With three titles out of four decided ahead of the final round, the 2023 Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship draws to a close this weekend at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. The Spanish venue has been a traditional staging for the final round of the year, crowning Champions and paving the way for dreams to come true throughout illustrious careers. With two JuniorGP™ outings and one Moto2™ European Championship race, European Talent Cup race and Stock European Championship race each – not to mention a title up for grabs in ETC – we’re in for another memorable weekend.
With victory last time out, Angel Piqueras (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) arrives to the season’s closing double header in Valencia with the JuniorGP™ crown already secured; a double winner in Valencia from earlier in the year, he’s 79 points ahead of Luca Lunetta (AC Racing Team), who took a third podium and season-best P2 last time out at Aragon. In stark contrast to the gap between the top two, there’s just six points that split Lunetta from Alvaro Carpe (STV Laglisse Racing), with the Spaniard keen to snatch the runner-up spot on the final race day of the year.
Behind Carpe, fourth place belongs to Xabi Zurutuza (MTA Junior Team), who became the 100th different winner in the class back at Portimao. He’s just a further eight behind his fellow countryman ahead of him and 14 behind P2 overall. The same points situation applies for Joel Esteban (Aspar Junior Team), who is level on points with Zurutuza and keen to bounce back after crashing out of victory contention at MotorLand Aragon last time out. He took out teammate Joel Esteban (Aspar Junior Team) at Turn 13 and the Australian lies sixth in the standings, five points back of Esteban.
In the Moto2™ ECh, the title has already gone the way of Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team) following a double last time out; he’ll look to end his season on a high at the track where he’s already been a winner at this year. In a season where he’s been able to take a first win, Xavi Cardelus (Promoracing) will look to consolidate his second position in the Championship overall as the final round welcomes the battle for runner-up spot. Just behind him and 21 points adrift, Alberto Surra (Team Ciatti-Boscoscuro) will need a first win in the class if he’s to make up the deficit to Cardelus.
Whilst the JuniorGP™ and Moto2™ ECh titles are in the bag, the same can’t be said for the European Talent Cup; Maximo Quiles (Aspar Junior Team) is in the driving seat with an 18-point lead over long-time rival Brian Uriarte (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) with five wins compared to Uriarte’s three. They are the only two within mathematical contention in Valencia, with just one race remaining. A ninth place finish or higher will be enough for Quiles, even if Uriarte wins, whilst if Uriarte doesn’t win but finishes in P2, Quiles will need 14th or higher. Uriarte must finish in the first two places to have any chance of lifting the title trophy on Sunday. Third place at least is already secured by Guido Pini (AC Racing Team), with the defending Champion still just 14 points behind Uriarte, meaning a runner-up spot is possible. Earlier in the year, Quiles was the rider who took a fine Valencia double.
As for the Stock class, Daniel Muñoz (SP57 Racing Team) already clinched the title with a fine P2 performance last time out at Aragon; he’ll be looking to finish his season on a high, whilst Aragon’s race winner Eric Fernandez (FAU55 TEY Racing) looks for back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023. Will the pair continue their rivalry and sign off the year on a high? Marco Garcia (Easyrace Team) is a distant third place, 28 points behind Fernandez and chases his first rostrum since Portimao.
The Sunday race schedule for the final round of the FIM Finetwork JuniorGP™ season is as follows:
11:00 – JuniorGP™ Race 1: 17 laps
12:00 – ETC Race: 16 laps
13:00 – Moto2™ ECh Race: 18 laps
14:00 – JuniorGP™ Race 2: 17 laps
16:00 – Stock ECh Race: 18 laps