2020 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup riders selected at Sepang
18 young Australian hopefuls had been invited to join a field of almost 90 youngsters this week from around Asia and Oceania at Sepang for the 2020 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup Selection Event.
We are pleased to report two young Australians have made it through the rigorous testing regime and secured their spots on the Asia Talent Cup grid for next season.
Charmhaven (NSW) 11-year-old Carter Thompson is the youngest rider to make it through the selections. He will be racing against riders as old as 16-years so it will be a steep learning curve but Thompson has already proved he is up to the task and currently leads our own Oceania Junior Cup here in Australia against many older kids.
Joining him will be the Sunshine Coast’s Max Gibbons. 14-year-old Max has already wrapped up a couple of MotoStars Titles on home soil and is currently fifth in the OJC standings as we head to the season finale this weekend at Sydney Motorsports Park.
This year’s Selection Event saw drier skies than last year, allowing the young hopefuls maximum track time to show what they’ve got. Nearly 90 riders were put through their paces throughout the day around Sepang Go-Kart track, before the Selection Committee made their final decisions in the afternoon.
Alberto Puig
“It’s always difficult to select, out of 90 kids to select just a few is difficult, but they have to be selected and we’re happy with the results. Our focus is always the sporting side of the Championship, and we try to look at all the countries in the region, but from the sporting side we’re happy and we think we made the right decisions.
“It’s a long time we’ve been doing this and the Asia Talent Cup is a reality, it’s not just a dream. Many good guys racing now in the World Championship started here, and I think this is a very good operation from Dorna, they put a lot of effort and resources into it and we’re very pleased with the outcome. We just hope and want to continue with this development, it’s very important for Dorna, for the Championship and for Asia to have this type of platform that allows riders from this area to show their talent. We’re happy when we see all these guys coming into the MotoGP paddock and we’re very proud of it.”
The committee, led by Talent Promotion Director Alberto Puig, selected riders from Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and Turkey to either join the grid next year or be on the reserve list.
Below is a full list of the riders invited to the ATV try-outs
Riders selected are in Bold
| Name | Surname | Aage | Nat | Gen |
| Tristan | Adamson | 15 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Senna | Agius | 14 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Patrick | Bognar | 16 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Thomas | Brown | 14 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Declan | Carberry | 14 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Hunter | Diplock | 15 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Tom | Drane | 13 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Max | Gibbons | 14 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Angus | Grenfell | 12 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Harry | Khouri | 15 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Lara | Marais | 18 | AUSTRALIA | F |
| Glenn | Nelson | 12 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Reece | Oughtred | 14 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Lucas | Quinn | 12 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Jai | Russo | 12 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Ryan | Smith | 15 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Carter | Thompson | 11 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Liam | Waters | 15 | AUSTRALIA | M |
| Jucha | Guillaume | 16 | CAMBODIA | M |
| Zuoran | Jiang | 15 | CHINA | M |
| Jun Hao | Zhan | 14 | CHINA | M |
| Ann Jennifer | AS | 18 | INDIA | F |
| Sarthak | Chavan | 12 | INDIA | M |
| Geoffrey Reviven | Emmanuel | 14 | INDIA | M |
| Mohamed | Mikail | 15 | INDIA | M |
| Kavin | Quintal | 14 | INDIA | M |
| Varoon | S | 16 | INDIA | M |
| Muhammad | Abhipraya Putra | 14 | INDONESIA | M |
| Fadillah Arbi | Aditama | 14 | INDONESIA | M |
| Rayhan | Aditya Putra | 15 | INDONESIA | M |
| Aditya | Fajar | 16 | INDONESIA | M |
| Azara | Jamsuri | 13 | INDONESIA | M |
| Alief | Maulana | 15 | INDONESIA | M |
| Muhammad | Nabil | 14 | INDONESIA | M |
| Archie | Ramiro | 12 | INDONESIA | M |
| Azryan Dheyo | Wahyumaniadi | 14 | INDONESIA | M |
| Sastrajendra | Wika Pahlevi | 12 | INDONESIA | M |
| Muhammad | Yahya Bintang | 13 | INDONESIA | M |
| Aldi Satya | Mahendra |
13 | INDONESIA | M |
| Fadillah Arbi | Aditama | 14 | INDONESIA | M |
| Azryan Dheyo | Wahyumaniadi |
14 | INDONESIA | M |
| Raihan | Zaki | 15 | INDONESIA | M |
| Shinya | Ezawa | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Taiyo | Furusato | 14 | JAPAN | M |
| Kanta | Hamada | 15 | JAPAN | M |
| Masaya | Hongo | 15 | JAPAN | M |
| Tsubasa | Hosoya | 16 | JAPAN | M |
| Arata | Irimoto | 12 | JAPAN | M |
| Takeru | Kojima | 15 | JAPAN | M |
| Nakamura | Kou | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Riku | Matsushima | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Ryuki | Matsushita | 14 | JAPAN | M |
| Gun | Mie | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Futo | Miyanishi | 15 | JAPAN | M |
| Shinji | Ogo | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Mao | Sato | 14 | JAPAN | M |
| Shu | Sawai | 15 | JAPAN | M |
| Shun | Takenaka | 14 | JAPAN | M |
| Aoi | Uezu | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Kotaro | Watanabe | 13 | JAPAN | M |
| Kou | Yamamoto | 14 | JAPAN | M |
| Ainosuke | Yoshida | 15 | JAPAN | M |
| Jaeden | Dennis | 16 | LAOS | M |
| Abg Muhd Zufayri | Abg Sapawi | 20 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhd Afiq Kharith | Abu Bakar | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Azfar | Adam | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Jamaludin | Ahmad Syamil Akmal | 14 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Zarif | Aiman | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Amier Rossi | Amidi | 16 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Amirul | Asyraf | 12 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Afiq | Danish | 12 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Farid Hakimi | Farid Sezli | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Danish | Haiqal | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Imran | Hakim | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad | Harith | 16 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad | Hazim | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Khairi | Haziq Roslan | 16 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Adib Harezz | Hazwat | 12 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Allan Harris | Herman | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Farid Hakimi | Hussney | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Danial | Johan | 14 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Danny Mikhail | Khairul Fauzi | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Muzakir | Mansor | 17 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Hamizan | Md Rodzi | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Nabil Ahza | Md Yusof | 14 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Mohamad Ainul Daniel | Mohd Aidil | 16 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Sharul Ezwan | Mohd Sharil | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Zuhailnabil | Muhamad Zamree | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Farish Iqmal | Bin Khayrul Elyas | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Harith | Bin Rosmaza | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Zakir | Naqiuddin | 14 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Aqil Danial | Nasrul | 14 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Raja | Nazreen | 12 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Afiq Aiman | Noor Azizi | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Idlan Haqimi | Raduan | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad Amir Izzat | Rozali | 13 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Muhammad | Shaifullah | 20 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Alya Maisarah | Zahren | 16 | MALAYSIA | F |
| Zaifi | Zaini | 15 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Saidatul Zakirah | Zairin | 12 | MALAYSIA | F |
| Muhammad Harith Haziq | Zamri | 14 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Mohamad Danish Zarif | Bin Mohd Khairil Zakery | 12 | MALAYSIA | M |
| Cormac | Buchanan | 13 | NEW ZEALAND | M |
| Caleb Mckinnon | Gilmore | 15 | NEW ZEALAND | M |
| Alfred Jakob | Sablaya | 14 | PHILIPPINES | M |
| Gagana | Fernando | 13 | SRI LANKA | M |
| Stephan | Fernando | 15 | SRI LANKA | M |
| Pherawich | Chattan | 14 | THAILAND | M |
| Kodchapayupon | Kalantanon | 19 | THAILAND | M |
| Narongronnawat | Kalantanon | 18 | THAILAND | M |
| Tanakorn | Lakharn | 16 | THAILAND | M |
| Thanat | Laoongplio | 12 | THAILAND | M |
| Jakkreephat | Phuettisan | 12 | THAILAND | M |
| Bunyachai | Prayoonyat | 18 | THAILAND | M |
| Vatican | Sukkum | 13 | THAILAND | M |
| Teeranai | Tabtim | 13 | THAILAND | M |
| Wacharin | Tabtimon | 16 | THAILAND | M |
| Kantapat | Yabkanthai | 15 | THAILAND | M |
| Adem | Işik | 12 | TURKEY | M |
| Onur | Işik | 12 | TURKEY | M |
| Galip | Satici | 15 | TURKEY | M |
| Anthony | Eagle | 14 | UZBEKISTAN | M |
| Thinh | Ho Quoc | 17 | VIETNAM | M |
Source: MCNews.com.au