The season finale at Valencia saw breakthrough rides and a top ten finish in the Championship
The 2022 Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship was wrapped up in style on Sunday at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain, with Junior Talent Team riders all aiming to cap-off a memorable 2022 season. In what was something of a breakthrough day with plenty of positivity, a double top ten and career-best results headlined the final round for JTT riders, with a best result of eighth going to Danial Sharil (Asia Talent Team) in Race 1. In all, it was a positive display with three double points-scoring rides for the JTT.
Going from eighth on the grid following penalties for riders around him, the Malaysian rider from Penang got off to a strong start where he was always in the points paying positions and with potential to consolidate his top ten pace that had been shown through the weekend. Sharil did exactly that in Race 1, coming home for eighth place, a career-best result and a second top ten of the season. In Race 2, the race was cut short due to a red flag for an oil spillage, but Sharil still scored points, taking 14th at the flag and thus placing 17th overall in the Championship.
Behind Sharil in Race 1, Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Racing Thailand) couldn’t quite crack the top ten as he came home 12th, making progress from his fifth row start, having originally qualified down on the seventh row in 19th. Starting in his original qualifying position in the final race of the year, Buasri made a clear step in performance for another 12th place and whilst it wasn’t the easiest weekend for the Thai rider, he took ninth overall in the Championship and with a win to his name achieved back at Estoril, the first for Thailand in the class and one of six different winners in JuniorGP™ in 2022.
Completing the Race 1 order for JTT riders was Arbi Aditama (Astra Honda Racing Team), with 14th place meaning all three competing stars from the Junior Talent Team scored important Championship points. In Race 2, Aditama put in his best ride of the 2022 season to finish tenth, his first top ten in the class. This helped him on the way to 22nd overall in the Championship standings.
After an injury and operation, Eddie O’Shea (British Talent Team), who claimed a career-first podium at Jerez in Race 2 earlier in the season, missed the final round of the year. It was a memorable season for O’Shea, who became a solid top ten rider and showed his podium pace and potential. He puts his focus on getting back to 100% fitness so that he can come back fighting strong in 2023.
