First podium of the season for Takuma Matsuyama
Circuit Ricardo TormoAsia Talent Team rider takes second place and crashes out in Sunday races. Mario Suryo Aji places eighth and fifth, respectively, and Tatchakorn Buasri crashes in race 1.
Honda rider Takuma Matsuyama had an extraordinary performance in the first of the two races held on Sunday. Fourth on the grid, the Asian Talent Team rider dropped to eighth on Lap 4 when he served a long lap penalty incurred in qualifying. He lost contact with the front three, but lap after lap kept his pace high with him and three laps from the end caught up with them again. He took the lead at the beginning of the final lap and eventually took the chequered flag in second, just 76 thousandths of a second behind the winner, for his first podium of the season.
Teammate Mario Suryo Aji also made a great fightback in the first race. Starting from 14th, the Indonesian rider dropped down as low as 22nd, but lap by lap he regained ground, reaching the second group and finally crossing the finish line in eighth place - second in a group of 7 riders.
The second race began with a red flag being shown before the first lap was over, making it necessary to restart the contest and reduce the distance to 12 laps. On that second start, Matsuyama lost several positions and completed the first lap in ninth place. After passing five riders, on the eighth lap he made a mistake entering Turn 10 and crashed out.
Aji made another good comeback in Race 2: 16th on the first lap, he was ninth on the second, seventh midway through the race, and fifth at the end.
Mario Suryo Aji is fourth in the overall standings with 32 points. Takuma Matsuyama is fifth, with 30 points. The next round of the season will take place on June 13th at the Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya.
I am happy with the weekend overall. Practice went well, and in the first race I managed to finish second and in the second I had good pace. It was difficult, because in the first race I had to complete a long lap penalty, but I had a strong pace and I was able to reach the front group and take a first podium of the season. In the second race I made a mistake at the start and lost several positions. I kept my pace up to gain ground but I pushed too hard and crashed.
In the first race I had a bad start. It was difficult for me to set my pace, because I had to overtake a lot of riders. It's a shame that I qualified fourteenth, because the first group were fast from the beginning and escaped, so I am not happy; although the positive thing is that I finally finished eighth. In the second race the asphalt temperature was higher, but I started better and I had more pace, so I focused on not making mistakes. In the end I finished fifth, which is not bad, and I am fourth in the overall standings. At the next race I will have to work a little more on qualifying, to have a good grid position and be able to fight for the podium.
It was a difficult weekend, because the conditions changed a lot in all of the sessions and it was difficult to adapt to the track. I didn't get a good start in the race, but when I got to the second corner somebody hit me from behind, I hit another rider in turn and I fell. I fractured my shoulder, but it seems that it is a small break and the recovery will be fast, so at the next race I hope to be fit.
