FIM MiniGP World Final: Spain and Japan claim 2024 honours
Alvaro Lucas and Waku Kunitate are crowned the 190cc and 160cc Champions at MotorLand Aragon
(Scroll down for final results)
After a magnificent day of action on Friday at MotorLand Aragon, two new names have etched themselves into the FIM MiniGP World Series Champions history book as last year’s winner Alvaro Lucas became a double Champion in the 190cc class for Spain, while Japan’s Waku Kunitate took glory in the 160cc series.
190cc
In the opening 190cc race that was contested in damp morning conditions, Lucas finished just off the podium in P4 as Italy’s Lorenzo Fino picked up the 25 points ahead of Germany’s Robin Siegert and Australia’s Bodie Paige. Fino then fantastically backed his Race 1 victory up with a Race 2 25-point haul, as Siegert collected another valuable 20 points. This time, Lucas grabbed a podium in P3 to set up an intriguing Super Final Race where double points were on offer.
And in the final race of the day, Lucas showed why he’s the reigning Champion. Victory in the dry weather Super Final gave the Spanish star a title-winning 50 points, with Fino picking up 20 points after finishing in P6. A fourth place meant Siegart claimed 26 points as 13 points split the top three at the end of play. Lucas was crowned 190cc MiniGP World Series Champion for the second year in a row, with Fino and Siegart P2 and P3 respectively.
In the Super Final Race, the UK’s Ethan Sparks finished second to end the Championship in P4, with 2023 160cc Champion, Malaysia’s Qabil Irfan, ending the week fifth overall after his third place finish in the Super Final.
160cc
In the first 160cc race of the day, Kunitate got his Thursday in Aragon off to a perfect start on a damp MotorLand Aragon kart track. Italy’s Maicol Colazzo bagged P2 ahead of Kunitate’s teammate Hayato Chishiki, as Japan claimed a double top three to start the day.
And it got better for Japan in Race 2 as Kunitate backed his Race 1 victory up with another win in Race 2, with Italy collecting another P2 thanks to Daniel Putorti’s effort. Malaysia’s Airel Marzuki completed the podium in third ahead of the 160cc Super Final Race that would be contested in the tricky, damp conditions.
Having finished second in Race 2, Putorti went one better in the Super Final to gather the 50 points on offer. Second place went the way of the Latin America Series’ Diego Gonzalez as the Venezuelan made MiniGP history in the Series’ first visit to the World Series Final. However, the Championship accolade went the way of Kunitate after the Japanese rider’s P4 in the double points finale was enough to hand him and Japan the 160cc 2024 title by just six points over Putorti. Gonzalez’s Super Final P2 was enough to secure third in the standings.
And with that, another FIM MiniGP World Series Final draws to a close. Congratulations to our 2024 Champions and everyone who made the Aragon event a memorable one – bring on 2025!
About the FIM MiniGP World Series
The FIM MiniGP World Series began in 2021 and is designed as the first step on the Road to MotoGP™. There are three types of competition in the FIM MiniGP World Series: FIM MiniGP National Cup, organised by or through one FMN (national federation); FIM MiniGP Regional Cup, organised by or through various FMNs; FIM MiniGP Continental Cup, organised by or through a CONU (continental union).
There are two classes Series can run: the 160cc class and the 190cc class. The latter debuted in 2023 for Series that have already run a 160cc competition. Riders are aged between 10 and 14 for the 160cc class and between 12 and 16 for the 190cc class. Each Series but must have a minimum of five events comprising 10 races and the top riders in each Series will then be invited to the World Final.
The FIM MiniGP World Final sees the top riders from each Series compete over two days in Valencia ahead of the MotoGP™ season finale. As part of the Road to MotoGP™, there are opportunities up for grabs for riders to move up and further their careers.
About the Road to MotoGP™
For more than two decades, Dorna Sports has invested in opening the doors to motorcycle racing, creating the Road to MotoGP™. Comprising initiatives all over the world providing millions of young riders the opportunity to excel, the Road to MotoGP™ is unrivalled in motorsport – opening doors, increasing access and racing towards global equality.
The FIM MiniGP World Series is the first step on the Road to MotoGP™, in collaboration with the FIM and motorcycle federations and unions around the world. It’s the first global initiative in motorsport aimed at creating grassroots equality.
More, from Team Canada:
From a press release issued by Toni Sharpless:
Canadians Stockill, Scott narrowly miss cut at FIM MiniGP World Series Final in Spain
The second ever trip to the FIM MiniGP World Series Final proved to be a significant step forward for Team Canada last week, as riders Lincoln Scott and Jäger Stockill showed well despite marginally missing out on the finale at MotorLand Aragon in Spain.
MiniGP Canada Series champion Scott and title runner-up Stockill were part of a 41-rider group representing 21 countries in the main 160cc Ohvale class, a loaded field that included the top talents in the their age group from around the globe.
Despite the stiff competition, both riders and the rest of the Team Canada crew got up to speed quickly in Aragon amidst damp and cool conditions, with Stockill going an impressive fifth-fastest in Group A while Scott went ninth-fastest in Group B to kick off the event in FP1.
Track conditions improved dramatically for FP2 and brought mixed results for the Canadian duo, as Stockill found huge improvement in his own lap time but was relegated to 14th in Group A, while Scott also found a good chunk of time but was shunted to 12th in Group B. That trend would continue into FP3, as both riders found themselves in the exact same positions as before but with improving lap times.
One final tune-up in FP4 seemed to work in Stockill’s favour, as the trickier conditions on Wednesday morning saw him jump to sixth in Group A while Scott also made a marginal improvement to eighth in Group B.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to vault either rider into an automatic Q2 birth on combined times, forcing them into Q1 where the top four finishers would then advance.
Intensifying rain and cool temperatures helped close the gap even further in Q1, though Stockill’s effort was hampered by an early crash which forced him to remount three laps later.
Ultimately the pair would just marginally miss out on a spot in Q2, with Scott winding up fifth and only 0.166-second off the crucial top-four, while Stockill rebounded to salvage ninth in the session.
That meant the Canadian pair would be left to their last hope in the qualifying races, where three more riders would have an opportunity to earn a grid spot for Thursday’s triple-header finale.
Race one of two saw Scott make a sensational push to the front, quickly carving his way from 12th on the grid to as high as fourth, running firmly in the lead group and eyeing a spot on the feature grid.
Instead, the tightening lead group got too close for comfort in the heavy rain and Scott was hit by a chasing rider behind, knocking him off track and putting his hopes on hold once again until the second and final qualifying race.
As for Stockill, the wet-weather expert unfortunately never got a chance to embrace the conditions, as an early mechanical issue left him stranded in the first qualifying race.
Qualifying race two saw the former Canada Series rivals back together on-track again, as Stockill carved his way through the field and into the top-eight in the early stages while Scott ran in the same group after a mediocre start.
The teammates would begin to find their rhythm in the second half, with Scott again climbing his way into the top-five and matching the pace of the leaders as he tried to earn the final spot for Thursday’s action.
This time it was his own mistake that would undo the progress, however, as the Alberta native crashed in Turn 11 and could not remount. Stockill would have to take brief avoiding action, disrupting his chase for the podium.
In the end, Stockill would climb to an impressive fifth in the final order, putting him 27th in the final overall classification behind the 23 who advanced to the final, the strongest finish for a Canadian at the event.
Scott’s DNF left him classified 38th in the field, though that hardly tells the story as the Canadian champion flashed enough pace to challenge for a historic spot in the finale prior to the incident.
The impressive showing represents a major step forward for Team Canada as they found themselves in the mix for a final qualification all week, thanks in large part to the efforts of both Stockill and Scott as they battled the tricky conditions at an unfamiliar venue.
The team was also aided by manager Toni Sharpless’ rider coach and mentor Tomas Casas; Canadian racing guru Colin Fraser; helper Stacey Iwata; and parents Jason Stockill and Ben Scott, amongst many others who helped make the appearance possible.
The feature FIM MiniGP triple-header got underway Thursday in Aragon, with two regular races and a double-points Super Final crowning the 2024 World Champion ahead of this weekend’s MotoGP title-decider at Catalunya.
More information can be found on the FIM MiniGP World Series website.
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