S4 and SM Junior European Championship:
Surra is the new S4 champion,
while Benvenuti consolidates the leadership in the Junior
The second round of the S4 European Championship and the first one of the SM Junior European Championship took place at the Busca Kart Planet, Italy.
Alberto Surra (KTM) is the new Champion of the S4: the young Italian rider almost had a perfect weekend with the pole position and two victories out of three motos, second place went to Spanish Alex Rafael Gourdon (Husqvarna) and third position to another Italian rider, Mattia Rato (TM). In the Junior Andrea Benvenuti ruled the day and strengthened his leadership in the championship thanks to two confident victories.
S4 Race 1
A few minutes before the start, race directors called out a wet race and all the riders mounted rain tyres. As the red lights blinked off Alberto Surra (KTM) did not make the best out of his pole position losing several positions. The Gourdon brothers took the lead of the race but in the first lap Mattia Rato (TM) took the lead of the operations chased by Alex Rafael Gourdon (Husqvarna). Behind them Alberto Surra started to increase his phenomenal race pace and after a few laps moved up to the front. Surra and Rato opened a gap on their chasers and battled it out till the chequered flag. Alex Rafael Gourdon crossed the finish line in third position.
S4 Race 2
At the start of the second race of the European Cup Mattia Rato (TM) took the lead closely followed by Alberto Surra (KTM). The two Italians pulled away and during the race the rider with the TM bike took an advantage over his rival being able to manage the challenge. Unfortunately the unexpected is always round the corner and with a few laps before the end Rato broke the engine awarding the victory to Alberto Surra. Behind them there was a thrilling battle among several riders, with Antonino Navarria (Team Gazza Racing) protagonist of the show as he recovered to second place. Third position went to Spanish Alex Rafael Gourdon (Husqvarna).
S4 Race 3
The starting grid of the last race is defined according to the results of Race2. Surra kept the pole position but Mattia Rato had to start from the last position. Surra made no mistakes at the start and immediately took the lead with an unbeatable rhythm for all the other riders which allowed him to go far from them. Surra was followed by Mattia Rato, who made an amazing recovery till second place, as well as Alex Rafael Gourdon and Antonino Navarria. With two laps to go there was a twist when Alberto Surra crashed giving the green light to Mattia Rato, who won in front of Gourdon and Navarria.
The outcome for the final victory was not affected by what happened, in fact Alberto Surra came home with the gold plate of the European Cup winner. The second step of the podium went to Alex Rafael Gourdon, while Mattia Rato was third thanks to the victory taken in the final moto.
S4 European Cup Classification Top Ten:
- SURRA Alberto (ITA, KTM) Pts. 68,000 (25+25+18); 2. GOURDON RAFAEL Alex (ESP, Husqvarna) Pts. 62,000 (20+20+22); 3. RATO Mattia (ITA, TM) Pts. 57,000 (22+10+25); 4. NAVARRIA Antonino Achille (ITA, Honda) Pts. 57,000 (15+22+20); 5. CONTE Paolo (ITA, TM) Pts. 48,000 (16+18+14); 6. BERTOLA Edoardo (ITA, Honda) Pts. 46,000 (14+16+16); 7. GOURDON RAFAEL Theo (ESP, Husqvarna) Pts. 45,000 (18+12+15); 8. KOVALOV Maksym (UKR, Husqvarna) Pts. 39,000 (13+13+13); 9. GENTILI Giorgio (ITA, TM) Pts. 38,000 (11+15+12); 10. FORD DUNN Loris (GBR, Husqvarna) Pts. 37,000 (12+14+11)
SM Junior Race 1
Andrea Benvenuti (KTM MTR Racing) was the star performer of the Junior first race. The young Italian rider and his KTM were impeccable, with a solid start and a rhythm which allowed him to lead the race from the first to the last lap. A thrilling battle took place behind him between Daniele Cornolti (GasGas) and Yevsevii Kovalyov (Husqvarna) who got to the finish line in the same order. Andrea Benvenuti strengthened his advantage in the standings over his main rival.
SM Junior Race 2
As the red lights blinked off Kovalyov took the lead of the operations but made a mistake in the sky section and was overtaken by Daniele Cornolti who moved to the front and tried to pull away. Andrea Benvenuti cancelled the hesitation and started to chase the race leader. It took several laps for the KTM rider before being able to overtake his rival and head to the victory. Cornolti had to resist the attacks of Kovalyov who tried to overtake him till the end.
Andrea Benvenuti came home with the second victory of the season and strengthened his position in the standings.
A mention about young rider Liliana Irzyk, winner of the 65cc class.
SM Junior Classification Top Ten:
1. BENVENUTI Andrea (ITA, KTM) Pts. 50,000 (25+25); 2. CORNOLTI Daniele (ITA, GasGas) Pts. 44,000 (22+22); 3. KOVALYOV Yevsevii (UKR, Husqvarna) Pts. 40,000 (20+20); 4. BERECZKI David Zsolt (HUN, Husqvarna) Pts. 34,000 (16+18); 5. TERRANEO Nathan (SUI, KTM) Pts. 30,000 (18+12); 6. BANG Lorenz (GER, KTM) Pts. 29,000 (13+16); 7. MAIMONTE Mattia (BEL, TM) Pts. 29,000 (14+15); 8. MUHERINA Lean (GER, KTM) Pts. 29,000 (15+14); 9. IRZYK Liliana (POL, KTM) Pts. 25,000 (12+13); 10. LAPADULA Leonardo (ITA, TM) Pts. 0,000 (0+0)
