RED BULL MOTOGP ROOKIES CUP: KRISTIAN DANIEL JR BRINGS THE USA A TOP 10 FINISH

Kristian Daniel Jr has a strong Rookies Cup season opener in Jerez

Circuito de Jerez – The 18th season of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup championship kicked off at the Circuito de Jerez, and 15-year-old American Kristian Daniel Jr (KDJR) made a strong statement in his first race weekend by securing a top-10 finish.

In a championship that has promoted MotoGP riders like Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder, and Joan Mir, the competition level is extremely high in the Rookies Cup. The seven-race series is held alongside different MotoGP races throughout Europe and sees 26 riders from over 15 different countries compete on spec KTM 250cc race machines. With the playing field being even, the rider makes the difference and Kristian Daniel Jr showed some great potential in his first race in the series.

Friday, two 25-minute practice sessions were held and KDJR was already showing signs of good pace, finishing the sessions 11th and eighth, respectively. Friday afternoon, a 20-minute qualifying practice was held, which gave the riders about 12 laps to get their fastest laps in and secure their places on the grid. The young American was able to qualify eighth on the grid, which meant he’d start the two Rookies Cup races from the middle of the third row.

Race One kicked off Saturday afternoon on a drying Jerez race track, making the race one of attrition. KDJR got off the line well, making his way up to sixth place by lap two. While trying to defend into the last corner, the young Californian was nudged off line onto a damp patch, which resulted in a big highside crash. Fortunately, he walked away with nothing more than a sore thumb and shoulder.

KDJR was determined to accomplish the goal he had set out at the beginning of the weekend, which was to finish in the top 10! By the fourth corner of lap one, the American teenager was already up into fifth position and showing enough pace to challenge for the podium. The race started at 8:45 AM, and it was quite a bit colder than the day before. With a slightly anxious throttle hand, KDJR overused the tired by lap seven of 14 and ended up dropping back to tninh position. After a good battle between him and another over the last few laps, Daniel crossed the finish line in 10th position, making it a great debut in his first season as a Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup rider!

The next round will be held the weekend of May 11th and 12th in Le Mans with MotoGP!