The ESBK treats fans to a spectacular racing weekend at the Circuit

The Spanish Superbike Championship (ESBK) provided a spectacular weekend of action and racing, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the main stage. Under the scorching summer sun, fans were treated to two thrilling days of action on the track, with qualifying sessions and two races in the Superbike and Superstock1000, Supersport Next Generation and Superstock600, ESBK Talent, SS300, Moto4 and Yamaha R7 Cup categories taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

SBK: Double victory and leadership for Borja Gómez

Borja Gómez (Team Honda Laglisse) had a spectacular weekend at the Circuit. The Spanish pole sitter, who was coming off a win in the second race at Jerez, also took both victories this weekend at the Catalan track. Sunday’s race saw an interesting early battle for the podium places between Gómez, Ivo Lopes (BMW Easyrace Team), Steven Odendaal (New2 Project) and Román Ramos (Kawasaki Palmeto JDO Racing Team). As the laps went by, Ramos and then Odendaal began to lose ground on the leaders. Ivo Lopes held the top spot for most of the race, but with two laps to go, he was overtaken by Spaniard Borja Gómez, who went on to claim victory. South African Steven Odendaal joined them on the podium.

On Saturday, Gómez led from start to finish in a race in which Steven Odendaal, Ivo Lopes and Román Ramos were in hot pursuit from the outset. However, problems soon arose for Lopes, who was penalised with a double long lap and then a ride through for jumping the start and failing to comply with the first penalty imposed. With the Portuguese rider out of contention for the podium, Gómez and Odendaal broke away in the battle for victory, leaving Ramos in third place and more than nineteen seconds behind. The Murcian rider finally took the win, crossing the finish line just over a tenth of a second ahead of the South African rider.

In the Superstock1000 subcategory, both victories went to Francisco Javier Palomera (Team Honda Laglisse), the new overall leader. In Sunday’s race, Palomera was joined on the podium by Juan Rodríguez (PS Racing Team) and Mauro González (Deza – Box 77 Racing Team). On Saturday, second place went to González, while the third step of the podium was taken by Paco Morales (British Carrera Team), who arrived at the Catalan circuit as the leader.

Supersport NG: Daniel Muñoz, new leader in the category

It has been a perfect weekend for Daniel Muñoz (Easyrace Team). The Andalusian pole sitter took full advantage of the absence of Eric Fernández (Speed Racing) this weekend, who joined the Moto2 World Championship, and ended up snatching the lead from him. After two second places in Jerez, Muñoz secured his first two wins of the season at the Catalan circuit.  Two convincing victories for the Easy Race Team rider, who crossed the finish line more than eleven seconds ahead of the runner-up in Sunday’s race and almost nine seconds ahead in Saturday’s race.

With Dani Muñoz’s early breakaway in Sunday’s race, the battle for the remaining two podium places was between Kadir Ervay (I+Dent Racing Team), Sergio Garcia (Compos Racing Team), Oliver Konig (New2 Projecte) and Marco Tapia, Eric Fernández’s replacement in the Speed Racing team. After a hard-fought battle in the final laps, second place finally went to Tapia, while Konig took the third step on the podium. Garcia and Ervay had to settle for fourth and fifth place, respectively. In Saturday’s race, second place went to Spain’s Marcos Ludeña (Compos Racing Team), while third place finally went to Sergio Garcia, after a very close finish in which Garcia finished practically side by side with Oliver Konig and Marco Tapia.

The low point of the weekend was the withdrawal of Pedro Alomar (I+DENT), who fractured one of his ankles during Saturday’s timed practice and was unable to take part in any of the scheduled races.

In the Superstock600 subcategory, Sunday’s victory went to Spain’s Jacobo Hinojosa (ADN Motos Racing), followed by his fellow countryman José Manuel Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team, the new overall leader) and Taiyo Aksu (ARCO Yamaha Motor University Team). In the first race held at the Circuit, it was these same riders who took the podium, although in a different order. Osuna took Saturday’s victory, ahead of Hinojosa and Aksu.

ESBK Talent: Irfan and Arnold dominate the weekend at the Catalan circuit

The talented youngster Qabil Irfan (Frando Racing VHC Team Liqui Moly) consolidates his lead in the overall standings after finishing second and claiming another victory, his third of the season. It was another victory for the Malaysian rider in the newly launched ESBK Talent category, which was extremely close on Sunday, with Irfan crossing the finish line just six thousandths of a second ahead of Nikola Miroslavov (Ring Racing 16) and fourteen ahead of Alessio Arnold (Fullmoto Scuadra Corse). The Spaniards Izan Rodríguez (ETG Racing), Enzo Zaragoza (Aspar KSB Technical Academy) and David Peris (Alma Racing Team), who were also in the leading group of six riders fighting for the podium positions, finally finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

In Saturday’s race at the Circuit, Alessio Arnold opened his victory account in a very open race, in which up to five riders were fighting for the win until the last lap. The victory finally went to the Swiss rider, who was joined on the podium by leader Qabil Irfan and Nikola Miroslavov, who scored his first points of the season. Pole sitter Enzo Zaragoza was less fortunate, crashing on the last lap while fighting for the lead.

Riccardo Michielin (Aspar KSB Technical Academy), who was fourth in the overall standings, suffered a crash in qualifying that resulted in a broken tibia, meaning he was unable to compete in any of the races scheduled for the weekend.

SS300: Juan F. Risueño, just two points behind the leader

The SS300 category is currently red hot. Pons Motorsport Italika Racing rider Daniel Ocete holds on to the overall lead after a very close weekend at the world championship circuit, where Juan F. Risueño (Yamaha MS Racing) took both victories. Risueño’s two wins, added to the one he already achieved in the second race at Jerez, put him in second place overall, just two points behind Ocete.

Juan F. Risueño, Daniel Ocete, Miguel Bernal (I+Dent Junior Racing Team), Iván Muñoz (TCM Team) and Tomás Marín (Deza – Box 77 Racing Team) were the five main protagonists of Sunday’s race. It was a relentless battle for the podium positions in which, with five laps to go, Marín was relegated, leaving a group of four riders. After a spectacular final lap, with a continuous shuffle of positions, Sunday’s victory went to Risueño, followed by Bernal and Ocete.

In Saturday’s race, leader and pole sitter Daniel Ocete soon formed a small group of three alongside Javier F. Risueño and Miguel Bernal, the three riders who fought for victory. A win that was not decided until just before the chequered flag and ended up mirroring Sunday’s result, with Risueño first, followed by Bernal and Ocete in second and third place respectively.

Moto4: Marcos Vinagre, also unbeatable on the Circuit

Marcos Vinagre (IgaxTeam Snipers) arrived as the overall leader in the Moto4 category after achieving two victories in the opening round of the competition in Jerez. The Spanish rider repeated this feat this weekend at the Circuit, where he took pole position and both victories, further consolidating his position at the top of the table.

The two races in the championship’s junior category were practically identical, with continuous overtaking and position changes among a leading group that, in both races, was always made up of six riders fighting for the podium positions until they crossed the finish line. In both Sunday’s and Saturday’s races, the IgaxTeam scored a double victory, with Marcos Vinagre taking both wins and his teammate, Italian Tomás Turetta, finishing second on both occasions. On Sunday, third place on the podium went to French rider François Florian (Mecaprojects Team ADO), while on Saturday, third place went to Chinese rider Shengbo Sun (ETG Racing).

Yamaha R7 Cup: David Real leaves his rivals standing

David Real (RISSI) has done it again. The Spanish rider has scored another double victory in the Yamaha R7 Cup, his fourth in a row so far this season. In Sunday’s race, the Spanish rider crossed the finish line more than nine seconds ahead of his pursuers. Paola Ramos (Yamaha Motor 23) and Marco Diaz (Slow Team) joined him on the podium. On Saturday, David Real once again shared the podium with Paola Ramos, who finished second. World championship rider Sara Sánchez (YVS Sabadell) took the third step on the podium.