FIM JUNIORGP: TEAM ESTRELLA GALICIA 0'0 SWEEPS CHESTE WITH A VICTORY AND THREE PODIUMS

· The Spanish team completes an outstanding second round of the season from start to finish, achieving a victory and a podium in JuniorGP™ and another two in the European Talent Cup.

· The Spanish José Antonio Rueda is the leader of the general category of the championship and the Finn Rico Salmela is already top 3 of the ETC.

· “I want to thank all the members of the team for their passion, commitment and effort during all these months, as well as our sponsors. We are very happy for this simply spectacular result”, says Jaime Serrano, CEO of the team.

May 23, 2022:

The Estrella Galicia 0,0 Team has come away with a great haul from the second round of the 2022 FIM JuniorGP™ season after a sensational job by the entire team and a spectacular performance by its riders. The Spanish team leaves Valencia with three podiums and one victory to their credit, in addition to the leadership of the JuniorGP™ World Championship with José Antonio Rueda.

Despite the fact that the configuration of the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Cheste was not the most favorable on paper for the Team Estrella Galicia 0.0 Hondas, its six riders were seen among the top 10 since Friday's free practice. In JuniorGP ™, the Sevillian José Antonio Rueda shone with his own light by taking pole after the two qualifying sessions, while his teammates, Facundo Llambías and Ángel Piqueras, were also among the eight fastest one lap.

The first race on Sunday offered a real spectacle, with the top nine separated by just two seconds under the checkered flag. The undisputed protagonist was Piqueras, who started penultimate, managed to catch up with the leading group and forced a photo finish to determine the winner after entering the finish line just 0.030 seconds behind the first classified. Rueda came out with everything and was in the leading group at all times, but had to settle for a fourth final position. For his part, the Uruguayan Llambías kept up the type with the best and finished ninth.

On from pole position, Rueda did not give his rivals a chance in the second race of the afternoon. The man from Malaga led from start to finish after keeping his four pursuers at bay, taking the victory and also the championship lead. Piqueras closed the top 5 and Llambías, who had ridden with those in front at the beginning, crashed on lap 5 and had to retire.

In the European Talent Cup, the very young riders of Team Estrella Galicia 0.0 were in the thick of things from the start and Brian Uriarte sealed the second starting position after a great qualifying session on Saturday, in which he was the fastest in group B In the first race on Sunday, both he and the Finn Rico Salmela – who started 27th due to a penalty in Q1 and who completed a brilliant comeback – got into the group of four that played for victory in the last laps. In the end, both added a second and third place, respectively. Meanwhile, the British Amanuel Brinton achieved a creditable seventh place, after starting on the fourth row of the grid.

Already in the second round, Salmela took advantage of his third starting position to fight again for the victory from start to finish. The Finn managed to finish fourth and place third overall in the championship, while his teammate Brinton closed the top 10 and Uriarte went down on lap 10 due to a contact with a rival, after showing that he was the one with the most options. to fight for victory.

Jamie Serrano - Team CEO

“I want to thank all the members of the team for their passion, commitment and
effort during all these months, as well as our sponsors for their commitment
and loyalty. We are very happy for this simply spectacular result that
encourages us to prepare with the same intensity for the next round at home”

Kev Coghlan - Team Manager

“The truth is that it has been a very positive weekend. The drivers have always been on top since the beginning of free practice on Friday. Despite the fact that the track fit better with the technical characteristics of our rivals, we left Cheste with a great victory for José Antonio Rueda, who is already the leader of the JuniorGP™ and has three podiums. We are super happy with how our drivers are progressing in these first two rounds of the year”

“At the team level, we are very happy because after Estoril we saw a couple of areas for improvement and everyone has done their part to take that step forward. This is reflected in the results and we have a really strong structure of professionals and students. It is a group that is working wonderfully; everyone gets along very well and there is a great atmosphere inside, which is also reflected in the drivers and in the results”