In total, 23 youngsters from 13 countries are set to battle it out at the French venue, with two wildcards joining the season regulars. Taking part in her home round, Justine Pedemonte has impressed at national level, while Sweden’s Maxximus Vikingasköld also joins, having shown strong potential since switching from motocross to road racing.
This season, the competition has been fierce and the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Cup has once again proved to be the perfect first step for young riders looking to continue their journey towards world championship racing.
In the end, only two riders will have the opportunity to fight for the title this weekend. Brazil’s Valentim leads ahead of Italy’s Bergamini, with 41 points separating the pair and 50 available during the final round. It might be a sizeable gap, but Bergamini has been on a charge at the previous two events, winning three of the last four races.
Whoever’s crowned European Champion will earn a spot on the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship grid in 2023, fully supported by Yamaha Motor Europe, following in the footsteps of last year’s winner Iker Garcia Abella.
Meanwhile, four riders are in the fight over second in the championship, with Bergamini currently 11 points ahead of Brazil’s Kevin Fontainha, who has shown superb consistency with four second-place finishes and five podiums. Andrea Pizzoli is third, 23 points behind his fellow Italian, while Indonesia’s Wahyu Nugroho is a further 24 points adrift following a maiden podium last time out in Most.
Last year at Magny-Cours Fenton Seabright, who stepped up to the WorldSSP300 championship this year, scored maximum points, winning Race 2 after a dramatic final lap. Of the returning riders, Grégory Carbonnel was highest placed at the 2021 event, with a best finish of sixth in Race 1.
