Adrian Fernandez finishes sixth in European Talent Cup Race 1, after fighting for the podium positions. Lorenzo Fellon scores points in both races, placing 11th and 9th.

The Ajo Academy riders completed the fifth round of the European Talent Cup season with two demanding races on Sunday. Adrian Fernandez once again fought for the podium in both contests, finishing sixth in Race 1 and being shown a black flag in Race 2. After achieving his first points at the previous round, Lorenzo Fellon showed consistency with further points in both races, finishing 9th and 11th.

In the first race, Fernandez made a good start and was up into third in the early stages. On Lap 4 he dropped to seventh position, but was still hot on the heels of the frontrunners. An incident between two other riders in the final stages moved him to the tenth position, but he launched an attack with three laps to go and finished sixth. Lorenzo Fellon lost positions on the first lap and would spend the race battling for points, eventually crossing the line in eleventh place.

Fellon made a good fightback in the second race of the day. The Frenchman lost places on the opening laps, dropping to 14th, but started to climb up the order to reach ninth. In the final stretch of the race he managed to reach the front group, but a red flag with two laps to go ended the race prematurely and he had to settle for ninth place. Adrian Fernandez did not have a good end to the weekend at MotorLand after being disqualified for not obeying a ride through penalty. In the race he had been in contention for the podium and had been up as high as second place.

Fernandez goes into the summer break ninth in the overall standings, with 45 points, while Lorenzo Fellon is 18th with 21. The next FIM CEV round will take place in two months’ time at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit, on September 29-30th, with two races for the European Talent Cup.

Results (Race 1)
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Honda) 29:12.975
2. Xavier Artigas (Honda) +0.014
3. David Salvador (Honda) +0.167
4. Victor Rodríguez (Honda) +0.240
5. Carlos Torrecillas (Honda) +0.257
6. Adrian Fernandez (Ajo Academy) +0.541
11. Lorenzo Fellon (Ajo Academy) +2.726

Results (Race 2)
1. David Muñoz (Honda) 25:04.698
2. Victor Rodriguez (Honda) +0.010
3. Daniel Muñoz (Honda) +0.096
4. Matteo Bertelle (Honda) +0.122
5. Xavier Artigas (Honda) +0.153
9. Lorenzo Fellon (Ajo Academy) +0.819
DNF. Adrian Fernandez (Ajo Academy)

European Talent Cup Standing 2018
1. Matteo Pattaca (Honda) 82 points
2. Xavier Artigas (Honda) 82 points
3. Victor Rodriguez (Honda) 78 points
4. Julian Giral (Honda) 67 points
5. Jose Antonio Rueda (Honda) 62 points
9. Adrian Fernandez (Ajo Academy) 45 points
18. Lorenzo Fellon (Ajo Academy) 21 points

5 – LORENZO FELLON
“I made a good start in the first race but on the first corner I was run off the track. I was in the front group, but it was very difficult to overtake because there were so many riders in there. I placed 11th, although I’m not completely satisfied with the result.
In the second race I was determined to do better. I made a bad start, but afterwards I was able to overtake several riders and, although I was five seconds behind the leading group, I kept my pace up until I joined them. Once I got into that spot, I decided to ease off the tyres, and my strategy was to attack on the last two laps. When I started to do that, the red flag came out and the race was over. In spite of everything, I managed to take a lot of points in these two races. That’s good for the Championship and I feel more confident now, so I’m happy.”

31 – ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
“I felt very comfortable with the bike in the first race, although it was a difficult race because I was in a large group where there was a lot of fighting between us. At the end we began to notice the wear on the tyres, but we handled it through to the chequered flag. It’s a good result, but I expected more.
In the second race I was back in the front group and in the podium positions. Being in a large group didn’t give me time to look at my board, so I missed being told about the ride through, and after five more laps they disqualified me. Today I learned that the pitboard and flags are very important, and I will take that into account for next time.”