The first meeting took place from April 9 to 11 in Portimão and, if we consider the ranking of the 2020 season won by Pedro Acosta who is making sparks in the world with Red Bull KTM Ajo this year, we can expect a lot of the future winner of this season. At the end of this first event, it was David Alonso who won the double in Portimão.
A week before his 15th birthday, Colombian David Alonso brilliantly broke free from an intense battle of the lead to dominate the opening round of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in Portimão.
David Alonso was perfect in the opening round
David Alonso dominated the first round of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in Portimão. The chasing group, made up of six drivers, crossed the finish line with pole sitter Diogo Moreira obtaining second place ahead of Marcos Uriarte and Daniel Holgado.
Colombian driver David Alonso had qualified fifth and, while Diogo Moreira made a perfect start to take control of the race, David Alonso took the lead on lap 2 pursued by David Muñoz. Iván Ortolá and Àlex Millán completed the lead group with Uriarte working hard to catch up after a poor start. David Alonso managed to break away from his pursuers halfway through the race and the group slowed down with a fierce fight until the finish.
Second race also for David Alonso
During the second race, David Alonso snatched the double at the checkered flag after a classic battle of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, which was played out by 9 riders.
When the lights went out, Diogo Moreira again made an excellent start and led the horde of KTM RC 250 R's on the first lap, whose first pursuers were David Muñoz and David Alonso. But a few moments later, the hierarchy was already changing in favor of David Alonso, who spent most of the race in the lead.
David Alonso would lead for a long time, without managing to break away from his pursuers, unlike in the first race, until this attack from Diogo Moreira. At the start of the last loop, the Colombian tried to recover his property. Unfortunately, he made a small mistake and everything had to be done again. Daniel Holgado, the 15-year-old Spanish driver, then briefly took the lead, while Marcos Uriarte – then fourth – crashed. A slight break was thus created with the first three.
Victory was ultimately decided between Daniel Holgado, Alex Millan and David Alonso, who surprised his opponents by 55 thousandths. A great battle with typical Rookie intensity!
David Alonso, who won just one victory during his first season last year in Aragon, looks back on this Portuguese weekend, perfect for him: “It was incredible, I had a really good race. It was different from yesterday because yesterday I won alone and today I won in a fight to the line. It's very positive for me to win in these two ways. »
He adds: “I got off to a good start, even better than yesterday. Then, the same strategy, I tried to take my pace and go alone but the other drivers improved, they were stronger than yesterday and I couldn't get out of it. I tried to stay second during the last lap and in the last corner I got ready and passed Holgado. I'm super happy because I learned last year how to handle the last laps, where to overtake and I felt strong with the bike too, it's an incredible feeling. Now we have to continue working hard in Jerez. »
The duo of French drivers Bartholomé Perrin and Gabin Planques recorded a blank result in this first event.
The next event is in two weeks in Jerez.
Photos: Red Bull
