Young Indian rider Kavin Quintal made a stunning debut in the 2024 FIM JuniorGP World Championship, taking a top-10 finish in the Stk European class in Round 2 at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal over the weekend. A crash in the out-lap of the qualifying session saw Kavin start from the 30th position. The stock race was red-flagged due to rain in the second lap, but Kavin had already moved up to P19.

Starting from P30, Kavin took on the wet conditions and fierce competition with aplomb. Navigating the treacherous conditions easily, he overtook bike after bike to cross the finish line in an impressive 9th position, among 32 riders.

The Stock race is a steppingstone for the Moto2 and JuniorGP World Championship, which acts as a feeder to the FIM Moto3 World Championship.

The 18-year-old from Chennai, representing Fifty Motorsport team, clocked 23:19.001 for the 11 laps, just 34.866sec adrift of the winner Adrian Rodriguez of Spain and just 16.092sec off fifth-placed Lorenzo Della Porta, the current championship leader and 2019 Moto3 Champion, Kavin’s management team informed in a release on Tuesday.

Covering a distance of 46 km over 11 laps, Kavin displayed enough mastery in wet conditions and clocked a top speed of 219.4 kph.

Kavin made his debut as a 13-year-old and became the youngest rider to bag points in the fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Championship in 2018.

He switched to Talent Cup in 2019 when Honda brought in the NSF250, a Moto3 spec bike to India, and was among the eight top riders for the NSF250 Talent Cup. After making the elite club, he became an Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup champion in 2021 and 2023. He was vice-champion in 2019 and 2020.

Kavin made his international debut in the Asia Talent Cup in 2020 and represented India twice in the Asian Road Racing Championships, with a top-10 finish in 2023. Riding a 600cc monster, in the Sunday Suzuak Road Racing Championship 2023, he had a pole and a win in Round 3.

“Riding here in Europe is a completely different ballgame. I am enjoying it and it is a big learning experience. I am happy with my ride and the way I managed to make it to P9 from P30. When I race, it is only me, my bike and the track. Everything else fades out,” Kavin was quoted as saying by his management team.

Kavin’s next race will be Round 3 at Barcelona from May 16 to 19.