Back on the podium in Catalunya

Friday, September 5th

The Catalan Friday opened with MotoE Free Practice, a useful session for riders to regain the feeling already tested earlier in the season. A solid performance for Nicholas Spinelli, who finished 5th despite some setbacks caused by traffic on track. It was a more complicated start for Tibor Varga, forced back to the garage after just a few laps due to technical issues.

The difficulties continued for the Hungarian rider in Practice, where he was only able to complete a single flying lap. Despite that, Varga still managed to finish ahead of some rivals, though without direct access to Q2. Spinelli, on the other hand, kept improving and secured an excellent 4th place, earning a direct spot in Q2.

In Q1, Varga finally managed to run without problems, immediately showing promising pace. However, the limited laps completed in the morning restricted his potential and kept him out of the next stage. He still closed in 13th position, ready to fight in the race.
Q2 proved tricky for Spinelli, penalized by two yellow flags that led to the cancellation of three of his five flying laps. Two of those laps could have been enough to fight for the front row. In the end, the Italian will start from 7th on the grid for Saturday’s races.

Saturday, September 6th

Race 1 opened with great aggression from both Snipers riders, attacking right from the first corner. Tibor Varga quickly gained four positions, moving up to 9th on the opening lap. He maintained a strong pace throughout the race and finished 10th – a positive result after the difficulties he faced on Friday. Nicholas Spinelli, on the other hand, slotted into the leading group and battled for the podium, but struggled to keep up with the front three, crossing the line in 4th place, just a few tenths from the rostrum. A last-lap track limits penalty then dropped him to 5th.

Race 2 delivered instant excitement with Spinelli pulling off a stunning overtake, passing all the riders ahead of him in a single corner to take the lead. Varga was unlucky: after another great start, he was forced to retire following a crash, fortunately without consequences. Spinelli remained consistently in the group of four fighting for the podium and, with strong defending in the final laps, secured 2nd place – his second podium of the season.
Thanks to this weekend, Nicholas climbs to 4th in the World Championship standings, just 18 points behind the leader. The Snipers Team also made a big step forward in the team standings, jumping from 7th to 4th place.

Comments

Nicholas Spinelli happy with the step forward:
“Another Catalan weekend is over. I’m a bit disappointed about qualifying — if my good lap hadn’t been canceled, I would have started 4th, which would have been much better for the race, especially in Race 1 where I struggled to overtake. But Race 2 was definitely a big step forward, with another podium, another 2nd place, and we aim to keep going like this. A special thanks to the team for all the work and to our sponsors for the support. See you in Misano next week!”

Tibor Varga on his weekend:
“I’m a bit disappointed because after the changes that were made I felt really good with the bike. Unfortunately, the bike wasn’t at 100% since we missed Free Practice and Practice to properly set it up. It was just bad luck, but now we look ahead to Misano next week and hope there won’t be any setbacks.”