American Kensei Matsudaira Makes Racing Debut in Thailand with Top 5 Finish
Japanese-American Kensei Matsudaira represented the US as a wildcard rider in the most recent Yamaha bLU cRU R3 Cup championship race held at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. He was joined as a wildcard in the race by four Yamaha R3 racers from Japan.
Switching from the GP bikes he has been racing in Spain, Kensei rode the Yamaha R3 production bike for the first time in the sole free practice session of the weekend before qualifying in ninth place, 2.2 seconds behind pole position. Despite the change in riding style required for production bikes, Kensei got up to speed quickly and felt confident for the races.
In Race One, Kensei got a great launch off the line and was up to P4 by the first corner, and from there he fought his way up to the top of the leading group and raced in the first or second position for the majority of the race, setting the fastest lap of the race along the way. He was leading the race going into the final corner but was taken out by contact from the inside by another rider who was later penalized for the move. Kensei was still able to pick up the bike and finish in seventh place.
Unfortunately, Kensei injured his hand in the crash and was taken to the medical center. After an x-ray confirmed no broken bones, he was cleared to race again on Sunday.
Race Two unfolded in a similar way with Kensei racing in the top group, fighting for position with the top three Japanese riders despite being unable to push as hard as he would have like due to the injury on his right hand. Kensei finished the race in 4th, just 0.2 second being the race winner.
“I felt pretty good in Race One, I was struggling with the suspension being too stiff for me but I felt confident to win or at least get on the podium, so I was really disappointed to get taken out like I did. Luckily, I didn’t break anything so I could try again the next day,” Kensei said after the races. “In Race Two the pace was good but my injured hand meant I couldn’t brake as hard and the suspension chatter I struggled with all weekend prevented me from pushing harder. In the end I was quite happy to have been able to fight at the very front, which was mostly with the Japanese riders. I learned a lot with this bike, you definitely have to ride it differently than the GP style bikes, but at the end it’s a bike so what you need to go fast is pretty similar.”
Kensei and his family would like to thank Yamaha Thailand, TJ Corse, and Bilmola USA for this special opportunity to race in Thailand.
Kensei will resume his regular road racing schedule with Round 5 of the RFME ESBK championship will be held at Circuito de Navarra in Los Arcos, Spain on September 16-17, 2023.
Kensei and the Evike.com Nox#27 Racing Team would like to thank all of Kensei’s sponsors for their support this year:
Evike.com, Evike Europe, HJC Helmets, Dave Designs, Almassera El Teular, Orange Cat Racing, Iconic Motorbikes, Bison Track, Moto Tecnica, Karen E. Ott Photography, BSP Racing, American Racing Team & Academy, The Starting Grid, TJ Corse, VNM Sport, NLAB Studio, California Superbike School, MadLabs Minimoto, Hans King, 73 Moto Parts, D.I.D Chain, Galfer USA, Bickle Racing, Yoshimura R&D, Vortex Racing, Suspension Matters, Moto Survival School, Live 100 Moto, TechSpec, Landers Racing, Boyko Racing, Mini Moto Alliance
