【2021 End Of Season Review】Syarifuddin Azman Wins Race, Asia Talent Team Fight Hard All Season

The FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship has given rise to many top MotoGP riders. The Asia Talent Team, including Takuma Matsuyama (Asia Talent Team), Mario Suryo Aji (Astra Honda Racing Team), and Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Racing Thailand), competed in a total of eight races in 2021.

Asia Talent Team Starts Season Well

The opening round was held at Circuito do Estoril in Portugal, where the junior talent team were off to a good start. Aji, who started eighth on the grid, moved up to third place, but was overtaken at the last possible minute to finish fourth by an 0,06s gap. Matsuyama started from third grid, to finish sixth after a heated battle. Buasri rode a solid race to finish 15th earning one championship point.

Matsuyama shined in Round 2, held in Valencia. In Race 1 the Japanese rider lapped at an impressive pace, heading into the last lap in the lead. He missed out on victory by 0.076 after being overtaken on the last turn, but was nonetheless on the podium in second place. Jose Julian Garcia (SIC58 SQUADRA CORSE) was second in Race 2, while Aji was eighth / fifth and fourth in the standings at the end of Round 2. Matsuyama at this stage was fifth overall, just behind Aji.

Matsuyama clinches his first podium by finishing second in Round 2

Although rounds 3 and 4 were unlucky for the Asia Talent Team riders, Honda rider Syarifuddin Azman (SIC Racing) won Race 1, joined on the podium by third-place Jose Antonio Rueda (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0). Aji was sixth in Race 1, and consistently lapped at the fastest times in Race 1.

Consistent Points in Second Half of the Season

In Round 5, Aragon, Rueda finished second, and Matsuyama was tenth. In Round 6 held at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Aji was eighth in Race 2, and Matsuyama was tenth. In Round 7, at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in San Marino, Aji was eighth despite it being the first time for the Asia Talent Team at the venue.

Aji Eighth in Round 7 despite his first time on the track

The season finale, Round 8 in Valencia was a double-header. Aji unfortunately missed the round due to an injured leg. Buasri, strong on wet tracks, started Race 1 from the 21st grid, and finished 13th. Matsuyama crashed in Race 1, but ignored the pain to gain points in Race 2, finishing 14th.

Rueda finished the 2021 championship in eighth place, while Azman was ninth, Garcia tenth, Diego Moreira (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) 11th, Aji 12th, Matsuyama 14th, and Buarsi 24th.

Wet last round helps Buasri to finish 13th

Race Reports

Standings

Pos.	Rider	Num.	チーム	Constr.	Pts
1	DANIEL HOLGADO	96	ASPAR JUNIOR TEAM	GasGas	208
2	IVAN ORTOLÁ	24	TEAM MTA	KTM	169
3	DAVID MUÑOZ	64	AVATEL - CARDOSO RACING	KTM	150
4	JOEL KELSO	66	AGR TEAM	KTM	124
5	DAVID SALVADOR	38	TM RACING FACTORY TEAM	TM RACING	99
6	SCOTT JAMES OGDEN	26	ASPAR JUNIOR TEAM	GasGas	96
7	DAVID ALONSO	80	ASPAR JUNIOR TEAM	GasGas	93
8	JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA	95	TEAM ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0	Honda	70
9	SYARIFUDDIN AZMAN	63	SIC RACING	Honda	64
10	JOSÉ JULIÁN GARCÍA	20	SIC58 SQUADRA CORSE	Honda	64
11	DIOGO MOREIRA	92	TEAM ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0	Honda	62
12	MARIO SURYO AJI	16	Astra Honda Racing Team	Honda	58
13	DANIEL MUÑOZ	17	AVATEL - CARDOSO RACING	KTM	56
14	TAKUMA MATSUYAMA	32	ASIA TALENT TEAM	Honda	53
15	COLLIN VEIJER	9	AC RACING TEAM	Husqvarna	44
16	LUCA LUNETTA	58	AC RACING TEAM	Husqvarna	37
17	ZONTA VAN DEN GOORBERGH	84	TEAM SUPER B	Honda	30
18	Marcos URIARTE	89	LAGLISSE ACADEMY	Husqvarna	29
19	JOSHUA WHATLEY	70	TEAM MTA	KTM	25
20	GERARD RIU	67	MT-FOUNDATION 77	KTM	23
21	Matteo BERTELLE	28	TEAM MTA	KTM	21
22	MARCO TAPIA	13	LEOPARD IMPALA JUNIOR TEAM	Honda	18
23	MARCOS RUDA	5	GAZZOLA RACING	KTM	15
24	TATCHAKORN BUASRI	33	Honda Racing Thailand	Honda	13
25	DAVID REAL	23	CUNA DE CAMPEONES	KTM	11
26	Alberto FERRÁNDEZ	54	MT-FOUNDATION 77	KTM	10
27	NOAH DETTWILER	55	TEAM MTA	KTM	8
28	FILIPPO FARIOLI	7	LAGLISSE ACADEMY	Husqvarna	5
29	RAFFAELE FUSCO	69	TM RACING FACTORY TEAM	TM RACING	5
30	ADRIÁN CRUCES	11	CUNA DE CAMPEONES	KTM	4
31	NICOLA FABIO CARRARO	10	TM RACING FACTORY TEAM	TM RACING	4
32	CLÉMENT ROUGÉ	45	LAGLISSE ACADEMY	Husqvarna	4
33	Marco MORELLI	97	AVATEL - CARDOSO RACING	KTM	3
34	SENNA AGIUS	81	SIC58 SQUADRA CORSE	Honda	3
35	SHO NISHIMURA	57	MT-FOUNDATION 77	KTM	2