Ramadhipa wins Buriram blockbuster by 0.009s as the title race continues
The Championship chase goes down to the final three races as Kiandra Ramadhipa emerged victorious from a Buriram Race 1 blockbuster. The Indonesian won for the second time this season in a six-rider fight for the win, with Riichi Takahira claiming a crucial P2 ahead of third place Ryota Ogiwara as Zen Mitani’s P5 sees his points advantage come down to 62 with 75 left on the table.
Ogiwara grabbed the holeshot from pole position 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.
That soon changed though. Mitani 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 it was won by Alfonsi Daquigan. 8th place went the way of Rikki Henry, as Seiryu Ikegami and Archie Schmidt rounded out the Race 1 top 10.
What a race. Mitani’s wait to be crowned Champion goes on, but Sunday unearths another chance. 62 points is the #2’s lead, and if he leaves Thailand with 50 or more, he’ll be Champion. Tune into Race 2 at 09:45 local time (UTC+7) on YouTube to find out if Mitani’s dream is realised, or if we’ll head to Malaysia with the title still up for grabs.
Ogiwara fends off Schmidt for victory as Mitani clinches 2024 crown
The 2024 IDEMITSU Asia Talent Cup Champion has been crowned as a P4 finish in the wet Buriram conditions handed the brilliant Zen Mitani the crown. The Japanese star ended the 12-lap race behind winner Ryota Ogiwara as the #16 produced an inch-perfect performance to fend off the superb second place finisher Archie Schmidt. Third place went the way of home hero Kiattisak Singhapong as the Thai rider joined the aforementioned Australian on the podium for the first time.
Ogiwara – as he did in Race 1 – pinched a comfortable holeshot into Turn 1 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. Then, two Australians joined the fray as Schmidt and Rikki Henry powered into the rostrum fight before the latter’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.
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.
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.