Albacete: Asia Talent Team ready to race

2017-04-28 08:03
With preseason testing now over, it’s soon time for the Asia Talent Team to get down to racing, with the first race of the year set to take place at Albacete as the 2017 FIM CEV Repsol gets into gear this weekend.

With two returners – Kazuki Masaki and Andi Farid – there are also three rookies joining the team in the form of Japanese riders Yuki Kunii and Ai Ogura, alongside 2016 Asia Talent Cup winner Somkiat Chantra from Thailand. Southern Spanish venue Albacete is the first stop on the calendar; a 3.5km long circuit with eight right-handed corners and six left - short and closed, where the Asia Talent Team are aiming to hold their own.

With the rookies not having any prior knowledge of the circuit, the challenge is sure to be a big one – but two successful tests in April at Valencia and at MotorLand Aragon have ensured they are as prepared as possible for their new mission. The weekend was successful one for the Team in 2016, and the riders are ready to push once again this season.

This first round of the 2017 FIM CEV Repsol includes one race for the Moto3™ Junior World Championship, with the class on track for their first qualifying sessions from 10:20am local time (GMT +1) on Saturday. The race on Sunday then gets underway at 14:00.

Last year (Albacete round): Albacete was not the first round of the season in 2016, and the race weekend was a successful one for the Asia Talent Team - a front row start for Andi Farid and a podium for Kaito Toba, who raced with the team last season. Masaki also took a top ten in P8, ahead of then-teammate Ayumu Sasaki.

Alberto Puig, Asia Talent Team Director: “The first race in Albacete is always a challenge because it’s a very closed track. We hope the riders can keep progressing, but we leave the tests hoping to hold our own and play a good role in the race. As it’s the first race there are riders who don’t know the track, that’s a challenge we have in our team – but we go into the season excited to race and wanting to get going, and hope that by the end of the season the riders have taken another great step forward.”

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