Oliveira, Viñales and Silva take victories at Valencia, where Araujo wins the Ninja Cup
The 15,000 fans who attended the Valencia Circuit on Sunday for the penultimate round of the 2011 CEV Buckler (Spanish National Championship) were not left disappointed, after witnessing historic victories, drama and decisive crashes on a day on which rain from the early morning hours left a wet track and very tricky conditions
In the 125GP/Moto3 race Miguel Angel Oliveira took the honour of being the first rider to win in the CEV Buckler on board a Moto3 machine. The race started in dramatic fashion when Championship leader going into the race, Alex Rins, got dropped to the back at the start, which prompted an impressive comeback. Alex Márquez also did not have the best of starts, and was seventh at the end of the first lap. Up at the front Oliveira and Josep Rodríguez began to alternate the lead, whilst Márquez fought with Francesco Bagnaia for third position as Rins continued his fightback which saw him rise to sixth place by the midway point of the race. In the final laps Oliveira began to lay down consecutively fast times, delivering him a fine victory, and he was followed onto the podium by Rodríguez and Márquez with Rins finishing fourth. In the Championship standings Oliveira does not register points, with Rodríguez taking the 25 corresponding to the victory, Márquez 20 and Rins 16. Rins now heads to Jerez for the final round with an advantage of 12 points over Márquez in the standings.
In Moto2 Isaac Viñales – cousin of Maverick – took his first victory in the class in the CEV Buckler, winning a race that could have decided the Championship. The PromoHarris rider dominated the race from start to finish after a weekend in which a group of riders comprised of Dan Linfoot, Kev Coghlan, Carmelo Morales, Jordi Torres and Ramón Ramos had all shown signs of strength. Torres engaged in a chase of Morales, and with the track surface drying out managed to improve his lap times but at the cost of tyre wear to his wet compounds. With two laps to go and Viñales in the lead, Ramos completed a great comeback and slotted into second, followed by Torres who had managed to drop Morales, who eventually finished in eighth position. The result opened up a lead at the top of the Championship for Torres to 13 points, with the title now to be decided at Jerez.
In Stock Extreme, Iván Silva displayed his form with a third consecutive victory. The race did not produce the same level of excitement as the other two, with the positions at the front well set out for the most part. The final lap did offer some drama, with an intense fight between Javier Forés and Santiago Barragán, one which ended in favour of the former and which results in a 13-point lead for Silva over Barragán going into the final round. Alejandro Mariñelarena finished sixth, a result which confirmed him as the best privateer.
In the Kawasaki Ninja Cup it was the final round of the season and victory and the title went to Adrià Araujo, who battled with Julio Palao and his main rival for the Cup, Antonio Alarte, throughout, finishing ahead by just five points after a closely fought campaign.
The seventh and final round of the 2011 CEV Buckler will take place on Sunday 20th November at the Jerez Circuit.
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