American Kensei Matsudaira Wins in Moto5 Spanish Championship
July 16-17, 2022
11-year-old Japanese-American Kensei Matsudaira became a Moto5 category race winner on July 17, 2022 in the third round of the Cuna de Campeones Spanish Championship at Kotarr Circuit in Burgos, Spain.
Despite some technical issues during free practice on Saturday, Kensei was able to secure his first front-row start in the Spanish championship with a result of third position in qualifying.
In Race One on Sunday, Kensei got a good start and became part of the top group of three riders fighting for the win. From third position, he bided his time in the first half of the race and made his moves in the latter half of the race, working his way into the lead on lap 10 of 12. He never looked back and took his first win in the Spanish national championship.
Race Two saw a similar start with the top three riders breaking away from the rest of the grid to fight for the win. This time Kensei worked his way into second position early on lap two, and fought to catch the race leader, but finally ended the race in P2, just 1.0 seconds off the race winner.
Kensei narrowly missed getting the fastest lap of the races by just 0.03 second in the first race and 0.004 second in the second race. In the end, it was a double podium weekend for Kensei who now sits second in the championship.
“It’s hard for me to find the right words, winning in Spain was always a goal of course but it seemed so far away from when I first came to Spain three years ago and raced here for the first time and saw the level of competition,” Kensei said after the race weekend. “I almost can’t believe I won, but I’m just so happy to be able to notch this first win, hopefully with more to come!”
Round Four of the Moto5 Cuna de Campeones Spanish Championship will be held at As Pontes Circuit in Galicia, Spain on August 13-14, 2022.
Kensei will return to the US the following weekend to race at Round Three of the MotoAmerica Mini Cup by Motul championship at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. He is currently third in the Ohvale GP-0 160 category and leads the championship in the Ohvale GP-2 190 category.
Kensei would like to thank all of his sponsors for their support to help him race both at home and abroad:
American Racing Team & Academy, Fresh N Lean, Evike.com, Shoei Helmets, Dave Designs, AGV Sport, VNM Sport, D.I.D Chain, Galfer USA, Yoshimura R&D, Suspension Matters, TechSpec, The Starting Grid, Moto Tecnica, Mad Labs Minimoto, 73 Moto Parts, Bickle Racing, Vortex Racing, Landers Racing, Boyko Racing, Apex Racing Center, Live 100 Moto, DRT Racing, Karen E. Ott Photography, Hans King, Moto Survival School, California Superbike School, and Toni Elias School USA.
