overall last year and a victory. Joel Esteban (Aspar Junior Team) and Alberto Ferrandez (Finetwork Mir Junior Team), who reached the podium in 2021, are back, as is the Irish hopeful Casey O'Gorman (VisionTrack Racing Team), the reigning winner of the Honda British Talent Cup.
In a category where 17 nationalities are represented by 49 drivers, Yannis Raingard Magnier (French team), Elie Rousselot (First Bike Academy & Illusion Team), Guillem Planques (First Bike Academy & Illusion Team), Enzo Hoarau Bellon (BS Racing) and Leandro Quintas (Mediasystem) will defend the colors of France.
Finally, the duel in the Moto2 European Championship™ will be fierce again as many of the protagonists of 2021 are back. The German pilot Lukas Tulovic (Liqui Moly Intact JuniorGP Team) is one of the biggest names returning to the category, as he hopes for a first victory in his Moto2™ ECh career after a few good podiums. Xavi Cardelus (Promoracing) also goes in search of a first victory, but there is a lot of opposition to fend off. The two-time Moto2™ ECh runner-up and multiple race winner Héctor Garzó (MV Agusta Forward Junior Team) is back, while Tommaso Marcon (MMR) and Marco Tapia (Easyrace Team) are also joining the category to bring some serious competition.
The Sunday racing schedule for the opening round of the JuniorGP™ is as follows:
11:00 – Hawkers ETC Race 1: 16 laps
12:00 – Moto2™ ECh Race 1: 18 laps
13:00 p.m. – JuniorGP™: 17 laps
14:00 p.m. – Hawkers ETC Race 2: 16 laps
15:00 – Moto2™ ECh Race 2: 18 laps
