Moto2 rookie Furusato surprises: most recently even ahead of World Championship leader Gonzalez

Taiyo Furusato’s first half of the season in the Moto2 World Championship was characterised by a steep learning curve. As the summer break approaches, one thing is clear: the Japanese rider has established himself in the middleweight class. The 21-year-old from the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia needed time to get used to the new category, but as the summer break approaches, his form is clearly on the up.

Furusato failed to score any points in the first seven race weekends, but gained valuable experience in the fiercely competitive midfield of Moto2. He finally achieved his first minor breakthrough at Balaton Park, where he scored his first points with a 14th-place finish. He immediately followed this up with another 14th place at Brno.

Although he failed to score any points at Assen despite a strong 11th place on the grid in qualifying, there were already signs that Furusato was increasingly developing a feel for the bike, tyre management and race pace. His definitive breakthrough then came with his strongest performance to date in the middleweight class: 7th on the grid and 5th place at the Sachsenring – including a neck-and-neck battle with established riders such as World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez.

A podium finish was within reach at the Sachsenring

“I’m very happy with the result. It’s my best result in Moto2; I could hardly ask for more,” explained Furusato after his strongest weekend to date. Particularly striking was the rookie’s controlled approach. “The race was completely different to Moto3. Everything was much calmer; the key was to ride cleanly, manage the tyres and constantly look for grip without being too aggressive.”

Taiyo Furusato

Foto: Gold & Goose

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This progress is no coincidence, but the result of focused work behind the scenes. “Together with the team, we prepared very well for the race, and that enabled me to remain competitive right until the end,” emphasised the Japanese rider. In the closing stages, he even managed to catch up with the leading group and battled for fourth place: “I tried one more attack in the final corner, but it wasn’t quite enough.”

Like Ai Ogura: Furusato strong in the final third of the race

Team manager Hiroshi Aoyama also highlighted the progress made by his rider: “Taiyo was close to the top eight for long stretches of the race. It took him a while to overtake the riders in front of him, but once he did, he immediately closed the gap on the leading group.” Furusato was particularly impressive in the decisive phase: “In the final five laps, he was one of the fastest riders on the track. Fifth place is an excellent result for a Moto2 rookie.”

With this result, Furusato heads into the summer break in 20th place in the World Championship – a position that doesn’t tell the whole story. Rather, the trend is clearly upwards: from a pointless start to the season to consistent progress and a first top-five finish.

“I’m very happy because the hard work of the last few weeks is slowly paying off,” said Furusato. That is precisely the real message of his season so far: the learning process is in full swing – and his potential has long been evident. The second half of the season could therefore still hold a few positive surprises in store for the Japanese rider.