The Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup’s first visit of the season to Sepang International Circuit saw a shift in momentum and a change of leader after two races that seriously swung the pendulum. In the first, former points leader Haruki Noguchi crashed out in mixed conditions as key rival Mario Aji took his first IATC win, and in the second, Bill van Eerde won a stunning three-way fight for victory. Both went down to the final corner and as the dust settles and the grid prepare to return to battle at Buriram, it’s Australia’s van Eerde at the head of the Championship. Source link
Tag: Buriram
Syahrin: Malaysian the second fastest rookie in Qatar
With the hugely different track lengths of Buriram and Losail, the deficit from the top is an unfair comparison if measured in laptime – but in terms of percentage, the Malaysian’s progress is clear. Just under 2% off his teammate in Thailand on first contact, Syahrin’s deficit in Qatar has dropped to just over 1% off Zarco – who also topped the timesheets in the third test. As expected, the ‘Pescao’ is a happy man leaving the desert. Source link
Iannone lights up the desert on Day 2
The final man in the fastest fifteen was early pacesetter in the battle for Rookie of the Year Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), who slotted into thirteenth despite a small crash. A 1:55.539 put the Japanese rider within a second of the top after 61 laps, around half a second quicker than fellow rookie and reigning Moto2™ World Champion Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Hafizh Syahrin, jumping in at the deep end with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 after getting signed up for the season after Buriram, was less than two tenths off Morbidelli, and just ahead of both Tom Lüthi (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Xavier Simeon (Reale Avintia Racing), who also debut this year. Source link
Hafizh Syahrin to test with Tech 3 in Buriram
“I’m really happy and honored to have the possibility to have Hafizh Syahrin with us for the test in Buriram," adds Team Principal Herve Poncharal. "As everybody knows, since Jonas Folger decided that he couldn’t race in 2018, we’ve been looking for who could be the right replacement rider. Following the Sepang test, we had many meetings and it has been decided that Hafizh Syahrin would be a very good choice for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team. Right now, it is only three days, but I am more than convinced that Hafizh is going to show us what he can do. He is young, only 23 years old, has already done some podiums in the Moto2 class, which is not
Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup testing concludes in Buriram
The first day was punctuated by some crashes for many of the grid, with the first session seeing four fallers and a total of 13 on Day 1 as a lot of the riders got their first taste of the circuit, the bike and their competition ahead of the first race weekend of the year. With a host of new recruits and some eager veterans ready for their next campaign, Japan and Indonesia lead the way on representation this season with eight and seven riders respectively – joined by competitors from the Philippines, Australia, Turkey, Malaysia and the host nation for the first action of the year, Thailand. Source link
Somkiat Chantra wins second race in Buriram
The young riders of the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup were the first to run at the Thai circuit, ahead of their idols in WorldSBK.