Four Japanese riders went head-to-head in Race 1 as Ikegami and Takahira claim podiums in the penultimate race of 2024
For the sixth time in 2024, Zen Mitani is a race winner as the Champion emerged victorious from a phenomenal race-long battle for the win. Fellow Japanese stars Seiryu Ikegami and Riichi Takahira pocketed Race 1 podiums in Malaysia, as Ryota Ogiwara narrowly missed out on a top three finish in P4.
And it was the latter who grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1, but polesitter Mitani responded almost immediately with an aggressive move at Turn 4. That set a precedent for the 11-lap race as a fascinating fight for the win played out.
Home hero Farish Hafiy was part of the lead group before a technical issue on his machine forced the Malaysian to retire midway through the race. At this stage, it was a three-rider scrap for the win, but the fast-approaching Takahira – after a slower start – reeled in his compatriots to make it a four-rider fight.
And, as expected, it all came down to the final lap. Mitani vs Ogiwara vs Ikegami vs Takahira. Who would prevail? Heading into the final hairpin, Mitani led but both he and Ogiwara – the latter especially – were deep. Mitani was able to get his Honda hooked up and keep the lead on the exit, but Ogiwara lost out. Taking the inside line, Ikegami came through to P2, Takahira slotted into P3 as Ogiwara’s podium hopes evaporated. Meanwhile, Mitani clung on to collect another 25 points in 2024, as we were treated to a great spectacle in the penultimate race of the season.
Kiandra Ramadhipa won an intense battle for P5 as Alfonsi Daquigan bagged his best finish of the season in P6. Thai GP podium finisher Archie Schmidt pocketed P7, less than half a second away from the top five, as Kiattisak Singhapong, Rintaro Takemoto and Rikki Henry completed the top 10.
What a race. Again! And now we get ready to race for one last time in 2024. Tune into Race 2 at 09:45 local time (UTC+8) from Sepang on YouTube!
