JuniorGP 2023 Review: Aditama’s First Win, O’Shea in the Top 10

The FIM JuniorGP World Championship is a gateway for many riders aspiring to join MotoGP. The 2023 season was contested over eight rounds, with Honda's Junior Talent Team riders Eddie O'Shea (BRITISH TALENT TEAM), Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Racing Thailand), Fadillah Arbi Aditama (Astra Honda Racing Team), and Danial Shahril (ASIA TALENT TEAM) competing throughout the year.

Buasri Gains Momentum by Podium in Round 4

The opening round was held on May 7 at Circuito Estoril. Buasri rode a strong race in the early laps and was in contention for the podium, an accident caused the race to be red-flagged, and after the re-start, Buasri lost his advantage and finished the five-lap restart in eighth place.

In the second round in Valencia at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, O'Shea struggled in Race 1, finishing 11th, but fought hard to finish sixth in Race 2. Buasri finished 13th in Race 1 and retired in Race 2 due to an accident. Shinya Ezawa, standing in for injured Shahril, did well to steadily improve his position from 17th in Race 1 to 11th in Race 2. Aditama, who finished outside of the points, nonetheless showed potential, running sixth at one point in Race 2.

In Round 3 at the Jerez Circuit, Shahril, returning from injury, finished seventh in Race 1. In Race 2, O'Shea finished seventh, and Aditama also achieved a personal best finish of ninth, in a close race in which the gap between the top nine riders was less than a second. Buasri rode well in Race 1, finishing 12th, but was unable to finish in the points in Race 2.

In the fourth round in Algarve, Buasri, struggling so far, made his move. In Race 1, he fought for the lead throughout the race and finished second, 0.055 seconds behind the leader, giving the team its first podium finish of the year. O'Shea set the fastest lap in Race 1, but was involved in an accident and retired. In Race 2, however, O'Shea made his comeback to finish fifth, his best result of the season.

Aditama the First Indonesian to Win

Round 5 was held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Aditama was 18th in Race 1, but in the next race, he made a tremendous charge from 16th to join the lead group. He took the checkered flag in second place, just 0.005 seconds behind the leader who was later disqualified due to a track limit violation, giving Aditama his first win.

In Round 6 at Motorland Aragon, O'Shea, who started 14th, fought hard in the lead group to finish sixth. Buasri was also in the battle for the lead, which had swelled to over ten riders, and finished eighth. Aditama was 13th and Shahir 15th, in a race where all Junior Talent Team riders were in the points.

The seventh and final round was held at Circuito Ricardo Tormo. Under difficult conditions, O'Shea finished 11th in Race 1 and eighth in Race 2, 0.812 seconds behind the leader, to finish the season tenth overall.

Buasri had a less than ideal final race as he battled with injury, finishing 16th in Race 1 after starting 22nd, and missing Race 2. However, he finished the 2023 season with four top-10 finishes, including a second-place podium finish in Round 4, and with a move up to the FIM Moto3 class set for 2024, this was a fruitful season for him to lay the foundations for the future.

Although Aditama crashed in Race 2 while aiming for a top 10 finish, he finished the season with a 13th place finish in Race 1, more than doubling his points total from last year. Shahir, who showed consistency in Race 2, finished 15th, his seventh points finish of the season.

Race Report

Rd.02 Ricardo Tormo：Points & Progress with Sixth Place for the Junior Talent Team on Sunday

Rd.03 Circuito de Jerez：Junior Talent Team fight for the podium in Jerez

Rd.04 Autódromo Algarve：Brilliant Buasri back on the podium in Portimao

Rd.05 Cataluña：Aditama bags breakthrough last-lap victory in brilliant Barcelona battle

Rd.06 Aragón：O'Shea takes positive top 6 as Junior Talent Team rack up points in MotorLand

Rd.07 Ricardo Tormo：A top ten performance brings another memorable year of racing to an end