14 races have been ridden by the young riders of the Moriwaki 250 Junior Cup to determine who can call themselves the new champion. Following in the footsteps of two-time champion Bo Bendsneijder (2011 and 2012) and Robert Schotman (2013), Patrik Pulkkinen secured the title in Brno with a minimal difference of five points over Filip Salac.
RACE 1
Race 1 started under a bright blue sky and perfect conditions. From the first lap, it was Patrik Pulkkinen who proved to be too strong for the rest of the field. He immediately opened a gap. Ultimately, Patrik would win the race with a lead of 7 seconds, which is a significant difference in terms of the Moriwaki 250 Junior Cup.
However, the race was no less exciting because behind the race winner, there were intense battles throughout the field. Wildcard rider Peetu Paavilainen impressed with a fantastic 2nd place. Behind him, it was only determined at the finish who would take 3rd place. But, Filip Salac showed why he was the leader in the championship and secured 3rd place with a margin of 0.023 seconds over Jarno Kausch.
RACE 2 – CROWING OF PULKKINEN
With the start of race 2, it was clear that Filip Salac had to defend his 16-point lead over Patrik Pulkkinen. Just like in race 1, it was again Pulkkinen who had the better start and immediately managed to pull away from the rest of the field. The rest of the field would only see Pulkkinen again after the end of the race, so it was another victory for the young Finn, who won with an impressive 11-second lead.
Once again, behind Pulkkinen, a group of 8 riders emerged fighting for the remaining podium positions. Throughout the race, Filip Salac was between 3rd and 5th position, and the pace of the young riders was high. However, in the final lap, things went wrong for Salac when he crashed, although he managed to pick up the bike and finish in 12th place, losing the championship by 5 points. Jarno Kausch took 3rd place in the championship.
THE FINAL STANDINGS
1. Patrik Pulkkinen #114 – FIN – 247 points
2. Filip Salac #4 – CZ – 242 points
3. Jarno Kausch – CH – 182 points
Although the championship may have been decided at that moment, the podium was certainly not. Peetu Paavilainen completed the Finnish celebration by taking 2nd place again, narrowly ahead of German Philipp Freitag. Leon Czichos took 4th place ahead of Kevin Orgis, Marcel Brenner, Dan Jones who achieved his best result of the season, Lukas Tulovic, Notis Papapavlou, and Mate Laczko.
Patrik Pulkkinen and Filip Salac will meet again soon, this time during the Red Bull Rookies selection event in October.
Moriwaki 250 Junior Cup, where racing begins!!
