It is hard to imagine how the two Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup races this coming weekend in Le Mans could better the opening event of the season two weeks ago in Spain.
Jerez provided two very different and thrilling races with 5 names filling the 6 rostrum places.
Hakim Danish took two second places, so he heads the championship table by 2 points over Race 2 winner Carter Thompson, who had crossed the line 4th in Race 1.
Race 1 was a tense tactical battle between a trio of the preseason favourites who raced away in front. Malaysian 17-year-old Danish tried to get the better of Brian Uriarte and Veda Pratama, with Spanish 16-year-old Uriarte only snatching the win at the final corner.
Uriarte and Indonesian 16-year-old Pratama both fell in Race 2 in incidents with other riders which made for a completely different race. A much more usual Rookies contest with a pack of more than 10 KTMs swapping places at every corner for much of the race and 4 diving into the final corner together.
It was Thompson’s first win, indeed his first podium and also a first podium for Kristian Daniel Jr., who took 3rd. The 16-year-old became the first American on a Rookies podium since Joe Roberts in 2012 (winning 2 GPs in Moto2 since).
Heading to Le Mans, it is currently another ex-Rookie, Manuel González, class of 2016, who leads the Moto2 title chase this season. Jose Rueda, Cup winner in 2022, leads the Moto3 contest.
The huge and very vocal French crowd will appreciate two local heroes who both scored well in Jerez, Guillem Planques, the 17-year-old in his second season and 16-year-old David Da Costa, who made his debut in Jerez.
They have their sights on their first Rookies podiums, but it will be extremely tough. Uriarte won Race 2 last year on his way to 2nd in the Cup for the season. Danish took 3rd in Race 2 and has already said he fully intends to do better than his double 2nd in Jerez.
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 17:00 CEST on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Rookies Cup News
Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/
