2024 Asia Talent Cup
Round Five – Chang International Circuit, Thailand
Race One
Ogiwara grabbed the holeshot pole but right from the word go the lead and podium positions changed lap by lap, corner by corner. After the opening few laps, Ogiwara and Mitani threatened to pull clear of the pack, but that attempt was thwarted by Kiattisak Singhapong as the Thai star reeled in the Japanese duo – and brought Takahira and Farish Hafiy with him.
At this stage, Ramadhipa was over a second behind the leading quintet but as the top five scrapped, the Indonesian got his head down and joined the fight with a few laps to go. Then, it was anyone’s game. Heading onto the final lap, Ogiwara led Mitani as the latter then ponced into a title-winning position at Turn 3.
Mitani then went from P1 to P5 in a matter of corners and coming through Turn 11 in the lead was the rider second in the standings – Takahira. As the #9 went defensive, Ogiwara, Mitani and Hafiy were forced onto the grass heading into the final corner.
Thankfully, everyone stayed upright, and coming out of Turn 12 in the lead was Ramadhipa. Takahira was just 0.009s behind the #7 as they crossed the line inches apart, with Ogiwara clinching P3 to beat home hero Singhapong, Mitani and Hafiy by less than a tenth.
Three seconds down the road, a fantastic battle unfolded in the fight for P7 and that contest was won by Alfonsi Daquigan. 8th place went the way of Rikki Henry, as Seiryu Ikegami and Archie Schmidt rounded out the top ten.
Rikki Henry – P8
“Started in P9 but had a rough start, dropping to 12th, and got pushed back to 15th by Turn 4 on Lap 1. I fought hard and managed to climb back to 10th, battling with Ikegami and Archie, ultimately finishing the race in 8th. I’m super pumped for tomorrow and confident I have the pace to compete in the front!”
Archie Schmidt – P10
“Positives out of the race were I finished 3.9 seconds from P1 and had a fastest lap time of 146:8.”
The final Aussie rider, Levi Russo, finished in 15th.
Race One Results
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Kiandra RAMADHIPA | INA | 26’55.677 |
| 2 | Riichi TAKAHIRA | JPN | +0.009 |
| 3 | Ryota OGIWARA | JPN | +0.118 |
| 4 | Kiattisak SINGHAPONG | THA | +0.129 |
| 5 | Zen MITANI | JPN | +0.167 |
| 6 | Farish HAFIY | MAL | +0.186 |
| 7 | Alfonsi DAQUIGAN | PHI | +3.246 |
| 8 | Rikki HENRY | AUS | +3.792 |
| 9 | Seiryu IKEGAMI | JPN | +3.825 |
| 10 | Archie SCHMIDT | AUS | +3.972 |
| 11 | Rintaro TAKEMOTO | JPN | +4.197 |
| 12 | Kitsada TANACHOT | THA | +4.416 |
| 13 | Sarthak CHAVAN | IND | +13.855 |
| 14 | Noprutpong BUNPRAWE | THA | +13.942 |
| 15 | Levi Kwan RUSSO | AUS | +22.843 |
| 16 | Pancharuch CHITWIRUL | THA | +29.317 |
| 17 | Farhan NAQIB | MAL | +29.568 |
| 18 | Asyraff ZAQUAN | MAL | +29.794 |
| 19 | Rakshith DAVE | IND | +29.956 |
| 20 | Chiranth VISHWANATH | IND | +48.416 |
Race Two
Ogiwara scored the holeshot as Mitani slotted into an early P2. The Japanese duo got their heads down and set a great pace in the early exchanges, as Singhapong led the chase.
Two Australians then joined the fray as Archie Schmidt and Rikki Henry propelled them into the rostrum fight before Henry’s top three hopes ended with a small crash at Turn 12.
Then it became about four riders fighting for the podium places. Ogiwara led the way from Mitani before Schmidt passed the Champion elect heading into the closing handful of laps. Singhapong then followed the #15 through on the #2 to get himself into P3, much to the delight of the Thai fans.
Mitani, pushing for a podium, then narrowly avoided a crash coming out of Turn 8. That was enough for the Japanese rider to call off his podium attack, as Mitani settled into a comfortable P4 – a result plenty good enough for him to wrap up the title.
Schmidt was setting PB laps in the closing stages to get within a second of Ogiwara, but the latter held on to claim a second win of the season. Behind debut podium finishers Schmidt and Singhapong, Mitani crossed the line in fourth to become the deserving 2024 ATC Champion.
Archie Schmidt – P2
“Stoked to have experienced my first ever international race podium!! Thank you to the ATC team for all their help and guidance over the weekend. Off to Malaysia for the final round in Sepang next weekend.”
Riichi Takahira was unable to get into the podium fight and finished in P5, which sees the #9 slip to P3 in the overall standings ahead of the final two races of the season.
Race 1 winner Kiandra Ramadhipa picked up P6, with wildcard Noprutpong Bunprawet collecting an impressive P7 ahead of fellow top 10 finishers Sarthak Chavan, Rintaro Takemoto and Alfonsi Daquigan.
Rikki Henry recovered to a 13th place finish.
Rikki Henry – P13
“I had a strong start, moving from P9 to P3 off the grid. I maintained that position for a lap or two before getting passed. Sitting in P4, I felt good but stayed cautious to avoid any mistakes. I focused on my race while battling with Archie. Unfortunately, on lap 4, at turn 12, I lost the front end. I had a look up the inside and couldn’t get it back in time and just touched the white line. These moments are part of racing, and I reminded myself to keep pushing forward. So once I picked up my bike and got going again I had fallen back to 19th, which was last by a few seconds, but I fought hard to regain positions and I’m proud to have finished in P13, earning points.”
It was a DNF for Levi Russo.
So there we go. The magnificent Mitani leaves Thailand as the new Champion and becomes the fifth Japanese rider to win the ATC title, as we get set for the 2024 curtain closer in Malaysia next weekend.
Race Two Results
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Ryota OGIWARA | JPN | 23’35.892 |
| 2 | Archie SCHMIDT | AUS | +1.110 |
| 3 | Kiattisak SINGHAPONG | THA | +3.837 |
| 4 | Zen MITANI | JPN | +8.763 |
| 5 | Riichi TAKAHIRA | JPN | +23.730 |
| 6 | Kiandra RAMADHIPA | INA | +23.896 |
| 7 | Noprutpong BUNPRAWE | THA | +38.719 |
| 8 | Sarthak CHAVAN | IND | +39.083 |
| 9 | Rintaro TAKEMOTO | JPN | +40.681 |
| 10 | Alfonsi DAQUIGAN | PHI | +40.944 |
| 11 | Tanachat PRATUMTONG | THA | +41.205 |
| 12 | Asyraff ZAQUAN | MAL | +43.348 |
| 13 | Rikki HENRY | AUS | +56.480 |
| 14 | Seiryu IKEGAMI | JPN | +58.989 |
| 15 | Kitsada TANACHOT | THA | +100.779 |
| 16 | Pancharuch CHITWIRUL | THA | +124.104 |
| 17 | Rakshith DAVE | IND | +137.629 |
| 18 | Farish HAFIY | MAL | 1 lap |
| Not classified | |||
| Levi Kwan RUSSO | AUS | ||
Asia Talent Cup Standings after Round Five
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Points |
| 1 | Zen MITANI | Japan | 209 |
| 2 | Ryota OGIWARA | Japan | 146 |
| 3 | Riichi TAKAHIRA | Japan | 145 |
| 4 | Kiandra RAMADHIPA | Indonesia | 131 |
| 5 | Kiattisak SINGHAPONG | Thailand | 111 |
| 6 | Seiryu IKEGAMI | Japan | 109 |
| 7 | Farish HAFIY | Malaysia | 81 |
| 8 | Rintaro TAKEMOTO | Japan | 72 |
| 9 | Archie SCHMIDT | Australia | 61 |
| 10 | Levi RUSSO | Australia | 57 |
| 11 | Sarthak CHAVAN | India | 53 |
| 12 | Alfonsi DAQUIGAN | Philippines | 52 |
| 13 | Rikki HENRY | Australia | 31 |
| 14 | Tanachat PRATUMTONG | Thailand | 29 |
| 15 | Kitsada TANACHOT | Thailand | 27 |
| 16 | Shingo IIDAKA | Japan | 20 |
| 17 | Rama PUTRA | Indonesia | 15 |
| 18 | Burapa WANMOON | Thailand | 12 |
| 19 | Noprutpong BUNPRAWET | Thailand | 11 |
| 20 | Asyraff ZAQUAN | Malaysia | 9 |
| 21 | Farhan NAQIB | Malaysia | 8 |
| 22 | Rakshith DAVE | India | 6 |
| 23 | Chiranth VISHWANATH | India | 5 |
2024 Asia Talent Cup Calendar
| Date | Round | Event | Circuit | Location |
| 1–3 November | Round 6 | MotoGP | Petronas Sepang International Circuit | Malaysia |
