O’Gorman on the podium in JuniorGP action in Spain
BY GILES SPENCER
giles@slpmedia.co.uk
Erith motorcycle racer Casey O’Gorman finally had the result he deserved with a podium finish in round six of the FIM JuniorGP World Championship at Aragon in Spain at the weekend.
After showing good pace in practice with a new special engine from Honda, O’Gorman qualified his Team Estrella Galicia 00 machine in seventh place at the pointy end of the third row.
As the lights went out to start the 14 lap race, the 17 year old couldn’t make any places up into the first corner but held on to keep his starting position as the pack completed the opening lap.
However, O’Gorman had a point to prove and dived into third as they started the lap three.
Barely a lap later, championship and race leader Alvaro Carpe had made a break from the chasing riders with O’Gorman involved in a real dog fight between thirteen racers trying to close him down.
Eight laps to go and Carpe was slowly being clawed back with O’Gorman, team mate Max Quiles and Guido Pini pulling away from the rest of the field.
With only three laps remaining, Quiles made his move into second place with and tried to make a break from O’Gorman and Pini but the Italian Pini was back in front by the end of the long back straight.
Final lap and barring a mistake, Carpe had the win in the bag but the drama was unfolding behind him as O’Gorman decided to make his move and tried to dive up the inside of Qulies and Pini into the first turn.
Quiles had taken second and pulled a small gap but O’Gorman was looking strong and desperate for a podium.
Turn 14 and O’Gorman dived under Pini to lead onto the long back straight for the final time but Pini used the slipstream to draft past the number 67 rider into the following lefthander. O’Gorman wasn’t having any of it and brilliantly held his nerve to ride around the outside of Pini and hold him off to the line to take third place, 1.845 seconds behind Carpe and Quiles.
O’Gorman sits ninth in the championship on 76 points with Carpe extending his lead at the top of the table to 147.
The final round of the championship will be held at Valencia in Spain on the 24th November.
Photos: @lifebelucky
