Team Roberts Rider Kensei Matsudaira Makes Moto4 Latin Cup Debut with a Podium Finish
Team Roberts rider Kensei Matsudaira made his debut in the Moto4 Latin
Cup representing the US this weekend with MotoGP in Goiânia, Brazil.
Kensei topped free practice 1 on Friday, being the only rider to record
a 1:39 lap time on a semi-wet track, 0.4 seconds clear of the next rider.
Free practice 2 was held in mixed conditions with rain tires, and Kensei
showed strong pace there as well finishing the session in P3, 0.4
seconds from P1.
On Saturday, qualifying and race 1 were cancelled due to the track
requiring repairs after a sinkhole appeared on the main straight
following MotoGP qualifying. Without a qualifying session, the grid for
Sunday’s race was set based on combined free practice lap times from
Friday, with Kensei starting from pole position.
The weather-related drama continued on Sunday, with the race being
red-flagged and cancelled after only 4 laps after rain started falling
in the final sector of the circuit. Kensei had been fighting in the top
group, leading for a large portion of the race and crossed the line
after lap four in P3 after two riders drafted past him on the long home
straight. With the race being red-flagged and a restart subsequently
cancelled, the results were taken across the line at the end of lap 4
which put Kensei into 3rd place overall in the race.
Kensei was disappointed with the results of the shortened race, but
happy to leave the first weekend with a podium and sitting 3rd in the
championship.
“I was in the top group of 6 riders with a lot of passing going on, I
was mostly in the top 3 positions but I knew I had the pace to fight and
win in the end. It started raining on lap 3 but it was manageable and I
felt the conditions would be an advantage for me, I honestly didn’t
expect that they would red flag it so soon. This is not the way I wanted
to finish the weekend but I’m happy to stand on the podium here in
Brazil. I’m very excited for round 2 at Interlagos in a few weeks!”
Arney Wick, Team Roberts Co-Principal: “Congratulations to Kensei for such an impressive statement during the opening round of the Moto4 Latin Cup race in Brazil. With any luck at
all, he can carry this momentum into the opening round of the MotoAmerica Talent Cup round at COTA next weekend and back again into the next Latin Cup round!”
The next round on the Moto4 Latin Cup calendar will be held at Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil on April 10-12.
Before that, Kensei will be back in action at the MotoGP Red Bull Grand
Prix of The Americas next weekend for the opening round of the
MotoAmerica Talent Cup, where he will competing on the Team Roberts
Krämer APX-350 MA.
More, from Mahdi Salem:
Mahdi Salem: “Brazil weekend. FP1 P6 in mixed conditions on slicks, FP2 P1 on rains. Saturday cancelled due to track conditions. Sunday race red flagged after 4 laps and eventually canceled with 12 laps to got finished P5.”
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Four For Moto4: American Riders On The World Stage In Brazil
Four American riders competed in the Moto4 Latin Cup, which was held in conjunction with the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Brazil in Goiânia, Brazil, this past weekend.
Among the U.S. riders competing were MotoAmerica Mini Cup Champions Kensei Matsudaira and Mahdi Salem, along with fellow Mini Cup rider Ulises Weyrauch. A fourth rider, Aidan Hancock, who was one of the Americans chosen to participate in last year’s Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event, was also on track in the Moto4 Latin Cup.
Matsudaira, who is participating in his first full season of the MotoAmerica Talent Cup Championship as the rider for Team Roberts, carded a podium finish in his Moto4 Latin Cup debut.
The California-based rider topped Free Practice 1 on Friday and was the only rider to record a 1:39 lap time on a semi-wet track where he was nearly half a second faster than any other rider in the session. Free Practice 2 was held in mixed conditions, and Matsudaira continued to show strong pace as he finished the session third-fastest.
Unfortunately, due to the track requiring repairs after a sinkhole appeared on the main straight following MotoGP’s qualifying session, final qualifying and race one for the Moto4 Latin Cup were cancelled. The grid for Sunday’s race was set based on the combined lap times from Friday’s Free Practice sessions, which put Matsudaira in the pole position.
Wet weather continued to be a factor on Sunday, causing the race to be red flagged after rain started falling in the final sector of the circuit. Matsudaira was in third position on lap four prior to the red flag, and the race was ultimately unable to be restarted due to scheduling, so he ended up with a third-place podium result.
“I was in the top group of six riders with a lot of passing going on,” Matsudaira said. “I was mostly in the top three positions, but I knew I had the pace to fight and win in the end. It started raining on lap three, but it was manageable, and I felt the conditions would be an advantage for me. I honestly didn’t expect that they would red flag it so soon. This is not the way I wanted to finish the weekend, but I’m happy to stand on the podium here in Brazil.”
The three other Americans, Salem, Weyrauch, and Hancock, finished fifth, ninth, and 14th, respectively.
The next round of the Moto4 Latin Cup Championship will be held at Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, on April 10 through 12.
But, prior to that, Matsudaira will be in action at the MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, this coming weekend for the opening round of the MotoAmerica Talent Cup Championship, where he will be aboard the #74 Team Roberts Krämer APX-350 MA.
