A points finish in Indonesia

Friday, October 9th

The Indonesian weekend gets off to a positive start for Jesus Rios, who shows constant improvement throughout Friday’s opening session. From his very first outing on track, the Spanish rider, making his debut at this circuit, progressively improves his lap times, continuing to work on his performance during the second run. He sets his fastest lap on his 16th lap out of 17 completed, confirming an encouraging start at the Mandalika circuit.
The session proves more challenging for Kiattisak Singhapong. After setting his fastest time, the Thai rider suffers a crash in the fourth sector of the circuit, around 15 minutes before the chequered flag. The incident forces him to end the session early.

Despite slightly more challenging track conditions compared to the morning, both Team Snipers riders make significant progress during Practice, considerably improving their lap times compared to FP1.
Kiattisak Singhapong uses the session to complete as many laps as possible, working to find the best feeling with the bike and making up for some of the time lost due to his crash in the morning session. The Thai rider manages to improve his fastest time from the morning by almost two seconds. This represents an important step forward, although it is not enough to secure direct entry into Q2, with Singhapong nevertheless remaining within a very narrow margin of the final qualifying position.
The spotlight, however, is on Jesus Rios, who delivers a solid and consistent session. Despite a pit stop, the Spanish rider completes an impressive 19 laps, progressively improving his lap times and quickly gaining confidence both with the bike and on the Indonesian circuit. The work pays off towards the end of the session, when Rios sets the ninth-fastest time on his penultimate lap before the chequered flag, securing direct entry into Q2 and achieving Team Snipers’ first objective for the weekend.

Saturday, October 10th

Jesus Rios immediately makes his mark in FP2, setting an excellent lap time on his very first outing and initially moving into the Top 3 before settling inside the Top 10 after the opening laps. The session is mainly focused on working on race pace, but a crash in the closing stages forces the young Spaniard to return to the pits early. Fortunately, the incident has no consequences and does not compromise the work carried out by the rider and the team throughout the session.
After a less prominent start, Kiattisak Singhapong manages to find greater competitiveness, moving closer to the Top 15. The Thai rider’s work is split into two runs of six and ten laps respectively, with his best lap time recorded on the fifth lap of his second outing. Singhapong thus improves his time attack by almost a second and a half compared to Friday, confirming the progress made in adapting to the bike.

Singhapong is the rider representing Team Snipers in Q1, with the goal of securing one of the available spots in the second qualifying session. The Thai rider immediately sets a good benchmark during his first run before returning to the pits for a tyre change. On his final outing, he has just one lap to try to improve, but fails to lower his time, leaving his previous best as his fastest lap. He misses out on Q2 by just three tenths of a second.

Jesus Rios, meanwhile, delivers a good result in Q2. Despite making his debut at the Mandalika circuit, the Spanish rider works effectively with the team, quickly finding the right pace. He sets his fastest time on the second of the five laps completed during the session, securing 12th place on the starting grid for the Indonesian Grand Prix — a promising position ahead of the race.

Sunday, October 11th

Jesus Rios’ race gets off to a challenging start: during the opening lap, the Spanish rider gets caught up in the group battle, struggling to find the space needed to gain positions straight away. Kiattisak Singhapong, starting from 20th on the grid, also has to fight from the very first laps to defend his position in a race that quickly becomes intense.
As has already happened in previous races, the group quickly spreads out, shaping the different phases of the race. In the middle part of the Grand Prix, Rios manages to find a good pace and begins a comeback that gradually brings him closer to the points. Singhapong also shows positive signs, increasing his pace and recovering several positions until he closes the gap to the group ahead.

In the closing stages, the battles intensify further, with Jesus Rios fighting for points right up to the final corner. The Spanish rider finds the decisive move on the very last lap, crossing the finish line in 15th place and securing valuable points that bring his season tally to 50.

Kiattisak Singhapong also continues his comeback, managing to close the gap to the group and join his teammate in the fight for the points. The Thai rider finishes the race in 17th place: the goal of scoring points slips away, but the result still allows him to gain three positions compared to his starting position.

The Indonesian weekend therefore ends with encouraging signs for both Team Snipers riders. Rios confirms his good pace and scores points on his debut at the Mandalika circuit, showing positive signs ahead of the upcoming rounds. Singhapong, competing in his second race with the team, continues his development, improving his feeling with both the bike and the team and finishing just outside the points.

Comments

Jesus Rios explains the difficulties he faced during the race while remaining satisfied with the result:
“It was a difficult race because we fitted a tyre that we hadn’t tested at all during the weekend. The feeling wasn’t good and the tyre didn’t work as we expected, but despite everything, we managed to finish in the points.”

Kiattisak Singhapong is pleased with his progress following the Indonesian weekend:
“After this weekend, I feel more comfortable with the bike and I’m trying to stay with the group, also gaining more confidence when overtaking. Overall, things are going well. I’m very happy and satisfied with this weekend.”