Ryota Ogiwara made it five wins from five with another runaway victory in Race 1 at Sepang. The Japanese rider pulled the pin early and never looked back, crossing the line 6.785 seconds clear to continue his perfect start to the 2025 season. The fight for second was the highlight of the race. Seiryu Ikegami and Badly Ayatullah traded places and shadowed each other lap after lap, but once again it was the Japanese rider who held firm to make it five second-place finishes in a row. Ayatullah settled for P3, taking his first podium of the year.
Behind them, Noprutpong Bunprawes carved his way to the front of the chasing group to claim fourth, finishing just ahead of Shingo Iidaka and Haruki Matsuyama in a close three-rider scrap. Further down the field, Archie Schmidt and Alfonsi Daquigan took solid top ten finishes, while Tanachat Pratumtong came home in 12th after a qualifying crash the day before. With one more race to come in Malaysia, the question remains the same: can anyone stop Ogiwara?
Same result, different story in classic Race 2 at Sepang
A wild five-rider scrap delivers the best race of 2025 so far
Ryota Ogiwara made it six from six, but this time it was anything but easy. The Japanese rider was forced to dig deep in the final laps of a chaotic Race 2 at Sepang, eventually edging out Seiryu Ikegami by just 0.087 seconds after a breathless five-rider fight for victory. Ikegami grabbed the holeshot and led for most of the race, looking stronger and more confident than in Race 1. Ogiwara stalked him closely but couldn’t find a way through until the final lap. Even then, it wasn’t settled until the final corners.
Behind them, Badly Ayatullah, Alfonsi Daquigan, and rookie Haruki Matsuyama put on a show of their own. Ayatullah and Daquigan swapped paint more than once, elbows out as they reeled in the leading duo. With five laps to go, it was a full-throttle five-rider group going for glory.
Daquigan even hit the front briefly, but it was Ogiwara who found the edge when it mattered. The Championship leader hit the lead on the last lap and held on to make it a perfect six. Ayatullah took third for back-to-back podiums, just 0.262 seconds off the win, with Daquigan and Matsuyama rounding out the top five. All five finished within 0.865 seconds. Adam Danial and Teerin Fleming were early retirements at Turn 15, while Huu Tri Nguyen was handed a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding.
Ogiwara’s perfect season rolls on, but this was a clear warning shot. The rest are coming!