Recapping the Red Bull Rookies action from the Misano season finale

2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Round Seven – Misano

Qualifying

The 2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup championship wrapped up over the weekend at Misano, and saw Argentine 16-year-old Valentin Perrone snatch pole position from Cup points leader Álvaro Carpe in the last seconds of Qualifying.

Carpe, the 17-year-old Spaniard, lined up in the middle of the front row with the second quickest time. His closest Cup rival, fellow countryman Brian Uriarte the 16-year-old, completes the front row.

Uriarte head into the weekend 13 points behind Carpe with two races to decide the title, while Perrone stands third in the title chase, a significant 41 points off the leader.

Carter Thompson head into the final two races from P13 on the grid, and placed 12th in the overall standings.

Race One

Brian Uriarte snatched both victory and the Cup lead in Race 1 at Misano on the final lap. The 16-year-old Spaniard goes into the last race of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2024 tomorrow morning just 2 points ahead of season-long rival Álvaro Carpe.

Second across the line was pole man Valentin Perrone and the Argentine 16-year-old finished just 0.26 seconds ahead of Hakim Danish, the Malaysian 17-year-old who won last week.

Carpe led down the back straight on the final lap but was passed at the end of it. Then Maximo Quiles crashed in front of him and Carpe finished 6th, just ahead of Australia’s Carter Thompson.

Brian Uriarte – P1

“The plan was to take care of the tyre, not to make the rear suffer too much and have something left for the last laps. I think that I did the best I could. I was just going through the race and enjoying each corner because tomorrow will be the last race. Yes, but I thought I could catch him. Maybe on the TV, it looked a lot but on the bike, it didn’t look that bad. Maybe half a second, you take the slipstream, you brake a bit later and you have him. It’s simple, but not that easy.”

Valentin Perrone – P2

“It was a crazy race. At the beginning of the race I decided to push, then I realised that the track was not perfect, not the grip we had on Friday so I decided to stay calm. As other riders passed me I didn’t fight too much, I followed. At the end I saw Pini, Maximo, also Brian, all the group riding super crazy. I said to myself, ‘Keep calm, think about the championship.’ Then at the end of the last lap, it all happened right in front of me. I saw Maximo enter the corner the corner a bit crazy, went a bit wide and when he opened the gas he was on the wrong line. I saw it happen, opened the line and kept away, so I could get P2. It’s great to be P3 in the Cup so I will enjoy the race tomorrow, try to win but enjoy it.”

Hakim Danish – P3

“It was a difficult, tough race for me today. I was a bit towards the back at the start and I was losing the group a bit but I kept my focus and momentum to follow the front group then try to catch them. Little by little I caught them and finally I arrived and got into the lead group. On the last lap, I tried to win, but it was a bit difficult. Anyway, I finished P3, and I have to thank my family and everyone that supports me and we have another race tomorrow. So wish me luck and I will enjoy the race and do everything I can to win.”

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Alvaro Carpe – P4

“I’m unhappy today because I could win or at least get a podium,” stated the 17-year-old Spaniard. “But Maximo crashed in front of me. I know that it’s not his fault, also not my fault. Today I wanted my fifth win, and the points for the Cup. Now Brian is in the lead and I need to win tomorrow or at least be on the podium with him behind me to win the Cup. I know it will be difficult, I will try my best. The bike was good, I was fast and in the lead, I know that I can win.”

Race One Results

Race Two

Alvaro Carpe won the Cup by holding off Brian Uriarte at the final corner of the Red Bull Moto Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup for 2024.

0.061 seconds ahead of them, Valentine Perrone won the race but second was good enough to give Carpe the title over third placed Uriarte, just two points separating the series leaders.

Thanks to the one-year dispensation for finishing in the top three of the Rookies Cup, both Carpe and Perrone have the possibility to move up to Moto3 next season as 17-year-olds.

Màximo Quiles, who avoided serious injury in his last lap crash in race one but didn’t ride the season final race, and can also move up as he finished third in the Cup last year.

Carter Thompson finished eighth, collecting valuable points that ensured the Australian finished tenth in the championship.

Alvaro Carpe – P1

“Even after the disappointment of yesterday I was planning to be sitting here as Cup champion today,” stated a very sweaty 17-year-old Spaniard after the podium ceremony. “Last night I was going through all the last-lap possibilities in my mind. It was a difficult final lap because with three laps to go, I went wide and it was difficult to manage. I told myself to stay calm, there was time to get back to the front. In the last lap, I got into a good position, I went past Pini down the back straight behind Perrone. I was looking at the TV screens to see where Brian was and I saw he was third. I knew this would be difficult because I knew that he would try, he is a very good rider. It is always a pleasure to fight with him because I know how good he is but also we are correct. One of the last-lap possibilities I was thinking about last night was Brian coming inside me at the last corner and that is what he did. I held my line, I closed and held on to second. It is fantastic for me to win the Red Bull Rookies Cup, the team have done an incredible job, supporting me through two years in the Cup. This Cup gives us all a wonderful opportunity and I am so happy to have won.”

Valentin Perrone – P2

“It’s an amazing way to finish the season,” enthused the 16-year-old Argentine. “I was leading all the race, a good pace, a good rhythm, running first, second. It is incredible to finish the season with a victory after second yesterday. It’s been a fantastic first year in the Rookies Cup. I have enjoyed it so much, improving little by little since the first races. To get six podiums, two victories is incredible. The Rookies Cup was a big step up for me and at the preseason test I was looking around at all the good riders and knowing what a high level the Cup is I was hoping to be in the top ten. I have always looked up to the Rookies Cup and to be fighting at the front and winning races has been totally amazing.”

Brian Uriarte – P3

“It was a good race today, I enjoyed it,” stated a slightly subdued 16-year-old Spaniard. “I did all I could, to do more would have been to crash. I wanted to do it clean and finish my race. If you cannot win you have to accept it. I put everything into this weekend and that kept the challenge going into today. I have enjoyed the weekend so much and the whole season tremendously. I am really proud of the season I have done and give huge thanks to everyone who is part of this for a fantastic year.”

Race Two Results

Red Bull Rookies Cup Standings

2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Calendar

1. April 27-28 Jerez – Spain
2. May 11-12 Le Mans – France
3. June 1-2 Mugello – Italy
4. June 29-30 Assen – Netherlands
5. August 17-18 Spielberg – Austria
6. Aug 31-Sep 1 Aragon – Spain
7. September 7-8 Misano – Italy

Images by Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool