India's Kavin Quintal bags top-10 finish at 2024 FIM JuniorGP World Championship

Ace Indian rider Kavin Quintal made a stunning debut in the 2024 FIM JuniorGP World Championship with a top-10 finish in the Stk European class in Round 2 at the Circuito do Estoril, outside Lisbon, Portugal.

Representing Fifty Motorsport team, Kavin clocked 23:19.001s for the 11 laps, just 34.866s adrift of the winner Adrian Rodriguez of Spain (SF Racing) and just 16.092s off fifth-placed Lorenzo Della Porta (Yamaha GV Racing) the current championship leader and 2019 Moto3 champion.

The 18-year-old faced early setbacks as he crashed during out-lap in qualifying and had to start the race from the 30th position on the grid.

The stock race was red flagged due to deteriorating track conditions in the rain in the second lap, but Kavin had already moved up to 19th place by then.

He navigated through the treacherous conditions overtaking his competition one-by-one and crossed the finish line in an impressive ninth position, for a top-10 finish among 36 riders.

The stock race is a stepping stone for Moto2 and JuniorGP World Championship, a new FIM event for juniors on to the road for MotoGP.

Having begun racing as a 13-year-old, Kavin became the youngest rider to bag points in the FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Championship in 2018, switched to Honda Talent Cup in 2019.

He made his international debut in the Asia Talent Cup in 2020 and represented India thrice in the Asian Road Racing Championships, with two top-10 finishes in 2023.

Kavin's next race will be Round 3 of the JuniorGP Stk at Barcelona from May 16-19.