The Hungarian converted pole position into a first win of the season as the victory and podium fights go down to the last lap
Polesitter Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team) claimed the first victory of the season at the famous Le Mans Circuit as the Hungarian edged out Loris Veneman (TeamNL Open Line) by just 0.166s in a fascinating first encounter of the 2022 Northern Talent Cup. Rookie Matteo Masili (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders Team) won the battle for the final podium spot despite starting from P9 following a three-place grid penalty.
As the lights went out it was Moor who managed to grab the holeshot before drama unfolded behind at Turn 3, with four riders crashing out – one of whom was Valentino Herrlich (Busch und Wagner Racing Team) who was later confirmed to have suffered a tibia fracture. The German will unfortunately miss Race 2 as a result, and after some top pace in pre-season.
A lead group of eight quickly formed as Moor and the fast-starting Noa Cuypers (Junior Black Knights) jostled for P1 on a number of occasions, before Veneman then climbed into the top three. The excellent battle for the lead continued throughout the race until Moor and Veneman were able to break away with two laps to go. Cuypers, after a couple of mistakes, had lost ground and so had the likes of Kevin Farkas (Agria Racing Team), Martin Vincze (Chrobak Motorsport Egyesület), Masili, Tibor Varga (Forty Racing) and Luca Göttlicher (JRP Junior Academy), with front row starter Dustin Schneider (Goblin Racing) forced to take a Long Lap penalty after taking a shortcut at Turn 4.
On the last lap it was Moor vs Veneman. The Dutchman led but Moor made a great move stick down into Turn 9, and following a faultless final sector, the Hungarian won for the fourth time in the NTC. Veneman equalled his best result in the class with a classy P2,however, with Masili on the rostrum for the first time with a great comeback ride from the rookie.
Farkas and Vincze completed the top five, and they both crossed the line less than a second adrift from the final podium place. Cuypers eventually took P6 and Göttlicher bridged a two-second gap to the lead group in the closing stages to claim P7 from 13th on the grid. The German finished ahead of Varga, who – after failing to take a Long Lap penalty – was handed a three-second penalty at the end of the race. Schneider’s podium hopes evaded him after his Long Lap and he finished P9, with Rocco Sessler (MCA Racing) picking up P10.
