Climbing up the standings after Sachsenring

Friday, July 10th

The German weekend got underway with Free Practice 1 under clear skies and rather cool temperatures, ideal conditions to begin work on the technical Sachsenring circuit.
A strong start for Nicola Carraro, who immediately established himself inside the top ten thanks to consistent improvements throughout the session. The Italian rider completed an opening run of 17 consecutive laps, focusing on building confidence with the bike and gathering valuable data for race pace. In the closing stages of the session, he returned to the track for a second run of seven laps, during which he set his fastest lap time, confirming the progress shown from the very first moments of the weekend.
A different strategy was adopted for Jesus Rios, making his debut at the Sachsenring. The young Spanish rider split the session into three runs, separated by short stops in the pits, working closely with the team to fine-tune the bike setup. The approach proved effective: as his confidence with the circuit steadily increased, Rios set his personal best during his final outing, ending FP1 with extremely encouraging signs.

The afternoon Practice session confirmed the excellent work carried out by Team Snipers. This time it was Jesus Rios who immediately stole the spotlight, running among the frontrunners from the opening minutes. The Spanish rider managed the session with great intelligence, first securing a competitive benchmark on a single flying lap before shifting his focus to the bike's development work.
On the second lap of his final run, Rios even set the provisional fastest lap of the session, briefly moving to the top of the timesheets. Only in the closing minutes was he pushed down the order by his rivals, but he still finished in an excellent fourth place, securing direct access to Q2. The result once again highlights the Spanish rookie's remarkable ability to adapt quickly, even at circuits he is tackling for the very first time.
It was also a positive day for Nicola Carraro, who put together a series of competitive laps that allowed him to regain confidence after a number of difficult weekends. Although he narrowly missed direct qualification for Q2, the gap to the cut-off remained extremely small, confirming the strong potential shown throughout the day. The positive feedback gathered on track represents an important step forward for both the Italian rider and the entire Team Snipers, who head into the remainder of the weekend with confidence.

Saturday, July 11th

The second day at the Sachsenring once again began under clear skies, with Free Practice 2 kicking off Saturday's action at the German circuit.
The two Team Snipers riders headed straight out on track, following a very similar work programme in preparation for qualifying. Both Nicola Carraro and Jesus Rios completed an opening run of nine consecutive laps, focusing on building confidence with the bike and making the final setup adjustments. Both riders set their fastest laps in the opening stages of their second run, completing a total of 17 laps each and gathering positive feedback ahead of the afternoon session.

Qualifying got underway with Nicola Carraro competing in Q1. The Italian rider immediately posted a competitive lap, provisionally putting himself in the positions required to advance to Q2. After fitting a fresh set of tyres, Carraro further improved his pace and delivered two particularly fast opening sectors, but traffic in the final part of the lap prevented him from completing a clean flying lap. Although he still managed to set his personal best time, the Team Snipers rider narrowly missed out on a place in Q2 by just a few tenths.

Jesus Rios then represented the team in the battle for pole position. The young Spaniard immediately impressed with a strong first flying lap, moving close to the top five in the provisional standings. During his second run, he found even more speed, improving his benchmark once again and securing eighth place on the starting grid for Sunday's race.
It was another outstanding performance from Rios, who confirmed his excellent form by once again finishing as the fastest Honda rider, further consolidating the progress he has shown throughout the season.

Sunday, July 12th

A superb start for Nicola Carraro, who, forced to start from the back of the grid due to a penalty, immediately gained four positions on the opening lap, launching a determined charge towards the points.
It was a more difficult start for Jesus Rios, who lined up on the grid while not at full fitness due to a heavy cold that affected his breathing. The young Spanish rider lost a couple of positions through the opening corners but remained inside the top ten. By the end of the first lap, however, Rios had already recovered the lost ground, climbing back to seventh place and immediately rediscovering the pace he had shown throughout the weekend.

Carraro's race was unfortunately compromised in the very early stages. At the beginning of the second lap, a crash involving two riders directly in front of him forced the Italian, together with another competitor, into the gravel trap to avoid contact. Carraro was able to rejoin immediately, but the incident erased all the advantage he had built at the start, leaving him with another recovery ride ahead.
Meanwhile, Jesus Rios continued to display extremely competitive race pace. During the middle stages of the race, he moved up to sixth place, leading the second group in pursuit of the top five, who had meanwhile managed to establish a comfortable gap.

Carraro also continued to fight with determination, trying to work his way back towards the points-paying positions. Despite the significant time loss caused by the incident on lap two, the Italian rider made the most of his rivals' mistakes, recovering a total of four positions compared to his starting place on the grid.
In the closing stages, the leading group extended its advantage even further, while Rios managed the final laps with great maturity. The Team Snipers rider crossed the finish line in seventh place, securing another outstanding result and gaining one position compared to his starting spot on the grid.

Despite being far from full fitness, Jesus Rios once again demonstrated his true potential, securing an important result both for himself and for Team Snipers. His seventh-place finish allowed him to climb three positions in the Riders' Championship standings, while also contributing valuable points to the team's progress in the Team Championship.

Comments

Nicola Carraro's feeling improved throughout the weekend:
“I felt much better throughout this weekend and I was ready to fight for a strong result in the race. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the incident on lap two, which prevented me from fighting for the points by the end of the race. Now we'll make the most of the summer break so we can come back stronger than ever for the next races.”

Jesus Rios after the race:
“I wasn't feeling at my best physically this weekend, so I'm pleased with how my Sachsenring debut turned out. Finishing inside the top ten and bringing home valuable championship points is always a positive result.”