New Zealand’s Jake Lewis is again on the podium in Europe, this time fighting his way to third place at the third round of the PATA European Junior Cup competition at Monza at the weekend.

It was a fiercely-contested affair with 10 riders in with a chance of victory on the final lap, but Rangiora’s Lewis managed to squeeze across the line in the final podium spot and ensure he also remains in contention for the title overall despite his non finish at the previous round at Assen.

Lewis won the season opener at Aragon, in Spain, and, coupled with his result at Monza, it puts him second in the championship standings after three rounds, now just two points behind Italian Michael Canducci.

Fellow Kiwis Blayes Heaven, of Auckland, Sam Croft, of Wellington, and Connor London, of Auckland, finished 16th, 17th and 21st respectively at Monza.

Starting on the second row, Lewis did well to avoid the falling riders into turn one before involving himself in a race long duel with 10 stars of the future all eager to take victory.

The race was run over its original seven laps, despite being delayed by more than 90 minutes due to earlier crashes in other races.

Lewis, showed no signs of nerves however and led the race on a number of occasions as the 11-rider dice at the front intensified.

Augusto Fernandez’s crash with three laps to go could have split the pack but with slipstreaming at the historic Italian circuit so crucial, Lewis found himself back in contention as the remaining 10 riders began their final lap.

Coming out of the famous Parabolica curve and onto the final straight, Lewis timed his move almost to perfection pulling out at the last possible minute from behind Robin Anne in an attempt to snatch victory at the line.

With the leading group of ten breaking the timing beam more or less side by side it took the official computer a few moments to determine the outcome and when it did, Lewis would be classified third, less than two-tenths of second behind French rider Robin Anne (who took the win) and Switzerland’s Adrien Pittet.

Italy’s Kevin Manfredi and the series leader prior to Monza, Canducci, gave the home fans something to cheer about as they each took a turn at the front.

Less than 0.5 seconds covered the top 10 proving once again that this exciting championship where all riders compete on equal Honda CBR500cc machines is a breeding ground for the future champions.

Fourth place at Monza went to Australian Zac Levy, claiming his best result of the season. Canducci was fifth, retaining his championship lead, and James Flitcroft finished an impressive sixth.

Italian Lorenzo Garafoli was classified seventh at the flag, with Josh Harland, Andrea Zanelli and Ali Adriansyah Rusmiputro rounding out the top 10.

Charly Eberhard scored his first points in 11th, Peter Sebastyen recovered from a spill in qualifying to add 12th place to his previous results, Sabrina Paiuta brought her Honda home in 13th, matching her Aragon race finish.

Ukrainian Ilya Mikhalychyk dropped to 14th after his penalty while American Alex Wisdom improved massively to claim his first championship point with a spirited ride to 15th position.

The championship has a five-week break now, with the next race taking place at Imola in June.

Monza result:

1. Robin Anne (France)

2. Adrien Pittet (Switzerland)

3. Jake Lewis (New Zealand)

Championship standings after Monza:

1. Michael Canducci – 43 points

2. Jake Lewis (NZ) – 41 points

3. Robin Anne – 38 points

4. Adrien Pittet – 29 points

5. Bo Bendsneijder – 25 points

6. Peter Sebastyen – 25 points

Photo courtesy of Vaclav Duska Jnr.