The Asia Talent Team arrive to Le Mans with three riders in the top ten points overall...
. By Bikeland Staff
The Asia Talent Team arrive to Le Mans with three riders in the top ten points overall, Toba second, Sasaki eighth and Masaki ninth.
Farid and Atiratphuvapat look to recover after troubles in Valencia.
The start of the season for the Asia Talent Team in Valencia was a positive one, highlighted by Kaito Toba’s victory in the second race. In Le Mans the young talents of the Asia Talent Team will run alongside the MotoGP™ World Championship. This weekend will need even more focus than a regular round of the Junior World Championship, as they will not have any Free Practice. The five riders need to get a good lap time in the two Qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday if they want to shine on the front rows. With this they can avoid getting trapped behind other riders and hopefully remain with the leading group.
Alberto Puig will once again provide advice to the five riders of the Asia Talent Team, assisted by Hiroshi Aoyama (2009 250cc World Champion). The Japanese rider was more than satisfied with the young talents after Valencia:
It was an amazing start for the ATT in Valencia, did you see it coming?
“Yes it was good start for the Asia Talent Team for 2016 season. They achieved much better results and had a better start compared to last year”
What do expect from the five riders, some are more experienced than others? How does having a mix of experience and youth help?
“There are three Japanese riders, an Indonesian and a Thai rider. Each one has good talent and potential but they are still young and lack of experience in Europe. It isn’t easy for them to fight against European riders in new circuits. They are also 10.000km away from home and a different culture doesn’t help much.”
Do you have a special plan or guide to improve the skills of the young riders?
“I have some knowledge after 11 years of GP experience and I know how Asian riders are, how they think. I can help from many sides as well as improving communication with team and giving some advice.
What is your point of view about Dorna’s commitment about bringing young Asian riders to the front with SAATC and ATT. How does Alberto Puig’s cooperation help?
“In the last few years we didn’t have many new young Asian riders in the MotoGP paddock and it was pity for Asian motorcycling, especially with the history. Ten years ago the Asian championship series was more popular and the rider level was higher. Therefore it was easier to make the step up to the World Championship. But somehow the situation changed and there was big step between Asian championship series and MotoGP. That created a big wall for Asian riders, really tough to climb over."
"Currently the FIM CEV Repsol is a great environment for young riders to grow up and step into MotoGP. We can see it with Khairul Idham Pawi in Honda Team Asia in Moto3 World Championship. He was in the Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2015. Therefore, the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup and the Asia Talent Team are very important as they help a lot of young riders. I’m proud to be involved in this project and I’m happy to help and pass my experience to the younger generation. We still have a lot of races to come and we believe that we can have a competitive season with the five riders. We are looking forward to be at Le Mans next weekend.”
The Moto3™ Junior World Championship’s second event of the season coincides with the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at the circuit of Le Mans.
The second round of Moto3™ World Junior Championship will begin on Friday the 6th, with the two qualifying sessions of 50 minutes, at 12:00 and 16:05. The race will be held on Saturday the 7th at 16:30 (17 laps). The Moto3™ Post Race Press Conference will be held at 17:45.
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Dorna Sports, who already runs the successful Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup to support young talented riders, has taken its commitment to the next level by creating the Asia Talent Team in order to ensure the career progression of the most talented riders participating in the Asian competition during the 2015 season. The Asia Talent Team is run by Dorna as a part of its New Riders Development Programmes.