8500 fans followed races full of emotion at the Autódromo do Algarve (with photos)

Under the watchful eye of 8500 fans, mostly Spanish, the FIM CEV Repsol championship started with the opening race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The many wet areas that dotted the track made driving difficult in the first sessions.

But nothing stopped Joan Mir in the Moto3 Junior World Championship, Edgar Pons and Xavi Vierge in the Moto2 European Championship, Kenny Noyes and Carmelo Morales in the Superbike European Championship and Bertrand Gold in the Kawasaki Z Cup from triumphing in this inaugural round, thus achieving the first victories of the time.

29 riders started from the grid of the Moto3 Junior World Championship. From start to finish, the duels between Nicolò Bulega (ITA-KTM) and Joan Mir (SPA-Honda) followed one another, running on each other's wheels and sharing the lead of the race, until the Italian crashed with two laps to go . Mir, runner-up in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, managed to gain ground and scored the victory.

But Nicolò Bulega (ITA-KTM) was unfazed and quickly rejoined the group that had been fighting, until that moment, for third position, formed by Bo Bendsneyder (HOL-Honda), Arón Canet (SPA-Honda) and Albert Arenas (SPA-Husqvarna).

With second place on the podium without a clear aspirant, Junior Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider Canet showed his cards, imposing himself on the rest. The 3rd place ended up going to Bulega, pupil of Valentino Rossi.

With a strong headwind, the first race of the Moto2 European Championship started, with the positions being defined in the first few laps. While Edgar Pons (SPA-Kalex), Steven Odendaal (RSA-Kalex), Xavi Vierge (SPA-Tech3) and Luca Marini (ITA-Kalex) all lapped with some ease at the front, there was a fierce battle for fourth place between Tetsuta Nagashima (JAP-Kalex) and Eric Granados (BRA-Kalex).

With five laps to go, Alan Techer (FRA-Tech3) attacked, joining the fray. In the end, the podium occupants were Edgar Pons (SPA-Kalex), with more than 8 seconds ahead of 2nd, Xavi Vierge (SPA-Tech3) and Steven Odendaal (RSA-Kalex).

The threat of rain had been present all day, but it only materialized in the second Moto2 race. After the excellent performance shown in the morning session, Edgar Pons (SPA-Kalex), Xavi Vierge (SPA-Tech3) and Steven Odendaal (RSA-Kalex) led the race until the South African crashed.

Little by little, gaps opened between the head of the group, until the pilots saw the red flag, warning of dangerous rain. As more than half of the race was completed, the competition was concluded.

The victory fell to Xavi Vierge (SPA-Tech3), who was accompanied at the final ceremony by Edgar Pons (SPA-Kalex) and Eric Granados (BRA-Kalex). Marcos Ramírez (SPA-Yamaha) stood out among the Superstock 600 drivers in both races on Sunday.

In the race of the Superbike European Championship, Kenny Noyes (USA-Kawasaki) took the lead, always having as shadow the Yamaha of Carmelo Morales (SPA). Three laps away from the checkered flag, the two clashed in a toe-to-toe duel and, in the end, it was the American who asserted himself.

Very far apart, more than 17 seconds away, Robertino Pietri (VEN-Yamaha), Iván Silva (SPA-BMW), Dani Rivas (SPA-BMW) and Axel Maurin (FRA-Kawasaki) crossed the finish line. excellent results this weekend.

Despite the rain that fell at midday, conditions were great for riding during the second of the Superbike races. With 25 more points at stake, the leader of the General and his immediate pursuer, Kenny Noyes (USA-Kawasaki) and Carmelo Morales (SPA), interpreted a script similar to the one in the morning session but with a different outcome: the Kawasaki driver Palmeto PL Racing continued to assert its dominance, closely pursued by Yamaha rider Laglisse.

True to his style and with more confidence in his bike's settings, Carmelo Morales (SPA-Yamaha) attacked with just a few laps to go, starring in a close fight with the number 1, to end up winning.

Second and third positions for Noyes and Robertino Pietri (VEN-Yamaha), respectively. Piere Texier (FRA-Michelin) has established himself as the private pilot.

He closed the journey to the Kawasaki Z Cup event, in which guest driver Bertrand Gold shone again, with a victory despite opposition from Joan Sardanyons, until a crash with a few laps to go left him out of the game. Second and third place for Víctor Lozano and F. Javier Valera.

The next FIM CEV Repsol event will take place in Le Mans (France), on the 15th and 16th of May.

Photos by: Luís Direito/Sul Informação