CFMOTO CUP - Navak Circuit - DAY 2

Over 100 riders on the first day of racing

It's the end of the first day of racing here in Serbia, on the Navak race track. Over 100 riders from countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, and Macedonia raced today in the categories that were designated by the National and International Motorcycle Federations that organized this event.

ACSRU Racing came to Serbia with a total of 16 riders, who competed in the CFMOTO Cup, the Supersport300, Formula600, Stock600, Stock1000, and Moto Classic categories.

Historic Day for CFMOTO Cup

Today was a historic day for the CFMOTO Cup. For the first time since its inception in 2021, today's race was held separately from the Supersport300 one. Only 9 of the 10 CFMOTO 300SR motorcycles lined up for the starting procedure, as the tenth one was withdrawn from the race due to technical issues. Vlad Chivu, a special guest/rider for this weekend's race, chose to watch it from the sideline so that Razvan Ciocan could go on and compete today.

In the first part of the day, the riders took part in two qualifying sessions, and the results were as follows:

P1: Luca Purdea - 1:42.846
P2: Cristian Radu - 1:43.955
P3: Fabian Cojocariu - 1:43.962

The third race of the season started at 3.30 PM, and the riders had to go through a total of 6 laps. Luca Purdea showed the younger riders what it means to have one year of riding experience under your belt, as he went off to a strong start. He led the third race of the year up until the last but final lap. As a sign of respect for his younger opponents, he then pulled out of the race and headed to the paddock.

"It was very fun to ride the CFMOTO 300SR motorcycle once again. I've learned a lot in the past year since I first came to the track, and I knew I'd put on a good show today. It felt even more special considering that my younger brother Ionut, was hot on my tail throughout the entire race".

Valentin Polexici, the 2021 CFMOTO Cup winner, was amazed by how much the riders had progressed in such a short period:

"I was expecting an easy win today. But I quickly realized how much I had underestimated the kids, so I found myself in the middle of quite a challenging race. I also went out in the last but final lap so that I can witness the outcome of the race from the side".

Ionut Purdea went off to a poor start once again, as he stalled his bike as soon as the lights turned green. But he seemed more determined than ever before, and he quickly went in pursuit of his opponents. He overtook them one by one, and by the end of the race, he was on the podium:

"I still need to practice my starting procedure, I know. But I also knew that I've come a long way since Greece, and I was going to quit that easily. I was even hoping to overtake my big brother, I hope I'll be racing against him someday soon. We often have fun like this at home, when we're taking our enduro bikes for a ride".

The outcome of today's race is as follows:

1. Cristian Radu - Triton 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:40.965)
2. Fabian Cojocariu - CFMOTO 300SR Racing - (Best Lap: 1:40.741)
3. Ionut Purdea - CFMOTO 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:51.270)
4. Codrut Borcea - CFMOTO 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:50.382)
5. Razvan Ciocan - Staking Agency 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:51.540 )
6. Mihai Toma - CFMOTO 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:52.356)
7. Rares Matei - Elrond 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 2:29.035)
8. Luca Purdea DNF - TBIPay 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:41.764 )
9. Valentin Polexici - DNF - CFMOTO 300SR Racing (Best Lap: 1:41.989)
10. Vlad Chivu DNS - TBIPay 300SR Racing

Talking about the race, Cristian Radu was as confident as always:

"I came to Serbia to win the race. I've grown a lot as a rider since last year, and I hope it won't be long now before I can be competitive in the 600 and 1000 categories."

Fabian Cojocariu secured a P2 for the third time in a row now:

"It felt a bit frustrating to be this close to winning. My battle with Cristian was quite epic, the last lap was intense. But, at the end of the day, I was just 0.675 seconds slower than him. I just hope that we will switch roles for the fourth race of the season."

Codrut Borcea made his competitive debut today, and he managed to improve by 23 seconds after just a few sessions:

"I've been dreaming about this moment for some time now, even before coming to the track with Vlad in 2020. I was excited to be able to get close to Ionut towards the end of the race. He was just a few meters in front of me, and that's a very good outcome for me."

For Razvan Ciocan, it was also his first time out on the track, and he even managed to overtake Mihai Toma in the second part of the race, thus finishing in fifth overall:

"Riding on the race track feels completely different to riding on public roads. You can push the limits here: both your limits and the bike's limits. I'm slower than I expected, but that's not a bad thing. There is a lot of room for improvement, and I hope that I'll be a much faster rider by the end of the year".

Mihai Toma experienced speed today like he never has before:

"The starting procedure felt difficult to me, and I was slightly tired by the end of the race. There's a whole new sense of speed on the race track. Ever since I saw Chivu doing this, I knew I wanted to do it as well. If you want something in life, you can get it. Just don't give up!"

Rares Matei also went off to a difficult start of the day, after a minor incident in the first part of it.

"I pushed things too far, too soon. I'm very determined, but I now know how important it is to keep your cool when you're racing. Even though today was hard on me, I know this is all just a new beginning."

Vlad Chivu took on the role of coach before the start of the race and gave the young riders a few important tips beforehand:

"I'm proud of them, they're much faster now than they used to be. It feels surreal that two years ago I was racing on a street-spec 300SR, trying to keep up with Daria and Alex in the SSP300 class. It felt overwhelming. The CFMOTO Cup is the ideal starting point for any junior rider that dreams about winning races on two wheels. We're doing everything that we can do to help them reach that goal. Even though I've moved up to the Stock600 class, I still like going out on the 300SR bike from time to time".