Honda NSF Results
After a weekend’s close-fought motorcycle racing, Spain’s Albert Arena claimed victory at the Honda NSF100 European Cup Final in Albacete, Spain over Valentino Rossi’s half-brother and Remy Gardner, the son of former MotoGP 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner.
The final motorcycle race was an action packed duel which saw the top four riders covered by less than a tenth of a second. The other podium positions were occupied by Fabio Spiranelli (2nd) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (3rd).
The Honda NSF100 European Cup Final is however not just won on the day. Albert put together a consistent weekend of racing, contesting another close-fought semi-final heat to qualify for the main event on Sunday.
Despite a small crash in Friday’s practice, Albert improved throughout the weekend but did only just qualified for the final, finishing 8th in the semi-final heat won by Japan’s Eiki Watanabe.
The second semi-final was won by Spanish counterpart Aron Canet. But final motorcycle-race day was when it really mattered and Albert strung together a fantastic performance to step on to the top of the podium to rapturous applause.
Riders had travelled from all around the world to contest this event, held as part of the European Championship. The two South African riders, Keanu Feio and William Friend both qualified for the final as did the two Japanese, Eiki Watanabe and Yuta Date.
There were also impressive performances from the Dutch riders, Robert Schotman and Bo Bendsneijder and from Australian Remy Gardner, making his European road racing debut.
Unfortunately Remy did not qualify for the Final but nonetheless impressed with his first ride on the Honda NSF100 and his first race on European soil.
Half-brother of MotoGP star Valentino Rossi, Luca Marini, was also disappointed not to make the final after a first lap collision in his semi-final heat.
Undeterred, Luca came back to place on the podium in the B-Final (for not-qualified riders), which was won by Italy’s Alessandro Zaccone.
On a fast and flowing track, with identical machinery the racing was close and slip-streaming came into play heavily. Despite this, the quickest motorcycle riders rose to the top and Albert Arena was a worthy victor overall.
Honda is proud of its commitment to nurture young talent and the Honda NSF100 series is an ideal proving ground for the stars of the future.
Championships are held throughout the year in countries such as Italy, South Africa, Japan and the Netherlands.
The European Honda Cup Final brings together the best from each of these countries in a fantastic celebration of motorcycle sport.
Competing at this level provides great experience for all these young riders and we are sure that you will be seeing some of these names for many years to come…maybe in 10 years time they will be on a MotoGP grid near you!
Pole position : Aron Canet
Fastest lap : Albert Arena 02:06,683 at 100,57 Km/h
