The Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup riders are preparing for action over the 14th-16th October weekend in Japan, with the ninth and tenth races of the 2016 competition set to take place at the Twin Ring Motegi, coinciding with the MotoGP™ Grand Prix of Japan.
The riders participating in the Cup last gathered at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China in mid September for two races which saw them produce some great racing as they continued to gather experience and hone their race craft.
At the Chinese circuit it was Japanese youngster Ai Ogura who won Race 1, ahead of Indonesia’s Andi Izdihar and Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra. In Race 2 Yuki Kunii took the first win of his rookie season in the Cup, crossing the finish line ahead of second placed Gerry Salim and third placed Ogura.
The next event will be the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup’s only visit to Japan in 2016, after the races already this year in Thailand, Qatar, Malaysia and China and with the season finale at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia set for 28th-30th October, two weeks after the Motegi round.
After eight races in the 2016 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup Chantra holds the lead in the standings with 130 points, putting him eight points ahead of his nearest rival Izdihar in second place. Salim occupies third place in the general classification on 120 points, whilst Ogura’s strong results in China lifted him to fourth on 119, with everything still to play for over the remaining four races.
The track: Twin Ring Motegi’s 4.8km layout and 14 corners (eight right turns and six left) will provide an excellent test of the riders’ rapidly improving skills and all the participants in the Cup will relish racing at the Japanese venue over the same weekend as the best riders in the world in MotoGP™.
Races Schedule: The first of the two 15 lap races in Japan will commence at 4.15pm (local time) on Saturday 15th October and the second race begins at 3.30pm (local time) on Sunday 16th October.
What happened in 2015?
In last year’s visit to Motegi Japanese rider Ayumu Sasaki consolidated his position as leader of the Cup standings with victory in Race 1, ahead of compatriot Ogura and Indonesia’s Salim. Kazuki Masaki was the winner of Race 2, but the star of the day was Sasaki, whose second place in the race gave him the 2016 title, with two races to spare.
