Asia Talent Cup
Billy van Eerde is the first Australian race winner in Dorna feeder series the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup in Qatar.
Van Eerde beat title favourite Haruki Noguchi to the line by just 0.013s in Race 2, the Newcastle-based 15-year-old having led the last lap before being challenged on the final straight.
After recovering from a sizeable crash on the Friday, van Eerde finished seventh in Race 1 and now sits second in the championship, 11 points off the lead.
It was Noguchi who did take victory in a similarly close opener, edging Mario Aji by 0.034s after a race-long battle.
Sydney’s Senna Agius was 13th and sixth across the two races and leaves Qatar ninth in the standings.
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Races 3 and 4 support World Superbikes in Thailand this coming weekend (March 23-25).
Full replay: Race 2
Asian Formula Renault
Kurt Hill has finished on the podium in Race 2 of the opening round of the Asian Formula Renault Series at Zhuhai.
The Sydneysider jumped to second position on Lap 1 thanks to a strong start and a collision in front between BlackArts team-mates Daniel Cao and Antolin Gonzalez.
He caught then-leader Louis Prette in traffic and pulled alongside but the Italian fed Hill into the grass and spun himself out as they tangled.
Perdana Putra Minang snatched the race lead as a result and Hill ended up third, four seconds behind Luo Kai Luo.
In his first race in the series a day earlier, the 21-year-old finished fifth after qualifying sixth.
“That’s the best weekend I’ve had in my career so far, right from practice through both races,” said Hill.
“Getting my first podium in my second race is a great feeling and starts us off really well in the championship too.”
Rounds 3 and 4 take place in Shanghai on April 28-29.
Moto2, Moto3
Francesco Bagnaia has won Round 1 of the Moto2 season in Qatar as Remy Gardner finished 12th.
Bagnaia took the lead at the first corner and stayed there all the way until Lorenzo Baldassarri dived through at the second-last corner of the race.
Baldassari, however, couldn’t hold the move and finished second, 5.5s ahead of an Alex Marquez who challenged earlier but faded with rear brake problems.
In Moto3, Jorge Martin beat compatriot Aron Canet to the chequered flag by 0.023s, the Spaniards having run within half a second of each other for most of the race.
Round 2 is in Argentina on April 6-8.
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