SM Junior European Championship:
unstoppable Andrea Benvenuti wins in Poland
For the first time, the SM Junior European Championship was hosted at Slomczyn track, in Poland, just 30 minutes away from Warsaw. The racetrack of the small Polish town was renewed to host the third round of the season. The off-road section underwent a major renovation to ensure a thrilling racing weekend.
Andrea Benvenuti (KTM Mtr Racing) made no mistakes conquering a double victory but had to battle it out with strong Nathan Terraneo (KTM), who did not make things easy. Third qualified was another Italian rider, Daniele Cornolti (GasGas), who stepped on the European Championship podium for the first time.
Race 1
At the start, Andrea Benvenuti (KTM Mtr Racing) could not make the best out of his pole position because Nathan Terraneo (KTM) made an early start. In the first laps, Benvenuti did not notice the penalty awarded to Terraneo and started a thrilling fight. Despite the penalty, the Swiss rider did not let his rival overtake him and fought for 11 laps. On the other hand, Benvenuti did not accept the idea of staying behind and in the final corners overtook his rival crossing the finish line in first position.
In the first lap, Yevsevii Kovalyov (Husqvarna) was the victim of a crash and missed the fight for third place in favor of Daniele Cornolti (GasGas).
Race 2
At the start of the second moto Nathan Terraneo and Andrea Benvenuti had a contact in the first meters after the start. Terraneo stayed strong and took the lead, but Benvenuti without hesitation moved to first place in the second lap and the KTM rider kept an impressive rhythm opening a solid gap which allowed him to manage the second part of the race in the best way eventually crossing the finish line and taking a solo victory, the third one of the season. Terraneo ended up with second place and Ukrainian Kovalyov was third qualified after a flawless Race 2 but this was not enough to step on the GP podium which went to fourth qualified Daniele Cornolti, thanks to the better result achieved in the first moto.
SM Junior Classification Top Ten
1. BENVENUTI Andrea (ITA, KTM) Pts. 50,000 (25+25); 2. TERRANEO Nathan (SUI, KTM) Pts. 44,000 (22+22); 3. CORNOLTI Daniele (ITA, GasGas) Pts. 38,000 (20+18); 4. KOVALYOV Yevsevii (UKR, Husqvarna) Pts. 36,000 (16+20); 5. BERECZKI David Zsolt (HUN, Husqvarna) Pts. 34,000 (18+16); 6. MAIMONTE Mattia (BEL, TM) Pts. 30,000 (15+15); 7. IOVITA Mark Luca (ROU, Husqvarna) Pts. 27,000 (14+13); 8. NARTAUTAS Herkus (LTU, Husqvarna) Pts. 25,000 (13+12); 9. SIMULASK Kenneth (EST, Husqvarna) Pts. 23,000 (9+14); 10. SKIRTUNAS Gabrielius (LTU, GasGas) Pts. 22,000 (11+11)
