– Luca Gardner finishes 3rd in Round 1 of the CMV
Thirteen year old Luca Gardner debuted with Briefing Competició in the Campeonato Mediterráneo de Velocidad (CMV) today, finishing third overall in the Moto 3 Category after two races.
Qualifying fourth in his class and starting from sixth, on a mixed grid of Moto 3 and 125 machines, Luca gained one place off the start in race one and then battled hard until the second last lap when he lost the front on the last corner, ending his race. He was bitterly disappointed after fighting his way to fourth position within the field (second in his class), and said “I couldn’t believe that happened. I worked so hard to get that place and I was just starting to pull away a bit when the front just went from under me.”
Starting from the same grid position in race two, Luca was third going into the first corner but after running wide on the next corner he was overtaken again and battled for fourth and fifth, eventually settling into sixth position in the field (fourth in Moto 3) during the latter part of the race. Proving he continued to fight hard all the way to the end, he achieved his fastest time of the weekend on the third last lap.
Luca took the Moto 3 finish flag in fourth place, however, after one of the Moto 3 bikes was disqualified for exceeding the Championship 36hp limit in both races, he was awarded third step on the podium at the end of the weekend.
Luca’s World Champion father, Wayne Gardner said, “we’re so excited to see Luca on the podium after a weekend of ups and downs, and difficult conditions. All the riders had to deal with gale force winds in practice throughout the day on Saturday, which can be extremely dangerous. Luca was blown into a wet patch on his second practice lap, bringing him down and rattling his confidence. It was difficult to test the bike and tyres in those conditions and in the end it worked against us. We selected a soft front tyre race without too much information gained from the practice day, and we believe that mistake caused the crash in the first race.” Wayne added, “either way, he gained a lot of experience this weekend, and it’s a matter of building his knowledge and confidence step by step. A podium finish goes a long way to boosting your confidence and he certainly showed us he’s not afraid to fight.”
An excited Luca said, “I couldn’t believe it when the team told me I ended up with a podium place. After the first race I thought it would be impossible, but just wanted to do the best I could in the second race and get some points for the Championship. It felt amazing to be on the podium for my first event and it was like a dream come true. I can’t wait for the next race. My team are the best – they really helped me this weekend and I was so happy to give them a good result,” he added.
