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| 15.08.2009 |
| Marino wins penultimate Red Bull Rookies race |
| French rider Florian Marino made a last second swoop to victory in the penultimate round of the 2009 Red Bull Rookies Cup in a thrilling race where just two seconds separated the top 10 riders. |
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Marino finally took the prize after a tightly fought battle where the lead changed back and forth in the race for the checkered flag proving that this competition is clearly the showcase of tomorrow’s track stars. Britain’s Danny Kent who held the lead numerous times in the final laps had to settle for second while Italian Alejandro Pardo was third for his best finish of the season.
Florian Marino: "With about three laps to go I was sixth and I thought about where I could pass people and where they could pass me. So I was happy not to be leading and planned to pass everyone on the downhill half of the track. I did it; but braking into that last right hander at the bottom I was so late on the brakes, I thought, 'I'm going to crash, 'I'm going to crash.' but I didn't, I was in front, then on the gas and back up the hill to the finish."
Second placed Kent admitted he enjoyed the closely fought battle and thought in the final stages he may have been able to slip past Florian.
Danny Kent: "I was closing on him and if the line had been a bit further down the track I could have won it. Never mind, I'll try again tomorrow. It was a great race though. Early on I had a look back and saw that we were about 10 guys. I thought then that if we had a big crash and the race got red flagged I needed to be in the front so any time someone passed me I just passed them straight back."
First podium for Pardo
It was a great effort by the Italian Pardo, who was rewarded with his first podium. He admitted that he had a bad start but was able to take advantage of the fact that the leading group was just in front of him. “I just said to myself: 'you can do it'. I just tried the maximum and caught them. I never thought that I would be able to get on the podium but when I caught the group I just passed everyone where I could and made it, incredible," he said after the race.
Fagerhaug has slim lead in championships
Championship leader 17-year-old Norwegian Sturla Fagerhaug survived the battle of attrition to finish in fifth place to move a slim three points ahead of Czech rider Jakub Kornfiel with just one race to go on what is Kornfiel’s home circuit. The two riders started on equal points but Kornfiel finished in eighth on the challenging, wide sweeping circuit that leaves room to maneuver and also room to make mistakes.
Tough going for leader in dash to finish
Fagerhaug, who started third on the grid found himself back at around eighth after clearing the first corner of the 13-lap race and was faced with the task of fighting his way up through the order before he eventually started challenging for the lead about half way through the race. He did admit that it was tough going the entire 13 laps. "From the start I just concentrated on getting into a good rhythm and I was happy with the way that went,” the Norwegian said. “I was leading for a lot of the race but slipstreaming is so important here and the other guys just seemed to be able to come past on the straight and it wasn't possible to break away."
Kornfiel was not so lucky and remained stuck in the rear of the tight group of 10, none of which were about to sacrifice any advantage. His eighth place, three behind his closes rival for the Cup, puts him on the back foot for the final attack on Sunday.
With four riders still in the running for the title, Sunday’s race promises to deliver some of the best action of the season.
Results penultimate round – final round Sunday
1. Florian Marino, France, KTM, 29:21.034
2. Danny Kent, Britain, KTM, 29:21.068
3. Alejandro Pardo, Italy, LTM, 29:21.338
4. Jacob Gagne, USA, KTM, 29:21.527
5. Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, KTM, 29:21.986
Championship Standings (After seven of eight races)
1. Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, KTM, 110 points
2. Jakub Kornfiel, Czech Republic, KTM, 107
3. Daijiro Hiura, Japan, KTM, 91
4. Danny Kent, Britain, KTM, 88
5. Florian Marino, France, KTM, 85
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| Marino, Kent and Pardo enjoy the winning moment with Rookies Mentor Kevin schwanz
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| Marino takes the lead in hard fought battle
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| Danny Kent in pre race consultations
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| Sturla Fagerhaug with slim championship lead going into final race |
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