UEM European Championship 2012 Photo Gallery

Last weekend we were able to enjoy, at the Albacete circuit, the race that decides the European motorcycle champion. For a few years now, this championship has been held as a single race, and we’re lucky that it takes place at one of our circuits. This means that our riders start with a certain advantage, although it is least noticeable in the smallest category.

The fine weather was the great protagonist, both during the free practice and qualifying sessions and in the race. Enjoying a temperature of nearly 25º in early October can only happen in our country, which makes the decision to hold it in Spain even more fitting. Here the best riders in Europe gather in their different categories, selected from their respective national championships.

The first race to be run was Superstock 1000, where we saw the return of Iván Silva to defend the number 1 he earned in 2011. Here, practice was dominated by Adrián Bonastre, winner of the last two CEV races at this same circuit. But without a doubt, the one everyone feared was Carmelo Morales, Spanish Stock Extreme champion 2012, while Xavi Forés was the unknown quantity.

Bonastre’s blazing start didn’t last long. His Suzuki gradually lost pressure, just enough for Forés and Morales to overtake him. For several laps it seemed it would be just the two of them, but behind them, Silva was gradually closing in, almost silently. Carmelo took advantage of some lapped riders to gain some advantage, and left them to Xavi and Iván. Both managed to pass them with difficulty, but they could no longer close the gap that Morales had opened. After Carmelo, Silva finally came through, overtaking Forés, who was again hampered by riders who had lost a lap.

Right after, we watched the Supersport 600 race. Jordi Torres was defending last year’s title, aboard an R6 with several years (and titles) behind it. The Catalan took pole with nearly a second’s advantage over his rivals, proving he can go fast on any type of bike, having competed in World Championship races with Suter and Tech 3 Moto2, the CEV with Suter and now this European with a Yamaha.

Torres gave no one a chance, and from the start he found his rhythm and broke away. Behind, a lively group formed with Oscar Climent, Jaroslav Cerny, Stefan Kerschbaumer and Ángel Poyatos. The race ended with Jordi’s victory, followed by Climent and Cerny. These two riders, after climbing the podium, received the news of their disqualification, as their bikes failed the post-race technical inspections. This meant that Kerschbaumer finished second and Poyatos third, also becoming the European junior champion.

The last to take to the track were the boys of 125GP/Moto3. In qualifying we saw Albert Arenas looking very confident, setting the best time and beating his CEV “rivals” Fraser Rogers and Juanfran Guevara. Behind them, Marcos Ramírez, who was racing in this event with the Monlau team, Jorge Navarro, and the first “non-CEV” rider, the Italian Matteo Ferrari.

The race was run as a group. Arenas, Ramírez, Guevara and Rogers swapped the lead until lap 5, when Marcos crashed while leading the race, forcing Rogers to run wide to avoid contact with him, and unintentionally causing Albert’s fall, as he could not avoid Marcos’s bike. All this left Ferrari, Guevara and Calia in the front positions, and although they fought hard for the rest of the race, that is how they finished. Worth highlighting is María Herrera’s race, who finished 4th, just missing the podium.

Photos | David Gómez (Plusmoto)