A first win for Buasri and Thailand on what was a day to remember for the JTT riders
The 2022 Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship welcomed the start of a new season for the Junior Talent Team, as all riders looked to make a strong start to the new campaign. It was a day to remember all-round, with Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Racing Thailand) took a career-first victory with a dramatic conclusion to the opening race of the season. A hair-raising final lap saw Buasri, who had led at points, in second place behind Jose Antonio Rueda (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0). Rueda took the flag but had exceeded track limits on the last lap. This then promoted Buasri into first position, taking a career-first podium as a victory. It was also a first victory for Thailand in the class, as Buasri now leads the Championship heading into the next round in Valencia.
Behind Buasri, the results kept coming for the Junior Talent Team as Eddie O’Shea (British Talent Team) stormed to his first points-scoring ride of his JuniorGP™ career with a superb ninth. In a battle for the top ten positions all the way through the encounter at Estoril, O’Shea was able to build on his career-best qualifying and finish 0.015s ahead of class rookie Xabi Zurutuza (Angeluss MTA Team).
Further back, there was further progress for Danial Sharil (Asia Talent Team), with the Malaysian rider putting in a determined performance to finish the first race of the new season in 12th, up eight places from his starting position. Having qualified in 20th but showcasing a strong race pace, Sharil was less than a quarter of a second away from a top ten finish.
Progress was also made by Arbi Aditama (Astra Honda Racing Team), as he likewise improved on his grid position. Starting 24th for his first race in the JuniorGP™, he picked his way through to 17th but lost touch with the battle for the points ahead of him. However, he won the battle in his group and got his season off to a clean start with a career-best performance.
