Race
Moto2 2026
Round 15
Aji P17 and Furusato P18 as Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Heads to the Asian Tour
Red Bull Ring - SpielbergIdemitsu Honda Team Asia completed the 15th round of the 2026 Moto2 World Championship at the Red Bull Ring with Mario Suryo Aji finishing P17 and Taiyo Furusato P18. Both riders showed promising race pace and spent significant portions of the race fighting around the points-paying positions, but ultimately fell just short of scoring.
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Starting from P18, Aji lost several positions during the opening stages before gradually recovering ground throughout the race. The Indonesian rider found a consistent rhythm in the second half and moved back through the field, eventually reaching P17 and finishing just outside the points.
Furusato, starting from P20, made a strong getaway and immediately moved into the points-paying positions. The Japanese rookie remained inside the top 15 for much of the race, reaching P14 and showing competitive pace through the middle stages. However, after around 14-15 laps, his rear tyre performance dropped and he was unable to maintain his pace until the chequered flag, eventually finishing P18.
Although the final result was disappointing after both riders showed the potential to score points, the weekend provided encouraging signs in terms of pace and confidence. The team now heads into the Asian Tour, beginning with Furusato’s home Grand Prix at Motegi before travelling to Mandalika for Aji’s home round in Indonesia.
Hiroshi Aoyama
⠀ ⠀ ⠀
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia It was a tough race for both riders. Taiyo made a really good start and gained several positions in the early part of the race. He was riding quite a long time around P14, but after around 14 or 15 laps he started to suffer from tyre drop and couldn’t maintain the same pace until the end. Because of that, he lost several positions and finished P18. This was not what we expected, so we are disappointed with the final result.
On the other side, Mario lost quite a lot of time during the first part of the race, but in the second half he recovered strongly. His pace was quite consistent and he made a good comeback to finish P17.
Both riders were fighting around the points, but unfortunately neither could score today, which is disappointing. Still, there are positive things to take from the weekend, especially regarding the pace and feeling. I want to thank our sponsors, our fans and all the team members for their support. Now we keep pushing and go to Japan next week. We want to make a better result and have a stronger race at Motegi.
It was a tough race for both riders. Taiyo made a really good start and gained several positions in the early part of the race. He was riding quite a long time around P14, but after around 14 or 15 laps he started to suffer from tyre drop and couldn’t maintain the same pace until the end. Because of that, he lost several positions and finished P18. This was not what we expected, so we are disappointed with the final result.
On the other side, Mario lost quite a lot of time during the first part of the race, but in the second half he recovered strongly. His pace was quite consistent and he made a good comeback to finish P17.
Both riders were fighting around the points, but unfortunately neither could score today, which is disappointing. Still, there are positive things to take from the weekend, especially regarding the pace and feeling. I want to thank our sponsors, our fans and all the team members for their support. Now we keep pushing and go to Japan next week. We want to make a better result and have a stronger race at Motegi.
Mario Aji
64
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia We are content with the performance, but not with the result. Looking back, I think the result should have been better considering our performance. Unfortunately, we had a few difficulties during the race with the other riders, especially at the beginning, and that cost us some time.
Still, there are many positives to take. I felt good throughout the whole race and had a good rhythm. I also feel that I was able to manage the bike better and ride more consistently compared with the previous races, so I’m happy with the work the team is doing.
Now we finally go into the Asian Tour, and I don’t want to put any huge expectations on myself. I just want to enjoy it, give my best and appreciate racing in front of the crowd. We will take all the positives from this weekend and carry them into the Asian rounds. I’m really happy that we are finally going to Asia, and I want to thank the team for always having my back. Let’s see what the next races bring.
We are content with the performance, but not with the result. Looking back, I think the result should have been better considering our performance. Unfortunately, we had a few difficulties during the race with the other riders, especially at the beginning, and that cost us some time.
Still, there are many positives to take. I felt good throughout the whole race and had a good rhythm. I also feel that I was able to manage the bike better and ride more consistently compared with the previous races, so I’m happy with the work the team is doing.
Now we finally go into the Asian Tour, and I don’t want to put any huge expectations on myself. I just want to enjoy it, give my best and appreciate racing in front of the crowd. We will take all the positives from this weekend and carry them into the Asian rounds. I’m really happy that we are finally going to Asia, and I want to thank the team for always having my back. Let’s see what the next races bring.
Taiyo Furusato
72
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia I’m happy with the feeling because we gained some confidence again. After the previous races, for some reason we had lost some confidence, but it wasn’t because of the team or because we stopped believing in ourselves. This weekend we started to build that confidence again, and the feeling was definitely better than before.
It was positive that I could stay in the points for most of the race. I made a good start, gained positions and had good pace until around the middle of the race. However, I spent a little too much time trying to catch the group in front, and that meant I had to use more from the tyre than I wanted.
After that, it became more difficult to maintain the pace and I lost some positions towards the end. It’s something we can learn from and improve with more laps and more experience. Now we go to my home Grand Prix in Japan, so I’m really looking forward to it. I want to use everything we learned here and keep improving.
I’m happy with the feeling because we gained some confidence again. After the previous races, for some reason we had lost some confidence, but it wasn’t because of the team or because we stopped believing in ourselves. This weekend we started to build that confidence again, and the feeling was definitely better than before.
It was positive that I could stay in the points for most of the race. I made a good start, gained positions and had good pace until around the middle of the race. However, I spent a little too much time trying to catch the group in front, and that meant I had to use more from the tyre than I wanted.
After that, it became more difficult to maintain the pace and I lost some positions towards the end. It’s something we can learn from and improve with more laps and more experience. Now we go to my home Grand Prix in Japan, so I’m really looking forward to it. I want to use everything we learned here and keep improving.
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