Team Roberts Rider Kensei Matsudaira Makes American Flat Track Debut with Top 5 Finish in AFT ProSport 450 at Ventura Short Track.
Less than a week after taking a double victory at Road Atlanta in the two MotoAmerica Talent Cup races, Team Roberts rider Kensei Matsudaira made his American Flat Track debut at Ventura Raceway in California.
Kensei qualified for the AFT ProSport 450 entry by finishing in the top 12 of the Mission Foods CTR Showcase Road to AFT class on Friday night. It was Kensei’s first time racing at Ventura Raceway and he had finished the night with 8th in 450cc Amateur, 8th in Open Amateur, and 10th in Road to AFT.
On Saturday, Kensei started the day strong finishing 5th in Qualifying 1 and 6th in Qualifying 2. Starting 6th on the grid, Kensei impressed in the heat race by finishing 4th, earning a spot on the front row for the main event.
In the 12-lap AFT ProSport 450 main event, Kensei got a great start and worked his way up to 3rd coming out of the first corner, but by the third lap was swallowed up in a big group fighting for the top positions. He fought in the group throughout the race and crossed the
line in 5th, just half a second off the podium.
Kensei Matsudaira: “A little disappointed because I was in the fight for the podium and just missed out, but I’m still really happy to make my AFT debut with a top 5 finish and showing that I can fight in the front at a national flat track race. My focus is on road racing, but I love flat track and hope that I can race with AFT again soon, the vibe and people here were amazing.”
Arney Wick, Team Roberts Co-Principal:“Given the constantly changing track conditions which were tricky for even many of the savvy veterans who race here annually, I think that this was a great first effort for Kensei’s inaugural outing in American Flat Track. With more and more seat time and another start or two under his belt, pretty sure Kensei will become a regular fixture on the podium much like he does in the MotoAmerica Talent Cup series…”
Despite his lack of previous experience racing at a national level flat track event, Kensei has been racing flat track locally since he was 5 years old, winning dozens of races and 5 championships in the junior classes ranging from 50cc to 85cc. He is looking forward to making more AFT appearances in the future.
Next up, Kensei will be back on the Team Roberts Krämer APX-350 MA for Round 3 of the MotoAmerica Talent Cup being held at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on May 15-17.
