Engines fire up for Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup testing
The Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup is about to get underway for 2017 at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. The 4.5 km track has seven right-handers and five left, and stages both testing and the first race weekend for the Cup in 2017.
Before the grid line up for that first battle of the year as part of the Thai Round of WorldSBK, Buriram is the host for two days of testing from March 5th-6th. With some new faces joining the ranks as Champions and previous protagonists such as Ayumu Sasaki continue to make their way down the Road to MotoGP™, the 22-strong rider field have as clear a goal as ever with the Cup – making it onto the world stage.
This year there are participants from eight different countries across Asia and Oceania, and Japan is the most prolific country on the entry list with eight representatives. Malaysia, Turkey, the Philippines, Australia and the host nation for the test and first race weekend, Thailand, are the other countries lining up in 2017 – another incredible cross section of talent as the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup continues its mission to find the best young riders from this part of the world.
There’s an incredible host of new faces for this season, including Australian Reid Battye and Thai rider Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi – representing his country with big boots to fill as reigning Champion Somkiat Chantra graduates from the Cup. Those back for another year include Japanese youngsters Ryusei Yamanka and Yuki Kunii, as well as Indonesian Irfan Ardiansyah and Turkey’s Can Alexsander Öncü and Deniz Oncu – looking to build on 2016 and attack the new season from the off.
Two days of testing at Buriram give much of the grid their first contact with the competition and the track – and allow those returning to the field some time to try and use experience to their advantage. Once the 5th and 6th of March sessions are done, the lights then go out the following weekend as racing begins for the 2017 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup.
ABOUT IDEMITSU
Idemitsu is a Japanese petroleum company. It is the second largest petroleum refiner in Japan. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products.
The logo at Idemitsu’s service stations is known as the Apollo logo. It is used as the symbol of the Idemitsu group’s energy business as a whole. When Idemitsu established their logo, the founder saw the picture of “the profile of the person who let hair stream” a signboard raised in the shop he passed. He liked the picture as “it had sense of speed”.
Idemitsu is involved in the MotoGP world championship with the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia in both the Moto3 and Moto2 classes.