Busca (Italy) – 30 June 2024 – Alberto Surra (KTM) is the new Champion of the 2024 European Cup. 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 class Andrea Benvenuti ruled the day and strengthened his leadership in the championship thanks to two confident victories.
S4 European Cup 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 European Cup Race 2 Top Ten:
SURRA Alberto (ITA, KTM) 18 laps in 20:39.440; 2. NAVARRIA Antonino Achille (ITA, Honda) +18.129; 3. GOURDON RAFAEL Alex (ESP, Husqvarna) +24.999; 4. CONTE Paolo (ITA, TM) +30.488; 5. BERTOLA Edoardo (ITA, Honda) +44.157; 6. GENTILI Giorgio (ITA, TM) +45.638; 7. FORD DUNN Loris (GBR, Husqvarna) +46.590; 8. KOVALOV Maksym (UKR, Husqvarna) +1:03.885; 9. GOURDON RAFAEL Theo (ESP, Husqvarna) +1:07.084; 10. COSTANTIN Callisto (NED, Husqvarna) +1 Lap
S4 European Cup 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 Race 3 Top Ten:
RATO Mattia (ITA, TM) 18 laps in 20:42.107; 2. GOURDON RAFAEL Alex (ESP, Husqvarna) +08.210; 3. NAVARRIA Antonino Achille (ITA, Honda) +10.038; 4. SURRA Alberto (ITA, KTM) +16.267; 5. BERTOLA Edoardo (ITA, Honda) +20.396; 6. GOURDON RAFAEL Theo (ESP, Husqvarna) +30.266; 7. CONTE Paolo (ITA, TM) +33.582; 8. KOVALOV Maksym (UKR, Husqvarna) +45.520; 9. GENTILI Giorgio (ITA, TM) +45.729; 10. FORD DUNN Loris (GBR, Husqvarna) +1:04.542
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 1 Top Ten:
BENVENUTI Andrea (ITA, KTM) 11 laps in 15:22.227; 2. CORNOLTI Daniele (ITA, GasGas) +03.497; 3. KOVALYOV Yevsevii (UKR, Husqvarna) +05.633; 4. TERRANEO Nathan (SUI, KTM) +10.716; 5. BERECZKI David Zsolt (HUN, Husqvarna) +27.417; 6. MUHERINA Lean (GER, KTM) +1:09.883; 7. MAIMONTE Mattia (BEL, TM) +1:10.022; 8. BANG Lorenz (GER, KTM) +1:24.058; 9. IRZYK Liliana (POL, KTM) +1 Lap; 10. LAPADULA Leonardo (ITA, TM) 0 laps in 00.000
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 Race 2 Top Ten:
BENVENUTI Andrea (ITA, KTM) 11 laps in 15:33.203; 2. CORNOLTI Daniele (ITA, GasGas) +02.939; 3. KOVALYOV Yevsevii (UKR, Husqvarna) +03.064; 4. BERECZKI David Zsolt (HUN, Husqvarna) +26.691; 5. BANG Lorenz (GER, KTM) +46.533; 6. MAIMONTE Mattia (BEL, TM) +54.198; 7. MUHERINA Lean (GER, KTM) +56.785; 8. IRZYK Liliana (POL, KTM) +1 Lap; 9. TERRANEO Nathan (SUI, KTM) +2 Laps; 10. LAPADULA Leonardo (ITA, TM) 0 laps in 00.000
SM Junior Classification Top Ten:
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)
Complete results available HERE.
SMJ EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP of PIEMONTE – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length:
Temperature: 30°
Weather conditions: Sun
In the photo: Podium S4
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