Oschersleben. Rocco Caspar Sessler was able to win again at the third race weekend of the Northern Talent Cup 2023. The German secured his second race victory on Saturday in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and was relegated to second place by Lenoxx Phommara (Team Phommara) by just 0.070 seconds in the second race on Sunday.
After the opening training in Oschersleben at the end of March this year, all young talents of the Northern Talent Cup with experience came to the Motorsport Arena for the third of seven race weekends of the year. Rocco Caspar Sessler was one of the pilots who was able to use his experience best.
After qualifying fourth, he shot up to the front at the start of race one on Saturday. The MCA Racing driver led for all 16 laps and eventually built a gap of over two seconds to secure his second Northern Talent Cup win. His MCA Racing teammate Julius Ahrenkiel-Frellsen, who had qualified for pole position and generally had a strong weekend, finished second.
Third position went to Lenoxx Phommara, followed by Martin Vincze (VM Racing Team) from Hungary and Filip Novotny (DG Corse) from the Czech Republic. The Swiss gave up his lead in the NTC general classification to Sessler early on Saturday, but struck back on Sunday by claiming first place by just 0.070s from Sessler after a close 16-lap battle.
Just 0.177 seconds behind Sessler, Ahrenkiel-Frellsen finished third, followed by Matteo Masili (Fairium Next Generation Riders Team) from Italy and Swiss Levin Phommara (Team Phommara). After the sixth race of the season, Lenoxx Phommara and Sessler are now tied with 120 points.
“The first race was very good with my first place. I was able to get off to a good start and was the first to enter the first corner on the first lap with just a few overtaking manoeuvres. I had a very good pace and that allowed me to open up a lead of 2.6 seconds. I drove very consistently and with concentration, I hardly made any mistakes and that’s how I was able to achieve my win,” reports Sessler.
In the second race, the 14-year-old had a similarly good start. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t break away and that’s why we stayed in a group of three. Despite a slight driving error, I still managed to finish second and therefore have the same number of points as the leader in the overall standings,” says the young driver and adds: “I would never have made it without my sponsors and the great support of my MCA Racing Team .”
The second German permanent starter, Anakin Zelenak experienced a changeable weekend. The JRP Academy Racing Team driver secured ninth on the grid and moved up to seventh in race one, marking his best result of his rookie season so far in the Northern Talent Cup. In the second race, the 14-year-old was just as strong and even fought for sixth place, but fell back three laps before the end of the race due to technical problems and ended the race in 19th place.
“The free practice sessions have gone really well so far. I felt comfortable on the bike. In Q1 I was able to qualify on P6, but unfortunately I couldn’t get a free lap in Q2 and kept ending up in traffic. That’s why I couldn’t improve on my time from Q1 and ended up P9 on the grid,” he describes. “In the first race I had a good start and was able to make up places. I had great duels in a group of four and finally finished seventh.”
For the second race, his JRP Academy Racing Team helped him to improve the setup. “I had a very good feeling. I was even able to drive up to P4 for a short time. Unfortunately, I had problems with the chain in the middle of the race and had to pit. In the end, unfortunately, it was only P19,” says Zelenak, who is now 15th in the overall standings. “A huge thank you to my team and my supporters,” he added.
In less than two weeks, the young drivers of the Northern Talent Cup will start the fourth round of the season, which will take place from June 16th to 18th as part of the MotoGP at the Sachsenring.
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