Aji and Furusato Faces Difficult Race Day at Silverstone
Silverstone CircuitIdemitsu Honda Team Asia closed the 12th round of the 2026 Moto2 World Championship with a difficult Sunday at the legendary Silverstone Circuit, as Mario Suryo Aji and Taiyo Furusato finished P22 and P23 respectively after a demanding race under hot and sunny conditions.
Following the heavy crashes suffered by both riders during Saturday's qualifying session, Sunday was always going to be a challenging test. Both Aji and Furusato were cleared to race and made it to the grid, but neither rider was able to show the full potential demonstrated earlier in the weekend.
Starting from P18, Mario Aji made a determined start and spent the opening part of the race fighting to move towards the points-scoring positions. However, as the laps went by, the Indonesian rider struggled physically and his pace gradually dropped. Despite the difficulties, Aji crossed the finish line in P22, completing his first full race since returning from his injury.
On the other side of the garage, Taiyo Furusato faced an even tougher challenge from the back of the grid. Starting from P28, the Japanese rookie immediately began working his way forward and fought throughout the race to move closer to the top 20. A front-grip drop made the final stages increasingly difficult, but Furusato continued fighting until the chequered flag, eventually finishing P23.
It was not the result Idemitsu Honda Team Asia had been targeting after a promising start to the British Grand Prix. The championship now heads into a two-week break, giving the team and riders the opportunity to reset, recover and analyse the lessons from Silverstone. The objective is clear: return stronger and better prepared for the 13th round of the season at MotorLand Aragón.
It has been a very tough weekend for us. Both riders went to the medical centre after the crashes yesterday, but fortunately they were able to race today. We repaired the bikes and both riders started from the back of the grid, which was obviously not an easy situation.
During the race, both riders were fighting to recover positions, but Mario was struggling physically and Taiyo had difficulties with the front grip towards the end of the race. Because of that, they could not finish in the positions we were expecting.
We are obviously not happy with the result, and this weekend has been very stressful for everyone involved in the project. We need to learn from what happened and make sure we avoid putting ourselves in this kind of situation again as much as possible.
The most important thing is that both riders were able to race and finish, but we need to be better prepared, physically and technically, to be competitive on Sunday.
I want to thank all our staff for the huge effort they made, especially after the crashes, to repair the bikes and get everything ready for the race. Unfortunately, we could not give them the result they deserved this weekend. Now we have two weeks to reset and prepare for Aragón. We will come back stronger and try to achieve the result we are looking for there.
It has been a very tough weekend for us. Both riders went to the medical centre after the crashes yesterday, but fortunately they were able to race today. We repaired the bikes and both riders started from the back of the grid, which was obviously not an easy situation.
During the race, both riders were fighting to recover positions, but Mario was struggling physically and Taiyo had difficulties with the front grip towards the end of the race. Because of that, they could not finish in the positions we were expecting.
We are obviously not happy with the result, and this weekend has been very stressful for everyone involved in the project. We need to learn from what happened and make sure we avoid putting ourselves in this kind of situation again as much as possible.
The most important thing is that both riders were able to race and finish, but we need to be better prepared, physically and technically, to be competitive on Sunday.
I want to thank all our staff for the huge effort they made, especially after the crashes, to repair the bikes and get everything ready for the race. Unfortunately, we could not give them the result they deserved this weekend. Now we have two weeks to reset and prepare for Aragón. We will come back stronger and try to achieve the result we are looking for there.
It was my first race since the injury where I managed to see the chequered flag, so in that sense it is important to have another race completed and more kilometres on the bike. Of course, it is a shame because we had good speed and good confidence before the crash, and considering the potential we showed during the weekend, P22 is definitely not where we should have been.
But right now, what makes me most grateful is that I was able to come away from the crash without any new injury and still make the race. Physically, I'm really tired and destroyed after today, but the important thing is that we got more kilometres, more feedback and more experience that we can take into Aragón.
I want to thank the team because they worked incredibly hard throughout the whole weekend, especially after the crashes. They did a great job to get the bike ready. Now we have to reset, recover and come back stronger. In Aragón, I want to fight for a much better result and give the team the result they deserve.
It was my first race since the injury where I managed to see the chequered flag, so in that sense it is important to have another race completed and more kilometres on the bike. Of course, it is a shame because we had good speed and good confidence before the crash, and considering the potential we showed during the weekend, P22 is definitely not where we should have been.
But right now, what makes me most grateful is that I was able to come away from the crash without any new injury and still make the race. Physically, I'm really tired and destroyed after today, but the important thing is that we got more kilometres, more feedback and more experience that we can take into Aragón.
I want to thank the team because they worked incredibly hard throughout the whole weekend, especially after the crashes. They did a great job to get the bike ready. Now we have to reset, recover and come back stronger. In Aragón, I want to fight for a much better result and give the team the result they deserve.
It was a difficult race, especially starting from P28, but I tried to fight from the beginning and recover as many positions as possible. The first part of the race was positive because I could move forward and get closer to the group ahead. But later, I started to struggle more with the front grip and it became difficult to keep the same pace.
Still, I kept pushing until the end and we managed to finish the race. It is not the result we wanted, but every race gives us something to learn and understand. After a difficult weekend like this, we need to take the positive points, understand what we can improve and keep working step by step. The two-week break will be important to recover and come back with more energy. I believe in the work we are doing with the team, and in Aragón we will try to make another step forward and fight for a much better result.
It was a difficult race, especially starting from P28, but I tried to fight from the beginning and recover as many positions as possible. The first part of the race was positive because I could move forward and get closer to the group ahead. But later, I started to struggle more with the front grip and it became difficult to keep the same pace.
Still, I kept pushing until the end and we managed to finish the race. It is not the result we wanted, but every race gives us something to learn and understand. After a difficult weekend like this, we need to take the positive points, understand what we can improve and keep working step by step. The two-week break will be important to recover and come back with more energy. I believe in the work we are doing with the team, and in Aragón we will try to make another step forward and fight for a much better result.
