A rather too sensational start to the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season saw Sturla Fagerhaug claim victory even though he crashed heavily and was half a lap behind the leading pack. The 17 year old Norwegian benefited from a restart following a 2 rider crash and pulled through to win an incredible 6 lap race 2 ahead of Mathew Scholtz and Danny Kent.
The third season of the MotoGP Rookies Cup kicked off at Jerez, with Norway's Sturla Fagerhaug edging out South Africa's Mathew Scholtz for the win in Race 1.
It was 16 year old South African Scholtz who rocketed away from the initial start into a 5 second lead only to run off the track when the extremely blustery wind took his front wheel away. He regained the track to cross the line 8th as the race was stopped. Featuring strongly in the first race and thus lining up for the restart in 2nd place the 15 year old Briton Kent was in the hunt for the win again after the restart.
Fagerhaug lined up at the back of the grid but with Scholtz unable to make the break-away that he did first time the battle that the South African had with 16 year old Frenchman Nelson Major and the rest of a 10 man lead pack slowed the race pace. That was all the help that Fagerhaug needed and he charged through.
Outbraking 2 or 3 riders a time into some corners Fagerhaug was unstoppable and finally stole the lead on the last lap. “When I crashed in the first day I thought it was going to be the worst day of my life. I couldn't believe it when the race was restarted but you never want to see anyone get hurt so none of us were happy about it.”
“I'd made such a mess of the first start when I let out the clutch and the rear tyre slid sideways I just made sure I didn't do it again. I was determined to get some good points and I saw the pack was not getting away. I started to realise that I really could get a good result but I never thought of winning it until the last lap when I saw I could do it,” concluded Fagerhaug.
Race 1 was red-flagged after British rider Harry Stafford fell and was struck by Florian Marino's front wheel. Stafford was taken to a hospital in a coma, but has since recovered.
It was the nasty fall of 15 year old Briton Harry Stafford that stopped the first race. He was right in the battle for the lead when the bike slid suddenly and highsided him right in front of the following pack, the front wheel of Florian Marino's bike clipped the fallen rider and the 15 year old Frenchman also went down. Marino walked away but Stafford was taken by ambulance to hospital with a broken collarbone and severe concussion.
Scholtz had good reason not to try and repeat his attempted run-away in the restarted race. “The wind got under my bike and pushed the front wheel away in the first race. It was even worse after the restart and I had to make sure it didn't happen again. I couldn't believe it when Sturla caught us. One minute I looked behind and Danny was there then suddenly on the last lap... it was Sturla.”
Scholtz actually thought that the board said it was the second to last lap as did Kent. “I thought there was another lap to go,” said the Briton. “Still it was a great race and I'll just have to see if I can go and win the race tomorrow.”
Fourth man home and strongly featuring throughout the two races was 14 year old Swede Alex Kristiansson. “I enjoyed myself so much, I really had fun. I wanted to get on the podium but it didn't work out on the last lap, I'll have to do it tomorrow.”
Similarly hoping for a better result in Sunday’s race, pole man Daijiro Hiura ended Saturday with no points as he crashed after pulling through to second following a mediocre start in the first race. “The wind was so hard, it just took my front wheel away,” explained the 14 year old Japanese who was unable to restart because of the damage to his KTM RC125.
Red Bull Rookies Cup - Jerez Race 1 Results
1. Sturla Fagerhaug (NOR) - 11'40.024
2. Mathew Scholtz (RSA) - 11'40.335
3. Danny Kent (GBR) - 11'40.406
4. Alexander Kristiansson (SWE) - 11'40.503
5. Joshua Hook (AUS) - 11'40.670
6. Alejandro Pardo (ITA) - 11'41.042
7. Nelson Major (FRA) - 11'41.081
8. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE) - 11'41.175
9. Daniel Ruiz (ESP) - 11'41.271
10. Hayden Gillim (USA) - 11'42.504
Danny Kent bettered Sturla Fagerhaug to win a superb and thankfully slightly less dramatic 2nd Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Jerez on Sunday. The blustery Spanish wind still contributed to a number of falls but this time Daijiro Hiura learnt from Saturday's error and came home third ahead of Florian Marino.
In Race 2 of the MotoGP Red Bull Rookies Cup Great Britain's Danny Kent (52) faced-off against Norwegian Sturla Fagerhaug (33). Danny Kent would eventually pass Fagerhaug for the win.
Kent, the 15 year old Briton, explained how the wind effected him; "Every time I got in front the wind just pushed me back, it was so much easier to stay in the slipstream. There was no real way to break away. I wasn't going to make the same mistake as yesterday so I kept counting down the laps as I crossed the line and went for it on the last lap, it wasn't an easy move, I was determined, it was 'win it or bin it.'"
Passed by Kent in the classic Jerez last-corner braking move Fagerhaug tried still to win. "I wasn't surprised that Danny came past there, I thought I could pull it back on the inside and drive past on the way out but I was just a bit too close and had to back off slightly or hit his back wheel ... that was it. Still a win and a second is not too bad from the weekend, it could have been a lot worse."
Hiura did not make a great start from pole position and was back in 5th at the end of the first lap. Though the 15 year old Japanese was always in the lead pack he just wasn't close enough over the last few laps to challenge Fagerhaug and Kent when it counted. "It was very windy again, difficult, a lot of riders all trying to pass all the time. I am happy to get some points but I want to win in Mugello."
Fourth man home was 15 year old Frenchman Marino and not happy to have missed out on the podium. His was a fantastic performance though, having been at the hospital at midnight before the race following his Saturday crash. Seemingly unhurt in the fall he had later felt sick and was only cleared to race after a precautionary hospital check. "I really should have been able to be in the first three at least but some of the other guys are just not clever in the way they overtake, too many times they came inside almost out of control and we'd both go wide, you lose too much time like that, it doesn't make sense."
7th place finisher Mathew Scholtz, the 16 year old South African, echoed Marino's feelings. "I wanted to get away with Sturla and Danny but then Daijiro came passed and then Pardo who just pushed me wide, it was a bit crazy and I went from 3rd to 7th in a couple of laps. I've got a gouge in my knee slider from someone's front wheel, that's a bit too close."
Not all the heroes of the race finished, yet could still be satisfied with their first weekend as Red Bull Rookies. Following his excellent 4th place finish on Saturday, Alex Kristiansson, the 15 year old Swede, stormed through to lead the first lap on Sunday. He was solidly in the battle for a place on the rostrum until he slid off on lap 5. "The wind just got under the bike and I couldn't catch it. I was just going the same speed, doing the same thing as I did the lap before but it caught me out. I think also the rubber from the MotoGP race might have made the track a little more slippery in some places."
Someone with even less experience on a road racer is 13 year old Australian speedway rider Arthur Sissis. He was in the thick of the hard fighting front group when he slid off going for sixth place on lap 11. "I braked late to get past one of the Italians (Pardo) and just lost the front. I was enjoying it up to then. My knee wasn't causing me any trouble but then I tore the stitches I had after yesterday's crash and it was bleeding quite a bit, but that's OK."
Thankfully the injury list was not lengthened by Sunday's falls and everyone was buoyed by the good news from Harry Stafford. The 15 year old Briton was knocked unconscious in Saturday's nasty crash but quite soon after the doctors became optimistic as he steadily improved. Taken to Cadiz hospital for a complete scan he fully regained consciousness and the doctors are confident he will make a complete recovery. He is due to be released from hospital on Wednesday or Thursday and will have a medical flight back to Britain where he should complete his recovery at home. He also broke his right collarbone. Considering his serious concussion he is not expected to race again for a couple of months.
Red Bull Rookies Cup - Jerez Race 2 Results
1. Danny Kent (GBR) - 28'39.881
2. Sturla Fagerhaug (NOR) - 28'39.941
3. Daijiro Hiura (JPN) - 28'40.730
4. Florian Marino (FRA) - 28'43.531
5. Alejandro Padro (ITA) - 28'43.662
6. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE) - 28'43.711
7. Mathew Scholtz (RSA) - 28'43.994
8. Kevin Calia (ITA) - 28'57.505
9. Jacob Gagne (USA) - 29'01.011
10. Brad Binder (RSA) - 29'12.298
Jake Gagne's first weekend with the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup was a positive one after the Ramona, California, rider scored points in both races of a doubleheader weekend as he steadily improved his times throughout the three days on the track. Gagne, part of the 26-rider Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup series consisting of some of the fastest teen racers in the world, earned 11th place on Saturday and ninth on Sunday at the windy Jerez circuit in Spain.
American Jake Gagne earned 11th place on Saturday and ninth on Sunday for a solid opening weekend to the season.
"For my first race as part of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, I learned a lot and had a good time," said Jake. "We managed to keep it up on both wheels and get points even though it was pretty windy the whole time and some riders crashed. I wasn't real happy with how the weekend started, but we progressed the whole time and I am pleased with that."
Gagne had difficulties with his suspension settings early in the weekend and only qualified 21st fastest, but Jake moved up the charts with his trademark steady riding that saw him win two races in the American version of the Rookies Cup last year. In Sunday's race, he gained ten spots in the race and worked his way up to 11th position -- narrowly losing out to fellow American Hayden Gillim for tenth.
"Practice wasn't so great, and I knew I had my work cut out for me in the race," said Jake. "I was trying to get a good start, and move up from there. The first race was red flagged mid-way through. I had a close battle for position as the race wound down and I got 11th. It was really windy out there and pretty much impossible to ride mistake-free, but it made for an exciting race."
Sunday saw the 15-year-old earn a position inside the top 10 as he improved to ninth and the top American finisher in the race. "We made some changes to the suspension, but we really went the wrong way,"
Gagne confessed. "I got a pretty good start and gained some positions, but I held ninth pretty much by myself. It was good to get some race laps in and get back into a race situation again. The results were not quite as I would have liked, but I wasn't unhappy. Mugello looks like a good track and I hope to get a top five there."
After Jerez, Jake is now ninth in the points standings.
Jake will next race in Mugello, Italy, on May 30th.
