Lorenzo Savadori wins first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Jerez

Race winner Lorenzo Savatori with Luis Salom, Second and Johann Zarco, third. © GEPA pictures GmbH. Action at the circuit of Jerez de la Frontera was finished off beautifully on Sunday afternoon after a day's action in MotoGP, as Italian Lorenzo Savadori became the first winner in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. The Jerez podium was completed by Spaniard Luis Jaime Salom and French Johann Zarco.

 

The start went smoothly and without incidents, after the first lap the classification saw pole holder Luis Jaime Salom leading the race from Savadori and Britton Jamie Mossey. A lead group of six made a break - with only eight tenths of a second separating them.

 

On the third lap, the only female rider in the cup retired when Germany's Lucy Gloeckner crashed, but was thankfully uninjured. After four laps American Cameron Beaubier took the lead, moving up from P13 to P1 from the start. Close behind lay Salom, Hoyle, Zarco and Savadori - separated by just one second. The race started without incidents. © GEPA pictures GmbH.

The lead group proved the well-balanced quality of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. No rider was able to make a decisive break - with the young riders using the slipstream of their competitors very skillfully.

 

Lorenzo Savatori leading the first race of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2007. © GEPA pictures GmbH. On lap 11 contact was made between Beaubier and Salom, with the American running across the grass and into the gravel before returning to the track. Beaubier lost 50 seconds and dropped back to P16, a real shame after the great run the "man of the race" had!

Zarco, Salom, Savadori, Mossey, Carrillo and Gull were all in with a shout of victory as the end approached, but on the penultimate lap, Britain's Jamie Mossey had to retire after an off-road excursion - luckily escaping injury as well.

 

On the final lap, Italian Lorenzo Savadori surprised the two leaders with a daring manoeuvre in the final corner, and as Zarco and Salom fought for the win, Savadori sneaked through to take the flag first, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.

 

Race winner Lorenzo Savatori. © GEPA pictures GmbH. The overjoyed winner Lorenzo Savadori: "I'm celebrating my 14th birthday in ten days time, and this has been my nicest present. It's really something special to win the first race of a new cup, especially in a country like Spain that's crazy about motorsports. I was a bit lucky with my charge late in the race - but so what? A terrific race and a worthy start to this great cup!"

 

After a dramatic and high-grade race, the first podium of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2007 in Jerez looked like this:

1.- Lorenzo Savadori (ITA)

2.- Luis Salom (ESP)

3.- Johann Zarco (FRA)

4.- Robert Gull (SWE)

Pole setter Luis Salom finished second. © GEPA pictures GmbH.

The best Brit: Deane Brown (8th)
The best Scandinavian: Robert Gull (SWE, 4th)
The best German: Markus Reiterberger (7th)
The best American: JD Beach (14th)

(Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2007)

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