This morning at Estoril, Álvaro Carpe clinched the FIM JuniorGP title. Despite retiring from the first race of the round, won by Guido Pini, the result was enough to crown him champion.
Carpe (STV Laglisse Racing/Husqvarna) had a good start, capitalizing on his pole position to stay in the lead. However, Brian Uriarte (Seventy Two Artbox Racing Team/KTM) overtook him at the beginning of the second lap. At this stage, the leading group remained compact, with no clear standout riders. On the third lap, Máximo Quiles (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0/Honda) crashed out, leaving Carpe with one less contender in the title race.
Pini (Seventy Two Artbox Racing Team/KTM) and Marcos Uriarte (CFMOTO Aspar Junior Team) were among the podium challengers. With 12 laps to go, Carpe was the virtual champion, holding a 42-point lead over Pini and Adrián Cruces (Finetwork Team/KTM) if the race ended then. However, it was far from over. Carpe remained in the leading pack, which saw frequent changes in leadership and included multiple riders over several laps.
With nine laps remaining, Carpe’s title challenge was boosted further as Cruces collided with Pini’s rear wheel and crashed after having briefly led earlier. In the latter half of the race, a few riders began pulling ahead, but the top nine remained separated by about one second.
The race took another dramatic turn with six laps to go, as Carpe and Casey O’Gorman (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0/Honda) collided, forcing both to retire. At this point, Jesús Rios (MRE Talent/KTM) was running second and could have extended the title fight to the final race if the results kept like that.
The final laps were fiercely contested, with several riders still vying for victory. The outcome was decided only on the last lap, with an incredibly tight finish: the top four riders crossed the line within fractions of a second.
In the final lap, Pini surged to the lead and managed to fend off his rivals, winning by 0.048s over Cormac Buchanan (AGR Team/KTM). Marcos Uriarte completed the podium, just 0.066s behind, followed by Brian Uriarte, who was 0.093s off the leader. Jakob Rosenthaler (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team) took fifth, while Rios ended up seventh.
Despite retiring, Carpe secured the FIM JuniorGP championship title. He holds a 26-point lead over Pini, with the final race of the day offering only 25 points to the winner.
