The inaugural European Junior Cup revved up for the first time last weekend under sunny skies at Spain's Guadix circuit. The series pre-season training camp saw racers from 10 countries draw lots for their Kawasaki Ninja 250R race motorcycles before proceeding to enjoy 2 days of exclusive track time under the watchful eye of series coach, former WSBK racer Simon Crafar from New Zealand.

In between sessions the teenage racers received instruction in machine set up, race craft and safety aspects, before joining Simon individually on track for a video bike recording and review. The weekend culminated in a race-start simulation, and with close racing guaranteed all the young riders are now eagerly awaiting the first round of the series at Assen (April 15-17), where it forms part of the Superbike World Championship event weekend.

In the photo (from left to right): Tom Busch (Germany), Loris Hunt (England), Daniel Mettam (New Zealand), Miguel Aranda (Spain), Qays Hashmi (Pakistan), Jean-Francois Demoulin (France), Brandon Kyee (USA), Daniel Teixeira (South Africa), Matt Davies (Australia), Sylvano DeAguiar (South Africa), Amelie Demoulin (France), Ross Patterson (Northern Ireland).