Qatar’s Hamad Al Sahouti (No. 23) in action during Race 1 of the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia at Mandalika Circuit yesterday.
Doha: Qatari rider Hamad Al Sahouti was placed third in the overall standings of the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup despite narrowly missing a podium spot in Race 1 in Round 2 at the Mandalika Circuit in Indonesia, yesterday.
Al Sahouti, riding a Honda in the opening race of the second round of Talent Cup this season, completed the 16-lap race in 28 minutes and 30.472 secs, 6.438 seconds behind his closest rival - Reykat Fadillah of Indonesia.
Now a full time rider Al Sahouti made huge gains on race day after a tougher qualifying session in the wet, beating Rei Wakamatsu by a couple of tenths.
Al Sahouti who booked a podium spot after finishing second in race 2 at the recently held MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar, settled in for the third spot in the championship standings with 46 points, just 1 point behind Hakim Danish.
Japan’s Shinya Ezawa, who won the opening Asia Talent Cup race at the Losail International Circuit, tops the championship standings with 55 points.
The event which is being held on the sidelines of the Indonesia Grand Prix saw Malaysian Hakim Danish clinch his first win of the year, proving to be the master of Mandalika in a dominant victory.
Danish escaped ahead of a three-way fight to complete the podium that saw Shinya Ezawa take the second spot.
The Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup Race 2 will take place today.
