The 2019 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup was the sixth season of the Asia Talent Cup. The season consisted of 12 races held across six rounds, beginning on March 10 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar and concluding on November 3 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
The season was tragically marked by the death of Indonesian rider Afridza Munandar during the final round at Sepang. Sho Nishimura of Japan was crowned the champion after a season-long battle with compatriot Takuma Matsuyama.
Season summary The season began with a dominant performance by Sho Nishimura, who swept both races in the opening round in Qatar. As the championship moved to Thailand and the first visit to Malaysia, the competition tightened with Indonesian rider Afridza Munandar and Thai rider Tatchakorn Buasri taking victories.
The title fight intensified in the latter half of the season. Takuma Matsuyama surged into contention with a "double" victory at the second Buriram round and a win at his home race in Motegi. Heading into the season finale at Sepang, Matsuyama held a 12-point lead over Nishimura, with Munandar also mathematically in the hunt.
The finale was overshadowed by a fatal accident involving Munandar on the opening lap of Race 1. Following a red flag and the subsequent cancellation of the race, the riders voted to compete in Race 2 the following day in his honor. Nishimura secured the championship title in the final race, while Malaysian rider Syarifuddin Azman claimed his maiden victory on home soil.
Entry list RiderRounds2 Rei Wakamatsu1–53 Sho NishimuraAll4 Afridza MunandarAll5 Tatchakorn BuasriAll6 Warit ThongnoppakunAll7 Hildhan KusumaAll8 Ryosuke Bando3–69 Idil Bin Mahadi1–410 Herjun FirdausAll11 Takuma MatsuyamaAll12 Jacob RoulstoneAll13 Syarifuddin AzmanAll14 Shoki IgarashiAll15 Piyawat PatoomyosAll16 Adenanta PutraAll17 Kadir Erbay1–4, 618 Harrison VoightAll19 Luke PowerAll20 Abdul MutaqimAll21 Shinji Ogo3, 522 Buapa Thukarij423 Raduan Idlan624 Kanta Hamada5–6
Race calendar and results CircuitDatePole positionWinning rider1R1 Losail International Circuit09 March Sho Nishimura Sho NishimuraR210 March Sho Nishimura2R1 Chang International Circuit16 March Tatchakorn Buasri Afridza MunandarR217 March Tatchakorn Buasri3R1 Sepang International Circuit15 June Sho Nishimura Sho NishimuraR216 June Afridza Munandar4R1 Chang International Circuit05 October Afridza Munandar Takuma MatsuyamaR206 October Takuma Matsuyama5R1 Twin Ring Motegi19 October Takuma Matsuyama Takuma MatsuyamaR220 October Sho Nishimura6R1 Sepang International Circuit02 November Takuma MatsuyamaRace CancelledR203 November Syarifuddin Azman
Championship standings
Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points. Position1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15thPoints252016131110987654321 Pos.RiderQATTHA1MAL1THA2JPNMAL2PtsR1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R21 Sho Nishimura1P1P221P4P126131 C21772 Takuma Matsuyama22353Ret111P5PCRetP1693 Afridza MunandarRet51321RetP3P27C1424 Adenanta Putra43546597Ret8C31235 Tatchakorn Buasri764P1P1110Ret442CRet1186 Syarifuddin Azman141110Ret733234C11127 Warit Thongnoppakun38664210869C81128 Herjun Firdaus647Ret86211712C4919 Piyawat Patoomyos5Ret981011591213C67810 Shoki Igarashi8716757Ret1053CRet7011 Jacob Roulstone15151411181375Ret10C55412 Hildhan Kusuma121313Ret98RetRet1414C74113 Harrison Voight111012Ret139Ret159RetCRet3914 Abdul Mutaqim9141191212RetRet11RetCRet3815 Idil Bin Mahadi13128Ret15154123416 Ryosuke BandoRet9Ret1214Ret8132517 Luke Power10RetRet101614RetDNSRet16C92418 Shota KiuchiRetRet1061619 Kadir Erbay16RetDNS1419171116C101620 Kanta Hamada811CRet1321 Rei Wakamatsu1716151317161314RetDNS1322 Buapa Thukarij6Ret1123 Raduan IdlanC11524 Shinji Ogo201815154Pos.RiderR1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2PtsQATTHA1MAL1THA2JPNMAL2PPole position
References