The Polish rider finished second in the first race at Magny-Cours after a weekend marked by the memory of Borja Gómez and the changing weather conditions
The AGR Team took its first podium of the season at Magny-Cours with Milan Pawelec. The Polish rider, who is making his debut in this year's Moto2 European Championship, continues to prove that he is one of the clear candidates for victory at every FIM JuniorGP round.
In the first race of the day, Pawelec had a difficult start and lost positions, but showed that his pace was among the best. Gradually he started to come back and even set the fastest lap (1:38.576), he was in first position and fought for the victory, but on the last lap the race direction showed red flag and he finally finished second.
After this race in dry conditions, the Moto2 riders had to face the rain in the second race, in which Pawelec crossed the finish line in eighth position.
Rain also played a role in JuniorGP, a category whose race also ended with a red flag after a crash for Kgopotso Mononyane. Marianos Nikolis was twenty-second, Owen Van Trigt twenty-fifth and Yvonne Cerpa twenty-sixth.
Also in the European Talent Cup, Kiyano Veijer was fifth in the last chance race and set the fastest lap with a time of 1:51.046.
Milan Pawelec: "The day was amazing. In the first race I had a contact with another rider on the second lap and lost distance to the leader, but I had the pace, caught the group and managed to take the lead. I was struggling, but in the end I'm happy with second place. In the second lap the track conditions were very difficult with the rain, but in the end we finished eighth and cut points in the championship. I'm happy, the team worked great and now we come to Aragón, which is my favourite track".
Kiyano Veijer: "The last chance race was quite difficult. I didn't have a good start, I lost some positions and in the first few laps I was recovering until I got to the front of the group. It started to rain and I kept pushing, I was looking strong, but unfortunately race direction brought out the red flag and I couldn't make it to the front. I was looking strong. I am happy with everything we have learned this weekend".
Yvonne Cerpa: "Today we knew it could rain and it did. It's the first time I've ridden this bike in the water and it was on a circuit I didn't know, so our goal was to gain confidence little by little, adapt and learn. We did it, but we couldn't complete all the laps because race direction showed out the red flag. Overall I have learned a lot and I am still growing, thank you very much to the team for all their help during the weekend".
Marianos Nikolis: "The race was quite difficult, the conditions were difficult because of the rain. The rain came just before the start of the race and the team was very quick to get the bike ready, so I thank them for their good work. We gave our best, we were able to come back... but obviously with the rain I didn't have all the confidence. We'll keep working for the next race in Aragón".
Owen Van Trigt: "Today with the rain it was difficult. We had a bit of chaos with the change of conditions, but we were able to go out with everything ready. I felt comfortable with the front of the bike, the rear didn't give me all the confidence in the rain... but I think we made a good progression over the weekend. Many thanks to the team for their work".
Kgopotso Mononyane: "In the first laps of the race I moved up several positions. I saw that the others didn't have the best feeling, so I pushed because I also had to do a long lap penalty. I took the penalty on the third lap, saw that there was less chaos, and then I started to gain positions again. I felt really good, confident with the bike and the track... but I crashed. We made an important step forward and the team's work was exceptional, so we have to keep the positives".
Anscari Nadal (Team Manager): "Even though we got our first podium of the year, we have nothing to celebrate. People come first and foremost and this weekend has been very hard for everyone involved in this championship. The podium is in the background. I want to give all the strength and encouragement possible to Borja's family, from the AGR Team we are with them in these difficult moments".
The AGR Team wants to dedicate its results to the memory of Borja Gómez. The memory of the whole team is with his family, team and friends.