Texan racer Mikey Lou Sanchez made a notable showing in the last race of the European Talent Cup at Estoril. The schedule was disrupted due to flooding in Spain and track availability, resulting in a shortened round moved to mid-week in Portugal.

Unforgettable Races and Challenges at Estoril

Starting Off with Challenges

Mikey entered the event already at a disadvantage as he hadn't raced on this circuit earlier due to his age. The first day, Monday, saw him have two crashes back-to-back in wet conditions during FP1, pushing him further behind. However, the weather cleared in the afternoon, and he completed FP2 without any issues.This setback only fueled his determination as he faced the next day's Practice session.

Q1 and Q2 Struggles and Successes

On Tuesday, during the Practice session that determines Q2 entry, Mikey unfortunately had another crash and had to go into Q1. But in that Q1 session, he showed great determination and charged, finishing in P2, going 1.3 seconds faster than Practice.In Q2, he finished P9, which placed him 18th overall on the grid for the start of the race.

The Final Race and Comeback

Wednesday brought perfect weather for the final race of the year. Mikey had a decent start and managed to hold onto the 18th position initially. But he made some mistakes and lost the group ahead. However, once he got going, he found a faster pace and kept pushing. He was able to drop another 1.3 seconds off his qualifying time and finished the race in P12!In this first partial year of the European Talent Cup, as he said, it has been the most challenging class he's been in. But he's determined to give it his best shot next year with a full season.Mikey Lou Sanchez is sponsored by various entities such as Chick Fil A East Dallas, Texas Motorcycle Academy, Fred & Maggie Beck, Harris Hill Raceway, Williams Custom Painting, San Marcos Iron Doors, HJC Helmets, Moto Liberty, Stax Moto, Pakosta Riders Factory, Shawn Knoche, Paul Stamper, Ben Fondu, Theo Bick, Mark Niemi, and Stephen Hagberg.Fellow American Kristian Daniel Jr. was 13th in the race.From a press release issued by Team MMR, Rossi Moor @thesamurai92 finished P9 in FIM JuniorGP Moto2. After a strange start, our rookie gave it his all and climbed up to 9th position. With one day less of free practice, he managed to improve his lap time by 4 seconds in just 23 laps. We are satisfied with the work of our American boy!