Texan Mikey Lou Sanchez gets the double at Cartagena
The last round of the Finetwork Mir Racing Cup Promo3 Category was held December 7-8 in Cartagena, Spain, where 13-year-old Mikey Lou Sanchez was able to get the double wins and finish second in the Championship.
The series held the last races on Thursday and Friday during the week. On Wednesday evening we changed the motor to be ready for qualifying on Thursday. There were two 40-minute qualifying sessions. Mikey was able to qualify P3 in the morning session with hopes for better results in the second session, but the weather was cooler and track temps were not better, so we were content with P3.
With rain overnight Thursday into Friday morning it made for tricky conditions for the first race. We were scrambling trying to decide if we should put on rain tires or slicks because the track was wet but drying and the rain was gone! With two minutes to go we decided to go out on slick tires. We made the right decision.
Race One – Mikey had a great start but decided to tuck in behind the leaders and follow for a few laps. Once they got going, he then started to battle with the leaders and was able to win the race!
Race Two – It was sunny, the track was dry, and it made for an excellent race. Mikey had a great start, went to the front immediately, but on the second lap in the chicane, Mikey was pushed wide off the track. He was able to keep it up in the gravel and came back on track seven seconds behind the leader and in eighth position. That’s when the racing began in Mikey’s mind. He pushed hard, setting the fastest lap of the race only to continue beating that lap time on each of the next three laps. With two laps to go, Mikey caught the leader and continued to set the fastest lap times while battling for the win! They went back and forth more than a handful of times. With two turns to go Mikey pulled a small gap and finished strong to win Race Two.
Trinity Richardson, Sanchez’s mother, said, “That race was incredible! There were so many people there watching and for everyone to see what Mikey did was amazing. This was by far the best race I’ve seen Mikey race. When I saw Mikey back in eighth I took a deep breath and said to myself, ‘He’s got this.’ I started calculating how many seconds he was behind and how many laps he had left and I knew he was going to win. He is so mentally strong and he wants to win.”
Mikey said, “I’m glad I got pushed off the track. It made me fight hard for this win and become a better rider.”
With this season concluded, we look forward to 2024! We would like to thank all our sponsors for their continued support: Roadway Traffic Control, HJC Helmets, Texas Motorcycle Academy, San Marcos Iron Doors, Williams Custom Painting, Moto Liberty, 212 Decals, Southern Adrenaline, Corsa Werks, Fred and Maggie Beck, Paul Stamper, Ben Fondu, Mark Niemi, Theo Bick, Stacey Pawelek.
If you would like to become a sponsor please email us at [email protected].
