Paolo Grassia (Chiodo Moto Racing) has come out victorious at the end of the enthralling 11-lap, sixth-round race of the Wil Sport European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, which was contested today at the Magny-Cours circuit in central France. This is a crucial maiden win in the series for the 16-year-old Italian, who not only denied Mika Perez (Granshagen Racing Team) an early title win, but also dramatically improved his own chances for the ultimate prize.

The opening of the race saw Hungary’s Richard Bodis (H-Moto Team) and Mika Perez swapping positions between themselves several times, with a nine-way pack locked together at the front. The battle for the win continued with Grassia trying to dictate the pace on the five rivals left for the win. It wasn’t until the penultimate lap that Grassia managed to pull away, eventually crossing the line with a two-second advantage over team mate Alfonso Coppola. Dorian Laville (Team Laville Mi&Do) completed the podium in third place, ahead of Perez and Lausitzring race winner Harun Cabuk (KNN54-TMF).

Early leaders Bodis and Giuseppe de Gruttola (SK-Racing Team) crashed out at turn 13 on lap 10, while fighting for the win. Avalon Biddle (Avalon Biddle Racing) successfully retained the FIM Europe Women’s Cup title courtesy of today’s 11th overall finish.

With only the doubleheader at Jerez left in the season, Perez still holds a healthy 25-point lead over Grassia, with Laville (-38) and Coppola (-46) still mathematically in contention for the title.