2022 Asia Talent Cup – Round Five
Sepang, Malaysia
Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup Race 1 in Sepang didn’t disappoint, with a three-rider battle to the line seeing Carter Thompson come out on top for his first ATC win, having already claimed pole position.
The Australian held off a last corner attack from Gun Mie, which saw the Japanese rider relegated to third, with Rei Wakamatsu grabbing second in the dash to the finish line.
Big drama earlier in the race hit for former points leader Hakim Danish as he crashed out from the race lead, rider ok after a check-up in the Medical Centre.
Buriram winner Veda Ega Pratama then took a tumble as he was pushing to catch the fight for victory, leaving two key players taking home nil points from Saturday.
Thompson got the perfect start from pole to take the early lead, but Danish hit quickly to take over. He pushed to make a gap and looked to be controlling the race before crashing out, leaving Thompson, Mie and Wakamatsu battling for the win and not just the rostrum.
That went down to the final corner after Thompson had taken the lead at Turn 1 on the final lap, with Mie heading round the outside but then overcooking it.
Thompson cut back and hit the gas to the line, taking his first victory. Wakamatsu kept his powder dry in second, with Mie able to gather it back up and take third.
Carter Thompson – P1
“So happy to come away with the win in Race 1. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this happen. Can’t wait for Race 2 tomorrow.”
Shinya Ezawa was able to take a valuable fourth place and with it the points lead, with some clear air for the Japanese rookie too.
Behind there was a group battle won by Amon Odaki in fifth, ahead of Marianos Nikolis who finished sixth after a brilliant ride from his 20th place start right at the back of the grid. Farish Hafiy and Hamad al-Sahouti took P7 and P8, close on the chase.
Behind them, Reykat Fadillah took P9, with Diandra Trihardika and Farres Putra for close company.
Cameron Swain finished a distant 17th, almost 17-seconds off 16th-placed Thanakorn Lakharn.
Thompson sits sixth in the standings following the opening race, Nikolis 11th and Swain is 18th.
Race 1 Results
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Gap |
| 1 | Carter THOMPSON | AUS | 30’21.058 |
| 2 | Rei WAKAMATSU | JPN | +0.195 |
| 3 | Gun MIE | JPN | +0.256 |
| 4 | Shinya EZAWA | JPN | +9.343 |
| 5 | Amon ODAKI | JPN | +19.205 |
| 6 | Marianos NIKOLIS | AUS | +19.320 |
| 7 | Farish HAFIY | MAL | +19.467 |
| 8 | Hamad AL-SAHOUTI | QAT | +19.625 |
| 9 | Reykat FADILLAH | INA | +21.662 |
| 10 | Diandra TRIHARDIKA | INA | +21.668 |
| 11 | Farres PUTRA | MAL | +21.692 |
| 12 | Aan RISWANTO | INA | +24.181 |
| 13 | Thanat LAOONGPLIO | THA | +24.190 |
| 14 | Jakkreephat PHUETTISA | THA | +24.231 |
| 15 | Emil IZDHAR | MAL | +30.815 |
| 16 | Thanakorn LAKHARN | THA | +30.865 |
| 17 | Cameron SWAIN | AUS | +47.364 |
| 18 | Kavin QUINTAL | IND | +1’06.753 |
| Not classified | |||
| Veda Ega PRATAMA | INA | 4 laps | |
| Hakim DANISH | MAL | 8 laps | |
Asia Talent Cup Standings
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Total |
| 1 | EZAWA Shinya | JPN | 132 |
| 2 | DANISH Hakim | MAL | 126 |
| 3 | MIE Gun | JPN | 105 |
| 4 | AL-SAHOUTI Hamad | QAT | 81 |
| 5 | ODAKI Amon | JPN | 77 |
| 6 | THOMPSON Carter | AUS | 73 |
| 7 | PRATAMA Veda Ega | INA | 71 |
| 8 | WAKAMATSU Rei | JPN | 62 |
| 9 | FADILLAH Reykat | INA | 60 |
| 10 | PHUETTISAN Jakkreeph | THA | 55 |
| 11 | NIKOLIS Marianos | AUS | 48 |
| 12 | HAFIY Farish | MAL | 38 |
| 13 | PUTRA Farres | MAL | 36 |
| 14 | RISWANTO Aan | INA | 34 |
| 15 | TRIHARDIKA Diandra | INA | 34 |
| 16 | LAOONGPLIO Thanat | THA | 23 |
| 17 | LAKHARN Thanakorn | THA | 20 |
| 18 | SWAIN Cameron | AUS | 12 |
| 19 | IZDHAR Emil | MAL | 11 |
| 20 | TRAN DUC TAI Nguyen | VIE | 4 |
| 21 | AKBAR Zachry | INA | 4 |
| 22 | QUINTAL Kavin | IND | 3 |
| 23 | WANMOON Burapa | THA | 2 |
| 24 | SUKKUM Vatican | THA | 0 |
