Two young American riders, Kensei Matsudaira and Mahdi Salem, will line up as wildcards in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup this weekend at Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan (September 26–28). The event runs in conjunction with the Japanese MotoGP, placing the riders on one of the biggest stages of the year.

Matsudaira, from California, has been confirmed as a wildcard entry for the Motegi round. For the 14-year-old, the race represents chance to measure himself against Asia’s top junior riders in front of a MotoGP-sized crowd.

Salem, from New York, is already part of the 2025 ATC roster and has shown flashes of potential earlier this season, including a top-10 finish in Qatar and in Malaysia. Returning to the grid at Motegi, he will be aiming to build consistency and fight closer to the front.

Last week, Matsudaira was on the track in South Korea, bringing speed, skill, and determination to an international stage.

The FIM MiniGP Northeast Asia Rounds 3-6 were held last weekend in South Korea at Belle Foret Moto Arena. Rounds 3-4 were held on Saturday in the rain, and rounds 5-6 were
held on Sunday in dry conditions.

Kensei raced as a wildcard for these rounds in the GP160  category as this is the first year for Korea (Northeast Asia) in the FIM MiniGP championship and they do not yet have a GP190 category. It was his first race in Korea, where his mother was born.

There was another American rider racing in the championship, Lambert Su,  who also raced in the MotoAmerica Mini Cup National Finals at Road America this year and finished 2nd in the FIM Mini Cup USA GP110 championship and 4th in the FIM Mini Cup GP160 championship. He won his first race this past weekend and is currently leading the championship  with 2 more rounds to go.