12/06/2022

Positive weekend for LIQUI MOLY Intact GP junior riders in Barcelona

Lukas Tulovic claimed another podium finish in each of two Sunday’s races as runner-up, while Phillip Tonn and Jakob Rosenthaler confirmed their rising uphill trend.

A persistent heat wave has the northeast of Spain firmly in its grip. Just like a week ago at the Gran Premi de Catalunya, also the young riders in what is arguably the world's most important junior series had to made the experience how to deal with the hot conditions these days.

For the German LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team, the third stop of the JuniorGP series brought another test of talent. The hottest iron in the Memmingen-based outfit, 21-year-old Lukas Tulovic, lived up to the expectations placed in him. After a fantastic lap in qualifying that earned him pole position, Tulovic delivered a strong first race. Only one mistake cost him his fourth win of the season, which was within his grasp. After a strong start in the second race, the rider from Eberbach was thwarted by grip problems but still finished in second.

In Moto3 Junior World Championship, Phillip Tonn and Jakob Rosenthaler held their own well in the highly competitive field. However, the hot conditions were an obstacle with which both had their dear trouble. From starting positions 26 and 30 respectively, their prospects were somewhat dimmed. Nevertheless, both fought their way forward place by place. A crash ended Tonn's first race prematurely. Things went much better for the 16-year-old talent in the second race of the day. Tonn held his own in his group, which at times reached as high as ninth place. In the end, 17th place was on paper for the Mattstedt native, whilst Rosenthaler from Upper Austria finished in the top-20 for the second time in 20th place.

Niklas Kitzbichler continued his learning curve in ETC. This time, however, he had to start again in the "Last Chance Race" on Saturday afternoon, where the weekend ended for him with twelfth place. The young Tyrolean is currently still struggling to find the high pace in this highly competitive class.

A similarly hot weekend is to expect at the next stop of the series with JuniorGP™ Moto3, Moto2 European Championship and ETC in just under three weeks in Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain.

#JuniorGP Barcelona - Moto3™ Combined Qualifying Results (QP1/QP2):

1 José Antiono RUEDA / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / 1´48.310 (QP1)

2 Syarifuddin AZMAN / MAL / SIC Racing / Honda / 1´48.906 +0.596 (QP1)

3 Ángel PIQUERAS / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / 1´49.155 +0.845 (QP1)

27 #66 Phillip TONN / GER / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KTM / 1´50.937 +2.627 (QP2)

31 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KTM / 1´51.605 +3.295 (QP1)

#JuniorGP Barcelona - Moto3™ Race 1 (16 Laps):

1 José Antiono RUEDA / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / 29´18.524

2 Syarifuddin AZMAN / MAL / SIC Racing / Honda / +11.364

3 Filippo FARIOLI / ITA / ASPAR Team / GasGas / +11.466

22 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KTM / +42.741

NC #66 Phillip TONN / GER / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KTM

#JuniorGP Barcelona - Moto3™ Race 2 (16 Laps):

1 José Antiono RUEDA / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / 29´31.508

2 Syarifuddin AZMAN / MAL / SIC Racing / Honda / +8.161

3 Filippo FARIOLI / ITA / ASPAR Team / GasGas / +8.586

17 #66 Phillip TONN / GER / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KTM / +35.261

20 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KTM / +37.268

FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship:

1 Josá Antiono RUEDA / SPA / Honda / 108

2 David SALVADOR / SPA / Husqvarna / 69

3 Syarifuddin AZMAN / MAL / Honda / 62

18 #66 Phillip TONN / GER / KTM

20 #78 Jakob ROSENTHALER / AUT / KTM

#JuniorGP Barcelona - Moto2™ Combined Qualifying Results (QP1/QP2):

1 #3 Lukas TULOVIC / GER / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KALEX / 1´43.586 (QP1)

2 Senna AGIUS / AUS / PROMORacing / KALEX / 1´43.703 +0.117 (QP1)

3 Alex TOLEDO / SPA / PERTAMINA Mandalika SAG EUVIC / KALEX / 1´44.268 +0.682 (QP1)

#JuniorGP Barcelona - Moto2™ Race 1 (17 Laps):

1 Senna AGIUS / AUS / PROMORacing / KALEX / 29´43.584

2 #3 Lukas TULOVIC / GER / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KALEX / +0.668

3 Alex ESCRIG / SPA / Yamaha Philippines STYLOBIKE / KALEX / +22.607

#JuniorGP Barcelona - Moto2™ Race 1 (17 Laps):

1 Senna AGIUS / AUS / PROMORacing / KALEX / 29´47.122

2 #3 Lukas TULOVIC / GER / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / KALEX / +12.132

3 Alex TOLEDO / SPA / PERTAMINA Mandalika SAG EUVIC / KALEX / +24.368

FIM Moto2™ European Championship:

1 #3 Lukas TULOVIC / GER / KALEX / 115

2 Senna AGIUS / AUS / KALEX / 90

3 Alex ESCRIG / SPA / KALEX / 74

#JuniorGP Barcelona - ETC Combined Qualifying Results GrpA (QP1/QP2):

1 Joel ESTEBAN / SPA / ASPAR Junior Team / Honda / 1´51.297 (QP2)

2 Dodó BOGGIO / ITA / ASPAR Junior Team / Honda / 1´51.377 +0.080 (QP2)

3 Rico SALMELA / FIN / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / 1´51.573 +0.276 (QP1)

22 #94 Niklas KITZBICHLER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / Honda / 1´54.868 +3.571 (QP2)

#JuniorGP Valencia - ETC Last Chance Race (8 Laps):

1 Vasilios PANTELEAKIS / GRE / Cardoso Racing / Honda / 15´22.778

2 Angus Jey GRENFELL / AUS / ARTBOX / Honda / +0.426

3 Owen VAN TRIGT / NED / LRRESPORT / Honda / +0.481

12 #94 Niklas KITZBICHLER / AUT / LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team / Honda / +11.609

#JuniorGP Valencia - ETC Race (15 Laps):

1 Brian URIARTE / SPA / Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 / Honda / 28´16.430

2 Joel ESTEBAN / SPA / ASPAR Junior Team / Honda / +0.014

3 Máximo MARTÍNEZ / SPA / Team Honda LAGLISSE / Honda / +1.514

European Talent Cup:

1 Joel ESTEBAN / SPA / Honda / 95

2 Guido PINI / SPA / Honda / 73

3 Hakim DANISH / MAL / Honda / 49

#94 Niklas KITZBICHLER / AUT / Honda

Dirk REISSMANN

LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team
Team manager

"Given the increasingly critical conditions, our guys did a good job. The heat got a little bit bigger every day, which was a challenge, especially when it came to setting up the bikes for the races. Overall, though, we saw good development from everyone. In Moto2 qualifying, Lukas put in a strong lap time on Saturday morning, which made us a bit proud. It was his firm intention to set this time, which he did thanks to a super lap. He has also been working on a strong pace. In the first race his pace was even a bit higher, he did very strongly. Until his mistake shortly before the end, he was also very consistent. In the second race, he fought his way to an equally great second place. However, after a good initial phase in which Lukas was again able to put in a strong pace, we lost too much towards the end of the race. We will have to work on that in Jerez during free practice sessions so that we are better positioned for the very hot conditions that are expected."

"For Jakob and Niklas, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was an unfamiliar place until this weekend. But both quickly found their way around. Phillip, on the other hand, already knew the track and both he and Jakob tried everything in the first qualifying session to set a good lap time. Surprisingly, however, they performed better in the afternoon when the conditions were much more difficult. Phillip was even able to improve a bit as well. On Sunday, both were able to gain a lot of valuable experience in the races. Unfortunately, Phillip crashed in the first race through no fault of his own. Otherwise, both did good races today. Their lap times were appealing, and they were able to hold their own in their respective groups. We will build on that and maybe they will be able to manage to nibble on the points as early as Jerez. Niklas, our youngest, unfortunately again missed the target to get into the main race, where he could learn much more than in the "Last Chance Race". In general, he needs to try harder and take more risks once a weekend starts."

#3 Lukas TULOVIC

LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Junior Team, KALEX Moto2
Grid position: Pole / Race: P2 / Race 2: P2

"Even though the performances were somewhat different, with two second places we can draw a positive summary of the weekend. We started very strongly on Thursday. After just three sessions, we already had a very respectable lap time. I felt incredibly comfortable right from the start. On Friday we were able to build on this performance. The big challenge, however, was that the longer the weekend went on, the hotter it got. Nevertheless, we managed to go one better in the first qualifying session on Saturday. In QP1 we set a very strong lap time, but that was not all. I also set a lot of 1:43 lap times, which we were very happy about. In the second qualifying session the focus was then on the race. In the process, I had to accept a small slip. At this point I would like to say a big thank you to my crew for their great efforts, because just a short time later I had my race bike ready to go out again."

"With the speed we had built up and the good pace, we were ready for Sunday. In the first race, the start went very well, and I was immediately able to get to the front, where I did a lot of leading work. Although I always felt Senna Agius breathing down my neck, I raced my rhythm, and the pace was extremely high. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on the penultimate lap which cost me possibly the win. For the second race we did not change anything to the bike, except that we put on new tyres. My start and the initial phase were just as strong as before. But soon I was struggling a lot as I had to deal with massive grip problems. Both front and rear confidence was gone. It is a shame, but more than second place was not possible. Still, we can take a lot of positives and until the next race in Jerez, where it will be just as hot, we have to work on the weak points."

JrGP Barcelona 2022

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