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Kristian Daniel Jr and the IGAX Team made great progress during their first weekend, finishing in the top 15

May 5th and 8th - Estoril, Portugal

Round one of the 2022 FIM JuniorGP European Talent Cup season got underway for KDJR and the IGAX team over in Estoril, Portugal. The goal was to finish in a points scoring position (15th or better). They managed the weekend well and the young American had his 2 best finishes in the elite championship.


Photo by Dani Vela

49 racers from all over the world took to the track starting with free practices Thursday and Friday. The whole 49 rider grid was split up into Group A and Group B (KDJR was in Group B). For safety reasons, only 30 out of the 49 riders can qualify to race on Sunday (qualifying held Saturday). So all teams and riders were frantically working on bike set up to ensure they were ready for Saturday. KDJR had a breakthrough with the team and he finished Friday practice 1 and practice 2 in 9th and 13th respectively.


Photo by Dani Vela

Saturday morning was qualifying day... the day that would decide who would race and who would watching from the sidelines. In the previous season, KDJR had only qualified for 3 out of 7 races, so he was really anxious to start this season off on a high note. He had a strong qualifying 1 and qualifying 2 on Saturday, and while he was threatening for a top 10 qualifying position in his group, he ended up qualifying 12th for a combined qualifying position of 24th. Qualifying for the first race of the season and showing potential for being close to the points gave KDJR and team a lot of confidence going into Sunday.


Photo by Dani Vela

Sunday Warm Up: The teams and riders had 10 minutes Sunday morning to ensure that the settings were good on the bikes. Unfortunately, KDJR had a clutch problem which saw him sit out the entire warm up. Fortunately it happened in warm up and not the race, so the team was able to get the bike fixed quickly and the riders coach made sure KDJR's head was in the right place.

Race 1: Kristian, who normally gets off the line well, had a bad start to race 1, seeing him fall from 23rd on the grid to 29th by turn 1. The race was 16 laps, so the young American got his head down and began recovering positions. By lap five, he had moved up to 18th position. A lot of riders made errors, crashing out of Race 1, but KDJR continued his progress, moving all they way up to 11th position by lap 12. For the final 4 laps of the race, he was locked in a 5 way battle for the coveted top 10 finish. After some last lap fireworks, he crossed the line in 13th position, bringing home 3 points (his first in the championship).

Race 2: Overflowing with confidence, and determined not to give up any positions off the line, KDJR had a good start to race 2, completing the first lap in 22nd. Without as many errors as race 1, KDJR's progress to the front was more difficult but still by lap 8 of 16, he fought his way up to 16th position. He was leading a 5 rider group who was closing in on the 15th position rider, who all wanted the 1 point that 15th position earns you. Lap 10 to lap 16 was a dog fight between the 15th-20th positions, seeing at least 3-5 position changes per lap. KDJR crossed the finish line in 17th position, only 2 spots away from his top 15 goal.


KDJR and Coach Dani Valle - Photo by Dani Vela

Ending the first race of the 2022 season with points, experience and clear points to improve for the next rounds, KDJR and the IGAX team are very happy with the start of the season. The next goal in site is a top 10 finish within the next few rounds. IGAX team owner, Alex Martinez, noted that Kristian's race pace was on par with the top 10 group, so the goal is definitely within their grasp.