Every racing thrill imaginable was packed into 15 laps of Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup action at Aragón with the top 4 split by 6 hundredths of a second at the finish.
Cup leader José Rueda led fellow Spaniard Màx Quiles towards the line but both were passed in the final metres by 14-year-old Fin Rico Salmela who took the win. He had Dutchman Collin Veijer in his slipstream but the 17-year-old was not close enough to make the podium.
A single second covered the pack of KTM RC 250 Rs down to P9.
Race 2
A sensational victory for lanky Dutchman Collin Veijer in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Race 2 at Aragón. The 17-year-old crawled under the paintwork of his KTM and just managed to better spaniards Màx Quiles and Angel Piqueras through the final corner and on the run to the line.
Piqueras crossed the line 2nd but the 15-year-old was penalised one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap so the place was gifted to 14-year-old Quiles.
Crucially, points leader José Rueda, the 16-year-old Spaniard, flashed across the line 6th, just 0.183 seconds behind Veijer. That narrow margin though represents 15 points. So now Rueda is just 11 ahead going into the last 2 races in Valencia at the beginning of November where 50 points are still up for grabs.
It was another fabulous race, half a second covered the top 9, 3 seconds the top 13. Saturday's winner Rico Salmela, the 14-year-old Fin, slid off unhurt on the final lap and Veijer is now tied with Rueda on 3 wins for the season. Each has only been outside the top 6 once.