FIM Asia was second and FIM Oceania, third
FIM Asia was second and FIM Oceania, thirdAldi Mahendra (FIM Asia) and Humberto Cezar Maier Neto (FIM Latin America) make history by being the first winners of this competition in the Supersport 300 and Supersport 600 categories respectively.
December, 1 2024 The FIM Intercontinental Games came to an end and it was the FIM Europe federation with riders Alessandro Di Persio, Josephine Bruno, Gonzalo Sanchez, Tomas Alonso, Elia Bartolini, Roberta Ponziani, Enzo de la Vega and Valentin Folger, those who managed today at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto to lift the trophy that accredits them as winners of these first intercontinental world games that the Jerez track hosted for the first time in the history of the international federation competitions. An event that has laid the foundations for future editions in other scenarios in a competition designed and intended for the promotion of young values of all continental FIM federations (Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Oceania and Africa) who have fought for every meter of asphalt on the Jerez track offering races full of excitement and spectacle.
The Sunday program consisted of two races for each category in which 24 points were distributed as follows: 24 for the first, 23 for the second, 22 for the third and so on until the twenty-fourth position, which obtained one point. The sum of points obtained by each rider of the different federations in each race finally awarded the winner and the two remaining places on the podium. FIM Europe was the winner of these first games, with FIM Asia in second place and FIM Oceania on the third step of the podium. The trophy was presented to the winners by the president of the FIM, Jorge Viegas, while the medals to each of the members of the winning team, corresponded to the first deputy mayor of the City of Jerez, Agustin Muñoz.
At 11.00 a.m., Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto went down in history as the venue for the first Supersport 300 race of the new FIM Intercontinental Games. A race full of emotion, typical of this category where equality is the usual tonic. From the start a compact group of more than 15 riders was formed, fighting side by side for the first places, with an exchange of leaders during the first laps, including the Spanish representative of FIM Europe, Gonzalo Sanchez, who, at some points, took the lead of the race. But the Spaniard's luck was elusive, since, with 6 laps to go, he crashed at the exit of the Pedrosa curve, leaving at that moment the group of 7 riders who had managed to stand out to start taking positions for the final laps. And this is where the Supersport 300 World Champion, Aldi Mahendra (FIM Asia) emerged and began to lead and control the race to finally take the victory and become the first rider to sign in the book of honor of the winners of this competition. Behind, it was FIM Europe with the Portuguese Tomás Alonso who got the second position, while FIM Oceania managed to place the Australian Archie McDonald in third position.
In the second heat of this race, the same equality was seen in the group, up to twelve riders fighting for the only three podium places. All the favorites were in the lead, with Mahendra, winner of the first heat, very active throughout the race, taking the lead that changed hands in the last laps almost every lap, with riders like Archie McDonald, third in the first heat, falling with six laps to go and some more in the following laps. The last few laps were heart-stopping with 8 riders fighting side by side for the podium, this time including the Spanish FIM Europe rider, Gonzalo Sanchez, who was leading the group in turn 2 in an intense last lap where, once again, it was the Indonesian rider Aldi Mahendra who came out first in the last corner, facing from this position the stretch of the main straight before the final flag, which was taken again by the FIM Asia rider, However, he made an illegal maneuver that was penalized by the stewards, moving from the first position to the third, being the winner the FIM Latin American rider, Nahuel Santamaria with the Spanish rider Gonzalo Sanchez in second place, while Mahendra got the third step of the podium.
In the 600 class, history was also made, with FIM Latin America rider Humberto Cezar Maier Neto became part of the legend of this competition by winning the first FIM Intercontinental Games race in the Supersport 600 class in a race that ended two laps earlier than scheduled due to a red flag due to a participant's fall. Maier Neto, together with South African Dino Iozzo, poleman yesterday, and FIM Europe rider Elia Bartolini, stood out from the rest of the competitors to face the last two laps in a direct fight for the victory, which in the end was won by Brazilian Humberto Cezar Maier Neto by the narrow difference of 0.082 thousandths of a second over Dino Iozzo, with Elia Bartolini closing the third step of the podium.
The second round of the FIM Supersport race closed these first intercontinental games with the same protagonists and an unexpected guest, the rain, which made an appearance on lap three so it was necessary to take the red flag and stop the race that would resume minutes later to a total of 10 laps. At the restart, the FIM Asia riders Daniel Kasma and Apiwath Wongthananon took the lead, accompanied by Dino Iozzo (FIM Africa), but as the track conditions improved, the leading group regrouped. With 5 laps to go, the first important fall, that of Humberto Cezar Maier Neto, winner of the first race, and FIM Europe rider Elia Bartolini took the lead and from that moment on he controlled the group in the last laps to win with Mike Jones (FIM Oceania) in second place and Dino Iozzo (FIM Africa) in third place.
