Tough Sunday at Sepang for Aussie ATC youngsters

2022 Asia Talent Cup – Round Five
Sepang, Malaysia

Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup Race 2 went down to the wire on Sunday at Sepang, with home hero Hakim Danish coming out on top after a final corner attack.

The Malaysian recovered from a moment of grasstracking just before he made the move and lost the lead, hitting back to defeat Veda Ega Pratama by just 0.047.

Shinya Ezawa completed the podium in the damp conditions on Sunday morning, with Race 1 winner Carter Thompson crashing out on the final lap, rider ok.

Off the line it was a lottery for the holeshot but Gun Mie took it, the number 5 impressively late on the brakes and drama free to boot. Still, it became a lead group of six of Mie, Thompson, Pratama, Ezawa, Danish and Wakamatsu, and that it remained until late on.

Then, it became a duel for the win as Pratama and Danish started the final lap glued together. And despite his short excursion – clearly losing out and dropping the lead to Pratama on the run to the final corner – Danish was able to hit back and attack, opening the throttle for the drag to the line and just holding on for the win by 0.047.

As those behind faded slightly and Saturday’s race winner Thompson crashed out, rider ok, Ezawa managed to hold onto third for some valuable points, but not quite enough to retain the overall lead. It’s Danish back on top with a margin of just three heading into the final round.

Fourth in Race 2 went to Wakamatsu as he stayed within a fair margin of Ezawa, with Mie fading late on to a few seconds off his compatriots. The number 5 is now therefore 35 off the top with 50 points remaining, now staring down a long shot at the crown.

Hamad al-Sahouti moved through to sixth with some clear air, of which the same is true of Thanakorn Lakharn in seventh. Reykat Fadillah, Emil Izdhar and Jakkreephat Phuettisan completed the top ten in a close trio at the flag.

An early crash saw Cameron Swain, Marianos Nikolis and Amon Odaki go down and out of contention for solid points, riders ok.

That’s a wrap on Sepang and now there’s only one round and 50 points left in play in the 2022 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup. Come back for more at Mandalika from the 11th to the 13th of November – with Danish just three points ahead of Ezawa heading in.

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Carter Thompson – DNF

“Weekend of highs and lows, pushed hard qualifying to get pole position following on from my pole in Thailand. Race 1 was a great race and in typical ATC style came down to the final corner with Gun Mie and Rai Wakamatsu and I managed to come away with the win. Very happy to be on the top step of the podium for the first time. Race 2 I was in a good position but unfortunately had a crash towards the end of the race and was unable to finish. Thanks to Diego and all ATC staff for the continued help and support and to my mechanic Antonio, who does an amazing job. Also my family and friends for all their help and encouragement, I really do appreciate it. Can’t wait for the final round in a few weeks at Mandalika International Circuit, Lombok Indonesia.”

Race Two Results

Asia Talent Cup Standings