Jerome Vanlalrengpuia wins 2018 Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup in India
Jerome Vanlalrengpuia has won the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup 2018 in India. This gives him a ticket to represent India at the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Qualifiers in Spain next month. The second and final round of the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup in the country was organised at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore this past Sunday. It was close fight between Jerome and fellow Mizoram rider PC Andy Lalhmangaihsanga, who were tied at the top of the points table at 32 points apiece after the two rounds.
Jerome took Race 1 on Saturday, while PC Andy won Race 2 on Sunday and tied the former for points. But Jerome was awarded the win based on his fastest qualifying times in the two rounds. It was Zothanmawia from Mizoram who had won both races of Round 1 earlier. However, he was unable to participate in the final round after facing an injury during an accident in practice.
This was the third edition of the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup in the country. Racing enthusiasts aged from 12 to 16 years are selected through such competitions in various countries to participate in the international Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2018.
The Rookies Cup had received 300 entries of which 22 were riders shortlisted for the concurrently-run Suzuki Gixxer Cup, and 8 were selected for the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup. The competition focuses on bringing young riders to an international arena, from where various racers including past Moto2 and Moto3 World Champions have also emerged.