Dutch 16-year-old Bo Bendsneyder reeled off 14 perfect laps to win the first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race of the Silverstone weekend. Five competitors were determined to chase him all the way but though arch rival Fabio Di Giannantonio was second ahead of Ayumu Sasaki, the 16-year-old Italian and the 14-year-old Japanese were well astern at the finish. Bendsneyder seized the lead early from pole but the others had his slipstream and hounded him hard. Firstly it was the two Spaniards who he had shared the front row with, 15-year-old Marc Garcia and 14-year-old Raúl Fernández who were on his tail ahead of the Japanese, 15-year-old Kaito Toba and Sasaki. It was Di Giannantonio who had to work hardest as he came from ninth on the grid but he became part of the breakaway group at the front. Bendsneyder was relentless. He kept opening a few bike length on the others but they would peg him back. He did it time and time again. Finally when Di Giannantonio was second he missed a gear. That broke the tow and out of slipstream range Bendsneyder continued to reel off the perfect laps that the others could no longer match. “It was frustrating at first,” admitted the Cup leader. “I just pushing and pushing and then I really gave it everything for two laps and finally got away. That was a great feeling, to finally see an advantage on the pit board. By the end the rear was sliding around quite a lot but otherwise the bike was great. I just have to try and do the same tomorrow. Rain is forecast, we’ll see.” The battle behind Bendsneyder went on unabated and unfortunately it boiled over a couple of corners before the finish when the five all tried for the same piece of road. Toba and Garcia came off worse, cartwheeling into the gravel trap without injury. Fernández had been forced wide leaving Di Giannantonio to snatch second from Sasaki on the line. “It was a great race,” enthused the Italian. “We changed the bike completely after qualifying and the bike was much better for the race. I had to work very hard to get to the front and I was determined to race Bo but I made one mistake, missed a gear and he was away. For Race 2 I have to try and go with him from the start.” Sasaki was pleased enough to be on the podium. “It was a hard race, I worked very hard and was waiting for the last lap. It then got very hard but I almost had second. I can do better tomorrow. Compatriot Toba shrugged his shoulders, just a cut on his elbow to show for a nasty looking fall. “That’s racing,” he said. Garcia similarly accepted that it wasn’t anyone’s fault and is looking forward to a very different result in Race 2.
Race 2:
Ayumu Sasaki and Enzo Boulom were in a class of their own as they outshone championship leader Bo Bendsneyder in the wet. The 14-year-old Japanese rider tailed the 18-year-old Frenchman all the way and then upped the pace with a lap to go and won by 3 seconds. Bendsneyder, the 16-year-old Dutchman rode alone in third after being forced to run wide when early leader Marc Garcia slid off in front of him. Sasaki was third in Race 1 and again set off well from fourth on the grid along with Boulom to chase front row men Bendsneyder and Garcia. There was no Raúl Fernández as the third placed qualifier had slid off on one of the three sighting laps granted because there was no wet practice, indeed it was the first wet Rookies Cup running this year. Garcia jumped into the lead but the 15-year-old Spaniard slid off on the first lap and took Bendsneyder wide. Boulom took up the lead with Sasaki on his tail. The pair pulled steadily away while Bendsneyder worked his way back into a distant third. Sasaki had no interest in leading. “It wasn’t easy, at first I didn’t have a good pace and rhythm, I really had to follow Enzo. He was doing a good job and pulled us away. I could build my confidence and then in the end I knew I could go quicker.” “It is great to win my first Rookies Cup Race and I will try to do it again in Misano,” concluded the first year Rookie who has been quick all season and clearly has no trouble learning circuits. Boulom had done a great job but could not match Sasaki’s end of race pace. “It was a tough race, I really enjoyed it and I pushed as hard as I could. In the end I could not go quicker when Ayumu came past, he was riding well and just had the extra pace. Still I’m happy to be on the podium and want to do the same in Misano.” “We have been working hard to sort the bike out and I think we now have some good settings and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. I was happy to qualify fifth here, it was a shame I made such a terrible start in Race 1 because the lead group had gone.” For the second race in a row Bendsneyder pointed to his helmeted head after crossing the line, another thinking man’s ride. “Yes, I knew that Fabio was well back because I saw it on the big TV screen. I was going to pick up good points on him so there was no sense in taking any chances.” “It was close when Garcia fell in front of me on lap one, I almost clipped him and had to go wide. Still it was no problem in the end and I’m happy with the great weekend,” concluded Saturday’s winner having finished on the podium at all but one of this year’s races. He now has a 52 point lead over Fabio Di Giannantonio who was 11th. There are three races with 75 points on off for the rest of the season. The next Rookies Cup race is in Misano in two weeks time, Saturday September 12th.
