Hard fought races at Jerez for Asia Talent Team riders
Circuito de Jerez-Ángel NietoTatchakorn Buasri rises from 31st to 12th in the first race, while Takuma Matsuyama and Mario Suryo Aji DNF due to crashes. In Race 2, Aji places eighth, Matsuyama tenth and Buasri finishes 18th.
High temperatures affected the conditions in both races that the Asia Talent Team riders contested at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto. Fighting hard from start to finish, Mario Suryo Aji and Takuma Matsuyama were always in the front group, although crashes meant that they missed out on points in Race 1 -in which Tatchakorn Buasri rose from 31st to 12th. In Race 2, all three managed to finish: Aji in 8th position, Matsuyama in 10th and Buasri in 18th.
In the first race of the day, Buasri made a great comeback, starting from 31st position on the grid and finishing 12th, equaling his best result of this season -achieved in Barcelona. His Asia Talent Team teammates both crashed on the last lap, involved in incidents with other riders. Matsuyama was in sixth when taken out at the final corner, rejoining the race in 22nd, whilst Aji would not finish after a fall when in 11th at the penultimate corner.
Race 2 featured even hotter conditions and a slippery track. Aji, who started seventh, and Matsuyama, who was fourth on the grid, were both amongst the Top 10 for most of the contest, and came home safely in eighth and tenth, respectively. Buasri was outside the points in 18th position.
With these results, Matsuyama is 10th in the overall standings with 51 points, followed by Aji in 11th with 50. Buasri is 24th with 9 points.
The next race for the FIM Junior Moto3 World Championship will be held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Saturday, September 18th, during the San Marino Grand Prix.
In the first race I had a lot of difficulties because another rider touched me from behind and I lost many positions, keeping me away from the frontrunners. I was able to recover until I got back to the first group, and up to eighth position again, although on the penultimate turn of the race another rider fell in front of me, I couldn't avoid him and I went down. It was not my mistake but I tried to overcome it and stay calm to prepare for the second race. It was very hot and I had difficulties, but we managed to make progress in these high temperatures. I had trouble with grip, but I was able to hold on and finish in eighth position. We have scored points again and I am happy, but not satisfied. We need to keep working.
Yesterday we had a good qualifying session and we started in a good position today. In the first race I rode at a solid pace, but on the last lap another rider touched me and knocked me off. In the second race, it was very hot and that made things more difficult; I was not able to push as much as I wanted, but I was finally able to finish in tenth. I hope for a better result at the next race.
Today I started the races from 31st position, because on Thursday and Friday I had some crashes. In the first race I never stopped pushing, although it was difficult because it was very hot and the track was slippery, especially at the braking points and when accelerating coming out of the corners. Finally I was able to finish 12th. In the second race it was even hotter, so it was more difficult and the tyre wore down much faster, but I was still able to finish 18th.
