Robin Siegert from Team Kiefer practised in Valencia in preparation for the ‘Shark Tank’ 2027

A good month after securing the Moto4 Northern Cup title in commanding fashion ahead of schedule, and following a few days of rest, Robin Siegert returned to racing last weekend. The fifth of seven rounds of the Moto4 Europe Cup was on the programme in Valencia. For the 15-year-old rider from Team Kiefer Racing – and protégé of former racing drivers Philipp Hafeneger, Stefan Nebel and Dario Giuseppetti – the main focus was once again on learning and preparing for greater international challenges next year.

Robin Siegert had already realised during his previous three outings this year that the Moto4 Europe Cup – held predominantly in Spain, the mecca of motorsport – is a whole notch tougher than the Moto4 Northern Cup, which is mainly organised from Germany. He had only managed to qualify for the main races once, although this did not come to fruition due to a minor injury. His qualifying performance at Magny-Cours in France was helped somewhat by the fact that there were slightly fewer competitors on the grid than on the Iberian Peninsula.

Many entrants, few starting places

At the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, just outside Spain’s third-largest city, 59 riders competed for 30 starting places in the two races that actually counted. Robin Siegert was among those who missed out on direct qualification in the qualifying session, had to enter the last-chance race, and would have had to finish first or second in that race to secure a place. The teenager from Pockau-Lengefeld in the Ore Mountains failed to do so, though there were, once again, valid reasons for this. On the one hand, this is a learning year in the Moto4 Europe Cup on a tight budget, with the focus on making the necessary progress ahead of 2027 in the same cut-throat competition. On the other hand, the young racer lacked some of his usual composure.

“I made a few mistakes myself at the start of the race weekend. I think I was too determined because I didn’t get into a certain rhythm straight away; I was missing the crucial practice kilometres that most riders had clocked up during testing a week earlier at the same venue,” he said afterwards, taking a hard line with himself.

As his father, Steffen Sachse, revealed, they had deliberately opted out of the aforementioned test. He explained: “That only makes sense if you have two identical but differently configured motorbikes and can really put them through their paces. We don’t have that, because Robin, with just one motorbike – and one from the third technical tier at that – is supposed to learn as much as possible on this international circuit. We want to stake our claim next year.”

It was all over after the Last Chance race

Regardless of the circumstances mentioned – or perhaps precisely because of them – Robin Siegert was not disappointed, but took a realistic view: “Overall, it was another very instructive weekend. I was able to make quite a good step forward from Friday to Saturday and improve my lap times significantly. That’s what matters to us at the moment.”

He started the last-chance race from eleventh on the grid and finished in the same position. He came back from the opening lap in 16th place, but then clawed his way back up the field, position by position. “Unfortunately, I had a problem with the clutch at the start, which is why I lost a few places right at the beginning of the race,” he explained. “But I was able to fight my way back up the field a bit – so it was okay and a consolation to end the weekend on.”

On the subject of the learning year, he added: “It was another very instructive experience for us and I think that, given our circumstances, we’ve taken another step in the right direction. Qualifying for the main race – or in this case, the two main races – is always a very, very tight affair. The competition was really strong again. All in all, it was fine.” He described the defeat – not a real one, but one that felt like one – as follows: “Of course you’re disappointed when something like that happens, but only at first, because you’d set your sights high. But I must also say that you can learn a lot from so-called defeats. Now it’s time to put it behind us and look ahead.”

Show-piece performance at the final

Consequently, he is taking a positive view of his next challenges and is now aiming to secure a place in the main races at the final two Europe Cup rounds from 25 to 27 September in Aragon, Spain, and/or at the finale from 16 to 18 October in Misano, Italy.

Before that, he still has a ‘show run’ in the Moto4 Northern Cup on the agenda. The final will take place over the weekend of 18–20 September in Assen, the Netherlands, as part of the British Superbike Championship (BSB). The rider, who has secured ten consecutive wins this season, will arrive as the already confirmed champion and is aiming to extend his unprecedented winning streak.