Nakarin roars into MotoGP to cap meteoric rise
TALENTED RIDER Nakarin Atiratphuvapat is set to become the third Thai to race in international top-flight motorcycling after his name was listed among competitors for the Moto 3 division in the MotoGP World Championship next season.
Nakarin’s name is on the MotoGP provisional list of 31 riders who will compete in the 250cc four-stroke class of the championship next year. The 20-year-old’s qualification for the world’s premier motorcycle road racing championship caps a meteoric rise that began with his debut at the Thailand Road Racing Championship just four years ago.
The young rider, who will race under the banner of Honda Team Asia, follows in the footsteps of Thailand’s Ratthapark “Feem” Wilairot and “TingNote” Thitipong Warokorn, who earned places in the second-tier division of the championship, Moto2.
Competing at the top level will no doubt be a big step-up for the Thai youngster, but Nakarin is no novice on the international stage. He spent the last two years learning his trade in the Asia Talent Cup before going on to race in the FIM CEV Repsol Junior World Championship this year, an event regarded as a stepping stone to Moto3.
Any delight over Nakarin’s ascent to the top level, though, was tempered by the absence of Ratthapark’s name from the list of the 600cc four-stroke Moto2 class next season. The Idemitsu Honda Team Asia rider is enduring a forgettable campaign on his return to the world championship this term.
The 28-year-old is languishing in the 28th spot in the Moto2 standings, having managed to claim points in only three of 16 races ahead of tomorrow’s season-ending Valencia Grand Prix. His best result was a 13th-place finish at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix in March.
