THE 2022 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Cup had its first preseason action in Aragon last weekend, as 24 young riders took to MotorLand for the start of their testing programme ahead of the season.
For 2022, the R3 bLU cRU European Cup will feature 24 riders (only two returnees from last season) from 12 different countries in the European-based one-make series. While the racing is limited to Europe, though, the nationalities of the riders are not, with competitors coming from North and South America, Asia and Australia to come and compete with some of the best young European talents.
In Aragon, the riders received their race suits on the Thursday, as well as their Yamaha R3 race bikes for the season, which were decided by a random selection process involving the riders.
When Friday rolled around, the riders hit the track for the first time over the course of four 20-minute sessions, during which the presence of rain meant they were able to get a feel for their machinery with both wet and slick tyres.
The test was in anticipation of the first round of the 2022 R3 bLU cRU European Cup, which will take place at MotorLand Aragon on 8-9 April 2022, on the weekend of the opening WorldSBK round of the 2022 season.
With former WorldSSP300 champion Manuel Gonzalez impressing last year in WorldSSP, and continuing to do so this year in his debut Grand Prix campaign with the Yamaha VR46 Mastercamp team in the Moto2 class, the value of the R3 bLU cRU European Cup continues to increase, with riders gaining valuable experience on world championship-level tracks on bikes which are comparable to those which they might go on to ride in the WorldSSP300 championship.
About the test, Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Cup organiser, Gianluca Montiron, said, “This year it looks like the championship will be at a very high level once again. We have some riders who come with good experience - from Italy and Spain especially - while we have some returning guys, who have helped the rookies during this test. We had a lot of interest not only from Europe, but around the world, coming from Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, the US and Australia, and they also looked really competitive.”
