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Kristian Daniel Jr and the IGAX Team head to the Jerez Circuit for the first official test of the 2022 season

March 8th and 9th - Jerez, Spain

The 2022 FIM JuniorGP European Talent Cup season kicked off this past week for KDJR and the IGAX team down in Jerez, Spain. After a long winter break, the young American and team used the two days to shakedown the new Honda NSF250Rs while the riders and mechanics got to know each other.


Photo by Dani Vela

The first day of testing got off to a slow start as the weather at the Jerez Circuit, located in the Andalucia region, was uncommonly wet. While it rained on and off all morning, the team tried to wait for better conditions but finally had to begin testing on a slowly drying track. Since one of the tasks on the to-do list for the 2 days was breaking in the new 2022 motors, which consists of lapping around at 50% of power for a few sessions, team owner Alex Martinez used the poor conditions to get the tedious laps out of the way. While KDJR was anxious to get up to speed, he welcomed the "break-in" process which gave him time to get reacquainted with the 230 km/h beast after the 4 1/2 month winter break.


Photo by Dani Vela

For Day 2 of testing, the weather in the south of Spain was back to its regular sunny conditions which allowed KDJR and team to get the real work under way. For the 2022 season, the young American will be teamed up with the only female rider on the European Talent Cup grid, Yvonne Cerpa. The two IGAX riders maximized their time while the weather was good, and completed a lot of laps. The goal of the second day of testing was to start working on a set up that the riders were comfortable with. KDJR said he immediately felt confident with the bike and continued to lower his lap times session after session, finishing within a second of his qualifying time at the same track last season.


Photo by Dani Vela


Yvonne Cerpa, Dani Valle and KDJR - Photo by Dani Vela

Aside from the progress made, another positive point from the two days of work was KDJR's bond with the team rider coach, Dani Valle. The Spanish native, who is a competitive racer himself in the ESBK Supersport 600 series, spent the two days standing trackside to watch Yvonne and KDJR's laps. Between sessions he was pointing out individual improvements each rider could make. KDJR and Dani seemed to get along right away, as they not only share a love for racing but also anime. Considering Kristian's feeling on the bike, the family vibe within the team and the trust KDJR has in his rider coach, the 2022 season is lining up to be very promising.

WATCH behind the scenes video of testing