For the past 6 years, Honda Vietnam has been the leading and pioneering unit in developing sports motorcycle activities in Vietnam, not only domestically but also internationally. The most impressive achievements that have the most influence can be mentioned as sponsoring the organization of the Vietnam Motorcycle Racing Championship (VMRC), establishing the Honda Racing Vietnam international racing team, participating in the Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC), winning the Thailand Talent Cup championship, and leaving a mark in a series of other international races.
After the temporary easing of the pandemic situation, Honda Vietnam has officially returned to international motorcycle sports activities in an impressive way by selecting racer Nguyen Tran Duc Tai to participate in the 2022 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC 2022) race.
Racer Nguyen Tran Duc Tai is officially selected to participate in the 2022 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC 2022).
A journey to seek gold in the sand
Developed from the Vietnam Talent Cup category – VMRC race, racer Nguyen Tran Duc Tai has demonstrated the qualities of a young talent, with passion and smart strategic thinking. This is the factor that Honda Vietnam has officially selected Duc Tai for the IATC 2022 race.
To become one of the 21 official riders at the IATC 2022, Nguyen Tran Duc Tai had to go through a “bike deposit” round with more than 400 participating profiles from countries with leading motorcycle sports in the continent such as Japan, Australia, Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia. Through the training and intensive practice curriculum in skills, fitness, strategic thinking, and professional knowledge of motorcycle racing by Honda Racing Vietnam, racer Nguyen Tran Duc Tai has officially joined the 21 riders of the 2022 season and become the first Vietnamese racer to compete in this major tournament.
Nguyen Tran Duc Tai has officially joined the 21 riders of the 2022 season and become the first Vietnamese racer to compete in this major tournament.
Exceeding expectations from the start
On March 5th-6th, Nguyen Tran Duc Tai officially went through the first competition round of IATC 2022 at Losail, one of the leading racetracks in Qatar, and on the same day, this was also the venue for the first race of the MotoGP 2022 season.
Pressure is easy to notice in this first competition, but the racer and the Honda Racing Vietnam team showed their courage and gave their all. With the number 16 and the image of the Vietnamese flag on the helmet, Duc Tai completed the 2-day competition without any issues.
Duc Tai completed the 2-day competition without any issues.
In the first day of competition, the racer from Dong Nai province caused a big surprise when finishing in the 12th position out of 21, thereby earning 4 valuable points after the first race. This result has exceeded the expectations of Honda Racing Vietnam and even the racer himself. On the second competition day, the racer completed the race in the 18th position out of 21, without any injuries occurring.
In the first day of competition, the racer from Dong Nai province caused a big surprise when finishing in the 12th position out of 21, thereby earning 4 valuable points after the first race.
Completing the 2-day competition with 4 points is a promising start for Duc Tai and Honda Racing Vietnam. It can even be considered a “big” success because in IATC, the density of collisions and falls is quite high. Besides the issue of skills, this is also a matter of psychological competition as the racers participating in the race are all “young crops,” so it is very easy to encounter unexpected issues. The fact that Duc Tai can avoid collisions in his first international competition is deserving of praise.
Honda Vietnam is only “entering the lane”
Known as the “Road to MotoGP,” IATC is not a tournament for “diplomacy” or “trend” purposes. Although it is a young race, the competition here is extremely fierce. In the recent race, MotoGP racer from Japan Takaaki Nakagami personally joined the exchange with the racers at the IATC 2022 and shared that as a former racer at IATC, he hopes to have more Asian racers who can participate in MotoGP. IATC is one of the “smoothest” paths to MotoGP.
It can be said that Honda Racing Vietnam is only “entering the lane” on this racecourse, and there will still be many difficulties and challenges ahead. The performance in the recent race has shown some positive signs, but in terms of expertise, the representative from Vietnam has not created clear competitiveness or outstanding performance compared to the entire race. And to be able to make further progress, the whole team will need to make much more effort.
On March 19th-20th, the second round of IATC 2022 will take place in Indonesia. The entire team has already flown to Indonesia to undergo quarantine procedures before officially participating in the second round. It is hoped that in the upcoming second round, Nguyen Tran Duc Tai and Honda Racing Vietnam will continue to maintain stable competition psychology and achieve more good results.
For detailed information about the race and the Honda Racing Vietnam team, please visit the Vietnam Motor Racing Fanpage https://www.facebook.com/vietnammotorracing
Anh Quan (forum.autodaily.vn)
