2025 Red Bull Rookies Cup
Round Two – Le Mans
Fastest in all three sessions, Hakim Danish took pole position for the French round of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Riding alone in the all-important Qualifying session at the end of the day, the Malaysian 17-year-old repeated his Jerez pole.
Hakim Danish
“Yes, it’s a good day, another pole position. I felt comfortable on the bike and I very much like this track, it’s a beautiful layout. I know that Brian will also have a good pace tomorrow, but I will try and keep my focus and momentum. I know I could have been a little quicker with a slipstream, but I wanted to go alone and I am very happy with the time and with the bike.”
Just 0.135 seconds behind was Jerez Race One winner Brian Uriarte and fellow Spaniard Beñat Fernandez completed the front row. Danish would serve a long lap penalty in Race 1 as he was deemed to have caused a crash with another rider.
Australia’s Carter Thompson meanwhile qualified in sixth, half a second off pole and completing the second row.
The crowd also had their eyes on French 17-year-old Guillem Planques, who lined up 10th on the grid.
Race One
We were robbed of a thrilling Le Mans showdown between Brian Uriarte and Hakim Danish when a crash scattered stones across the track and brought out a Red Flag on lap 11 of 15.
The pair were locked in a tense and evenly matched Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup contest, swapping places clear of the pack, but the result stands and the battle would be resumed in Race 2 on Sunday.
Danish had led off the line, but a mistake at the first corner and a Long Lap penalty because of a practice incident left the 17-year-old Malaysian with a lot of work to do. Uriarte raced away in front.
Danish did a superb job of catching and passing the 16-year-old Spaniard, but then ran wide and let Uriarte into the lead again. Crucially, the Red Flag came out and Danish had no opportunity to retake the lead.
The chasing pack of KTMs was huge and anyone might have claimed the final podium place, including Australian Carter Thompson, but it went to Giulio Pugliese when the race was cut short.
Brian Uriarte – P1
“I’m very happy with that. It’s true that Hakim was going a bit away, but that’s not to say that he was going to make a gap, and I felt it was under control, so it’s true that he was going super fast and riding very well. I think he was on the limit though and I felt I could go with him and he would not get away completely. I think I could hold the gap and make a race of it over the last few laps. I’m happy with the bike and I think that I can race with him again tomorrow.”
Hakim Danish – P2
Second again, I feel comfortable with the bike and I felt confident in the race I had a good pace. I came back from the Long Lap and then at four laps to go, we had a Red Flag. Anyway, it’s okay, I will try to keep focused and push more tomorrow. I ran wide because I was pushing just a bit too much, over-braking. I will try to improve this for tomorrow and keep more precise.”
Giulio Pugliese – P3
“I’m very, very happy with my first Rookies podium,” grinned the 16-year-old Italian. “I made a good start and I managed to make some good overtakes and Carter and I had a great battle. I felt really good on the bike and I was enjoying it, it’s a shame that we did not get to finish the race, but I’m happy with the result. I found the front wasn’t perfect, but the track temperature will be colder tomorrow morning, so I expect less grip and I think the setting I have will be OK. I’m looking forward to it.”
Carter Thompson – P6
“It wasn’t the best race,” stated the Australian 17-year-old who was in a battle for the podium until the last lap. “I made the mistake in the first turn off the start, going a little bit too hot into the corner. Brian already had a gap, so it definitely made the race more difficult. I felt pretty good, but I just need to work on a few things. Hopefully, we can work on getting the bike into a better position to overtake. I’m just struggling to get past other riders, so I’ll work on that for tomorrow.”
Race One Results
Race Two
Beñat Fernandez knew it was his day as soon as he saw the rain and the wet track on Sunday morning at Le Mans.
He mastered the 13-lap race in consummate style, helped by the fact that Saturday’s dominant pairing of Brian Uriarte and Hakim Danish went down at the first left-hander.
It was cup points leader Danish who led off the line, but the front wheel of his KTM slid out as he braked for the first left. He went down, taking Uriarte with him. Danish remounted in last place, but 16-year-old Spaniard Uriarte could not as his handlebar was broken.
Carter Thompson was in second place after Danish and Uriarte went down and stayed there for the majority of the race. The Australian looked set to take the championship lead before going down with just over a lap to go after losing the rear and high-siding out of the race. A bitter blow for Thompson but he remains fourth in the points standings.
Incredibly, after his early fall Danish cut through the field to finish second, so the Malaysian 17-year-old has finished runner-up in all four races so far this year, giving him a 23-point advantage over Fernandez in the Cup.
Uriarte is another seven points back in third, having scored two victories, but he has also been knocked out of two races.
Beñat Fernandez – P1
“I was happy to see it was raining because I know my performance in the wet. I know how to transfer all the weight and that’s so important so you don’t crash,” explained the Spanish 17-year-old. “I was pushing and I was getting a bit of sliding in turns 3 and 4. But yeah, the last corner was terrible. So I was going very carefully in this corner only. Then in the other corners, I was pushing because also I was seeing a bit of dry patches or at least with less water. So I was balancing the bike with the rear brake and happy to see that I had a good gap over 2nd place late in the race.”
Hakim Danish – P2
“Second place again. In the race, I felt quite good, only in the first lap I had a little crash in the left corner and I was lucky that I could rejoin. I tried to pick up the bike very fast and try to catch the other riders as soon as possible. I managed to stay calm and catch them one by one without having to push too hard. Of course, I wanted to get as many points as possible and I will try and continue like this in the next races, keep the momentum of finishing on the podium and of course, I will win if I can.”
Marco Morelli – P3
“I’m certainly happier than yesterday,” grinned the 17-year-old Argentine. “It was a good, but difficult race. The track was very slippery, so yeah, I tried to stay on the bike. When someone passed me, I tried to get the line and follow, like when Hakim passed me. That’s when I started to ride faster, but then I lost him and Singhapong caught me. Then I saw Carter (Thompson) crash and Singhapong was in front of me. I said, well, I need to try for sure, I need to get on the podium, I can’t miss today.”
Carter Thompson
“Round 2 of the Red Bull Rookies Cup all done. Definitely not the weekend I was hoping for, but plenty of lessons and positives to take away. Time to reset, refocus, and come back stronger for Aragon. Massive thanks to Pablo Padialm and all the Rookies Cup staff for all their support and hard work all weekend!”
Race Two Results
Red Bull Rookies Cup Round Points
Red Bull Rookies Cup Championship Points
