CEV: Booth Amos taking the positives from opening weekend

British Talent Team racer and reining British Motostar champion Tom Booth Amos says he’s taking the positives from his opening weekend in the Junior Moto3 World Championship at Estoril after crashing out of Sunday’s race. Falling in the final laps while battling for the win, the Newport native nonetheless showed strong pace throughout the weekend at the Portuguese track that he says he can build on going forward.

Crashing out of a battle for the lead that saw Leopard Honda rider Manuel Pagliani take the victory from the Angel Nieto Team KTM of Raul Fernandez, Booth Amos came away from the weekend upbeat about his pace and his potential.

“It was a bit of a shame to end the way it did, but it was just one of those. The race was good – it was nice to lead for a few laps and I was feeling confident. I actually felt like I had more pace than the others and was trying to bridge away from them a bit, but they were catching me again on the slipstream on the straight so my plan was to just sit in third or fourth for the last few laps and then make my move on the final laps.

“Then my teammate overtook me and was really slow through the final corners. I was too close to him, he nearly highsided, and I kind of panicked, didn’t know what to do, and lost the front. It was a real shame to end that way but the main thing is that we’ve got the pace to be at the front, which is something I don’t think any of the team expected!”

And, with the team, under the mentorship of Repsol Honda team boss Alberto Puig, pleased with his progress after only one day on the bike, he says that they’re expecting better next time out at Valencia.

“I’ve not been to Estoril before and it rained on the only other day we rode the bike at Valencia, so it was our first proper test with it. It’s a 2016 bike so it’s not new, but it’s new to me and clearly still up to spec. We were able to get on the pace right away on Thursday, which wasn’t bad. The team are happy and I’m happy, and we’re moving on to Valencia where I’ve been before and won’t be starting at a disadvantage – and can hopefully be on the podium!”