Red Bull Rookies Cup: Ryota Ogiwara snatches Red Bull Rookies Cup Race 1 at Mugello from Beñat Fernandez on the line
The lead group of at least 15 KTMs swapped places uncountable times over 13 laps of Mugello, but it was Ryota Ogiwara who flashed across the line first. He was chased by Beñat Fernandez, Fynn Kratochwil and Sullivan Mounsey for his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory.
Spanish 18-year-old Fernandez was always near the front and did much of the leading, but 17-year-old Japanese Ogiwara snatched the win out of the slipstream on the run to the line. In the closing stages, Fynn Kratochwil had forced his way to the front.
The 15-year-old German looked superb, then on the final lap, Sullivan Mounsey jumped ahead. The English 18-year-old defended the lead until the final corner, only to be relegated to 4th in the downhill left-hander.
One second covered the top 12 at the flag.
1st – Ryota Ogiwara (Japan)
“I’m super happy about this win. I didn’t think it was going to happen because it was a crazy race. But in the last lap at the first corner, I passed a few riders. I kept pushing and then at the last corner I passed the rider in second and just managed to win as we crossed the line.”
2nd – Beñat Fernandez (Spain)
“The goal was to do a podium, so I am OK with second. In the last turn, I had contact with Ogiwara. I thought, OK, I will try to get a bit clear and hopefully have a gap. I opened the throttle quite strong but he had the slipstream and came past. I picked up his slipstream so I did not get passed by the others. It’s a good result.”
3rd – Fynn Kratochwil (Germany)
“My plan was to get to the front, and, yeah, lead some laps, or try to stay in the front, see what the other guys do, and this was what I did. The first laps were quite hard, to be honest. I didn’t feel things that well. But then I managed to get a rhythm, and in the end, I positioned myself well and got the podium.”
4th – Sullivan Mounsey (England)
“It was a tough race coming from P18 on the grid. The bike didn’t want to go. I was in about last through Turn 1. On the last lap, I was at the right place, at the right time. From all the work in FP1 and 2, I knew the marks, I knew I had the pace to win. We were driving to the finish, I got picked, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.”
5th – Giulio Pugliese (Italy)
“It was a crazy race,” stated the 17-year-old Italian who came off the back of the grid after a penalty for slow riding in practice. “On the last lap, I was in a good position. But when Bujosa crashed, I lost the leaders a bit. I felt good on the bike though, and with no grid penalty tomorrow, it will be better.”
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