From the eighth row the Indonesian and Japanese shine under the Algarve sun
With high temperatures and the rollercoaster Autodromo Internacional do Algarve circuit the Junior Talent Team riders had their work cut out at Round 4 of the 2024 FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship.
Amon Odaki, starting from P23 on the grid on board the Asia Talent Team bike, got into the mix in the early stages of Race 1. The Japanese rider was pushing strongly in the battle for P11, however in the end took the chequered flag in P13, recording his best result in JuniorGP™. Carrying confidence into Race 2, with the track temperatures reaching an even higher level. The Japanese was running in P12 before slipping out of contention, eventually remounting to finish in P24. Not the end results the #56 was aiming for but another learning experience that yielded a best result in the series.
Taking the P12 in Race 2 vacated by Odaki was Astra Honda Racing rider, Arbi Aditama. The Indonesian became a victim in Race 1 of the undulating circuit at Turn 5 and slipped off, thankfully without harm. However, the #93 bounced back and put up a valiant effort for P12 scoring his first points of the season in only his second event after missing the opening two rounds. The positive end to the weekend will give Aditama much to look forward to in the second half of the season.
Danial Shahril, starting alongside his JTT teammates on row eight, got a good start and was running inside the Top 20 in the early laps but the Asia Talent Team rider’s Race 1 came to an end on Lap 9 while challenging for points, thankfully the Malaysian was unhurt. Looking to rebound in Race 2 the #57 was once again in points contention in the early stages but didn’t have the pace of the group ahead and took the chequered flag in P17. With the summer break ahead, the Malaysian will look to regroup ahead of Jerez and come back strong after the summer break and show the results that he achieved at Estoril.
Jakkreephat Phuettisan had another learning weekend where the Thai lost out on valuable track time on Saturday. However, a solid and clean performance on Sunday for P22 (Race 1) and P20 (Race 2) was more valuable experience that the Honda Racing Thailand rider will carry forward into the second part of the season.
A long-earned break now awaits the JTT and time to regroup ahead of Round 5 at the historic Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto on September 15th when the FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship returns!
