Wins, podiums, and strong showings | This Week In Motorsports

MotoGP

Asian Riders Face Mixed Fortunes Across MotoGP Weekend in the Italy

Asian riders delivered a weekend of highs and lows across MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 at the Italian Grand Prix, with standout recoveries in the lower classes but challenges in converting qualifying pace into race results overall.

In MotoGP, Takaaki Nakagami showed a glimmer of pace with a P9 qualifying but slipped to P15 and P16 in the sprint and main race, respectively. Ai Ogura maintained steady form, progressing from mid-pack practice sessions to a consistent P10 in the main race. Somkiat Chantra, despite an improved qualifying, finished a disappointing P18 in the race.

In Moto2, Ayumu Sasaki showed promise in Q1 but ultimately faded in the race to P19, while Yuki Kunii impressed with a P9 qualifying but fell back to P23 by race end. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat improved his qualifying performance after struggling in practice however ended up P25.

Moto3 saw the strongest performances from the Asian grid. Ryusei Yamanaka overcame a tough qualifying to finish P10, and Taiyo Furusato made a significant leap from 19th in FP2 to finish a superb P6 in the race, marking the standout recovery of the weekend. Tatchakorn Buasri, meanwhile, showed brief qualifying strength but ended the race in P17, highlighting challenges in sustaining pace.

RMCAT

Vejabhuti Brothers Shine, Francois and Gale Win RMC Asia Trophy

Round 2 of the RMC Asia Trophy brought thrilling, close racing to the iconic Sepang circuit, featuring some of the most exciting karting talent from across Asia. The weekend saw fierce competition across the grids, culminating in four standout winners on Sunday’s finals. Chinnaphat Vejabhuti, Thanawarat Vejabhuti, Slasbert Mika Francois, and Toby Gale each clinched victory in their respective categories

BNL Series

Atiqa Mir displays grit despite injuries in the BNL Series at Genk

At the BNL Round in Genk, Atiqa experienced a challenging yet promising weekend at the renowned track. Displaying competitive pace, her performance was hampered by penalties and a significant crash on Day 1, which destroyed the kart. Despite sustaining injuries, Atiqa persevered on Day 2 with the aid of physiotherapy and painkillers. Maintaining strong pace, she faced further setbacks with engine issues at the start of the final, dropping to 27th. A determined recovery Atiqa then climbed to 13th by the final lap, only to lose five places and finish 18th. The weekend served as valuable preparation for the upcoming RMC Euro Trophy Round 3, with the Atiqa feeling confident and on pace.

ROK Cup Italy

Qarrar Firhand Claims First Podium at ROK Cup Italy

Indonesian talent Qarrar Firhand delivered a breakthrough performance at the ROK Cup Italy 2025, securing his first podium finish amidst a grid of 40 international drivers. Showing pace from the start, Qarrar topped the official free practice session and followed it up with a strong qualifying time of 47.412 seconds on the 1.2 km circuit.

He went on to win Heat 1 and secured P2 in Heat 2, setting a best lap of 1:06.987. Starting the final from the front row, Qarrar engaged in a nail-biting battle for the lead. Though he crossed the line first, a post-race penalty from the stewards dropped him to P3 - still marking a well-earned maiden podium in a competitive European field.

Spanish F4 Championship

Kanthan Keeps Points Streak Alive, Lee Shows Grit in Spanish F4 at Paul Ricard

Round 3 of the Spanish F4 Championship at Paul Ricard saw Vivek Kanthan continue his reputation for consistency. After a modest start with P11 in qualifying and a P13 in Race 1, he bounced back in style with a P6 finish in Race 2 after qualifying in the same spot. He closed the weekend with P7 in Race 3, extending his 100% points-scoring record across every round so far this season.

Meanwhile, rookie Kyuho Lee endured a tough weekend. Qualifying P23 and P24 in both sessions, Lee was forced to retire from Race 1 and placed P22 in Race 2. But the Korean driver showed resilience, climbing to P12 in the final race - his strongest finish of the weekend—narrowly missing out on a top 10 result.

Eurocup 3

Tarnvanichkul Takes Rookie Podium, Daryanani Shows Promise Before Illness

At the Paul Ricard round of Eurocup-3, Enzo Tarnvanichkul continued to build on his growing momentum in the championship. The Thai rookie impressed with back-to-back P7 and P8 qualifying efforts, converting them into a strong P6 finish in both Race 1—where he also secured a rookie podium—and the Sprint Race. He dropped to P12 in Race 2 but maintained his reputation for consistency across the weekend.

India’s Kai Daryanani showed encouraging pace with a P15 in qualifying and broke into the top 10 in the Sprint with a P9 finish. Unfortunately, illness forced him to withdraw from the rest of the weekend, cutting short what could have been a breakthrough round.

Vietnamese driver Owen Tangavelou made a one-off return to single-seater racing at Paul Ricard. After qualifying P17 and P16, he was taken out in Race 1, but bounced back with a P13 in the Sprint and a P11 in Race 2—just missing out on the points.

Italian F4

Super Formula Lights

Nomura Sweeps Okayama Weekend with Dominant Super Formula Lights Triple Win

Yuto Nomura delivered a flawless performance at the Super Formula Lights weekend in Okayama, claiming victory in all three races to draw level on points with Yuki Sano in the championship standings. In Race 1, Nomura led from lights to flag, finishing 6.6 seconds ahead of Rikuto Kobayashi, while Zach David secured third after a tight scrap with Kaylen Frederick. Race 2 saw Nomura resist late pressure from Souta Masson, eventually pulling away to win by 2.4 seconds, with Kobayashi again completing the podium. In the final race, Nomura once again controlled the pace from pole, taking his third win of the weekend and finishing ahead of Kobayashi and David. Yasuhiro Shimizu also starred in the Master Class, bouncing back from a stalled start in Race 1 to secure his fifth win of the season.

IMSA

Late-Race Heartbreak for Aitken and Cadillac as Fuel Drama Denies Victory at Watkins Glen

It was heartbreak for Jack Aitken and the #31 Whelen Cadillac team at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. After leading the race with just 10 minutes to go, an energy issue forced a last-lap pit stop that dropped them to fifth—despite being the fastest in practice and overcoming an earlier air jack failure.

The #93 car started strong from pole, with Renger van der Zande holding position in the top three before handing it over to Japan’s Kaku Ohta, who maintained P2 through his stint. But a late splash-and-dash meant they had to settle for sixth.

Meanwhile, the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 of Neel Jani, Nico Varrone, and Nicolas Pino saw their day end early after Pino was involved in contact with a slower GTD car. Damage sustained forced their retirement after 67 laps, cutting short what had been a promising run inside the top 10.

24H of Nurburgring

Tan and Gupta take class podiums at the 24 hours of Nurburgring

The 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours once again lived up to its reputation as the toughest endurance test in motorsport, and 41 Asian drivers tackled the challenge head-on across different classes.

In the SP9 class, India’s Arjun Maini lined up P16 for HRT Ford Performance, showing promise early on. Unfortunately, it was cut short after just 27 laps due to an accident that forced the team to retire the car prematurely.

Canada’s Samantha Tan made up tremendous ground in the SP3T class for Bulldog Racing, starting all the way down in 122nd but climbing to finish 55th overall. The Bulldog team of 4 also clinched P2 in their class. 

The asBest Racing duo of Junichi Unemoto (Japan) and Akshay Gupta (India) also fought through the night from 97th on the grid to finish 71st overall, and 3rd in their , bringing their #808 Cupra home in tricky conditions.

In the SP 8T class, TOYOTA GAZOO ROOKIE Racing trio of Naoya Gamou, Tatsuya Kataoka, and Takamitsu Matsui (#15) made steady progress from a P45 start to finish P29 overall, showing the strength and consistency Toyota’s factory efforts continue to deliver.

French GT

Ginetta G56 GTA Makes Competitive Debut in FFSA French GT at Spa – Alister Yoong Takes Victory

The FFSA French GT Championship welcomed a new entrant to its grid at Spa-Francorchamps, as the Ginetta G56 GTA made its debut in collaboration with the European importer of the Ginetta brand. This marked a key step in SRO and FFSA’s shared vision to introduce multiple divisions within the series in the near future, using the Spa round as a live testbed for potential full-time integration.

Alister Yoong made the most of the opportunity, delivering an impressive performance behind the wheel. After clinching pole position and finishing P3 in Race 1, Yoong and teammate Peter built on their momentum to take the win in Race 2.

British GT

Ip shows consistent pace and Ramyead closes championship gap in the British GT

Chun Cheong “Johnny” Ip

Ip, driving for Bridger Motorsport in Honda’s NSX GT3 Evo22, showed consistent pace throughout the weekend. Although being stagnated at 13th in most sessions, Ip showed a gradual increase in pace - starting in FP1 at 2:22.122 and closing the second qualifying session at 2:18:144. Cheong improved his pace and finished the race in 9th position, showing a consistent run. 

Ravi Ramyead

Ramyead, driving the BMW M4 GT4 Evo made a significant recovery in the race and showed significant pace by finishing 3rd and 4th in the qualifying sessions, posting a combined time of 4:56.351. Ramyead and Charlie Robertson recovered from 2 early drive through penalties in the race and won in the GT4 category motorsport after the early delays. A mid race safety car and their consistent pace brought them back up the order. The recovery helped them score big after The Mahiki Racing Ginetta could not capitalize on a strategic gamble after leading almost throughout the race. This helped close the championship gap for Ramyead and Robertson.