The fourth round of the 2016 WIL Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, takes place this weekend at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’, during the Riviera di Rimini event of the 2016 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship. As part of a global programme in assisting athletes of all sports to excel, the EJC Title Sponsor – WIL Sport Management, is supporting the research of Dr Emanuele D’Artibale, a performance specialist in the field of motorcycle road racing.
Dr D’Artibale, of the Auckland University of Technology, will work with volunteers from the young riders in the European Junior Cup and also alongside the WILSport Racedays European Supersport team to monitor and evaluate their performance; he will also provide targeted suggestions for all the riders to improve their psychological skills and physical performance in motorcycle racing.
At the mid-way of the 2016 season, the WIL Sport European Junior Cup standings are very close. After hat-trick of pole-position, fastest lap and race win put together a fortnight ago at Donington Park, Mika Perez (Granshagen Racing Team) now leads the championship standings by 11 points from Dorian Laville (Team Laville Mi&Do) and is 15 points ahead of third placed Hannes Soomer (Auto24Ring). However, Misano is a specialist circuit and there are several young Italian riders who will be looking for glory at their home round, including last year’s Misano race winner Giuseppe De Gruttola (SK-Racing Team), second placed Alfonso Coppola and the ever-fast Paolo Grassia, both racing for the Chiodo Moto Racing team. Also added to the mix are three wild card riders; Stefano Ferrante (Brothers Racing), Alessandro Zetti (Fullgas Rider Park) and the youngest rider in the event, the 14-year-old Edoardo Ageloni (Fullgas Rider Park).
In the FIM Europe Women’s European Cup, 2015 Champion Avalon Biddle (Avalon Biddle Racing) has built up a significant lead and will be looking once more to challenge for a top 10 EJC overall finish, while 2015 runner up Anastassia Kovalenko (AK Racing) rejoins the series and will be going all out for a top three finish in the Women’s Cup.
All expectations are for another fantastic race of close fought action in the WIL Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda. The fourth-round, 11-lap EJC race will be live on EuropeanJuniorCup.com on Sunday from 15:15 local time (GMT+2).
Gerry Bryce Series Director
Donington was one of the most exciting EJC races we have experienced so far. There are now four-five riders who are capable of a win and several more who are closing the gap every race. Mika has been consistently fast in the opening races to lead the Championship, but I think the Italian riders will receive a big boost from the home fans. Whatever the outcome it's sure to be another close fought EJC battle!
