Gunskirchen, Austria – The race to Bahrain for the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals this coming December is already underway around the world. The Rotax MAX Challenge International Trophy Asia 2025 awarded the first four of almost 400 tickets last weekend in Thailand. A total of 21 nations stretching from Canada to Europe, India and Australia were represented by 130 drivers at the Bira Kart Circuit in Pattaya along the coast southeast of Bangkok. Drivers from Chinese Taipei, Belgium and Japan secured their tickets, with two more class champions crowned from Thailand and Chinese Taipei.
RMCIT Asia 2025 winners:
Rotax Micro MAX: Chinnaphat Vejabhuti (THA)
Rotax Mini MAX: Jef Verbeke (BEL)
Rotax Junior MAX: Shun Sekiguchi (JAP)
Rotax Senior MAX: Tomoki Terashima (JAP)
Rotax Senior MAX Masters: Chen Yang Tsai (TPE)
Rotax MAX DD2: Sheng-Ya Hong (TPE)
The successful start to the 2025 Rotax Racing season in Asia has been headlined by the RMCIT Asia which provided the ideal opportunity for international entries to join the grid at the 1,300 metre venue. This would also be the first time a number of the drivers and their team support crew had the chance to experience the local hospitality and culture that Thailand has to offer. Amongst the visiting drivers were two RMCGF champions, Rotax Senior MAX 2019 Axel Saarniala (FIN) and E20 E-Kart 2024 winner Armand Hamilton (HUN). Several of the previous RMC Asia Festival and RMC Asia Trophy winners, in addition to national RMC title-holders, made up the strong field. The hot and at times gusty conditions made the competition even more demanding, not to mention the strangely challenging track conditions of the oldest karting circuit in Thailand.
Following Friday’s practice sessions, an official timed practice confirmed the order for Saturday’s qualifying heats in the afternoon. The home track advantage saw Thailand take the majority of pole positions in the racing, beginning with last year’s RMC Micro MAX champ Chinnaphat Vejabhuti. The young driver set the pace at 1:01.748 and went on to remain unbeaten in every race to be a deserving champion on Sunday. He also won free entry to the full RMC Asia Trophy series as a result. Two drivers from Hong Kong completed the podium and received discounted entries in the regional championship as well. Wang Chak Hiro Tse took 2nd and Maximilian Schilling 3rd place.
In Mini MAX the fastest qualifier was Thailand’s Poomsit Klombunjong with a time of 59.539, just a fraction quicker than the Belgian Jef Verbeke and Swiss-based Robin Raikkonen. The poleman continued his leading streak ahead of the fast duo and one of last year’s RMCGF stars John Han. It was Raikkonen who lined up on the front row for the final alongside Klombunjong after three races. As the final unfolded, Verbeke survived the close battle to take a convincing victory at the flag from Thai drivers Peerapongpan Sutumno and Patthapol Keawkarnjanasat. It was Team Belgium’s first big ticket to the end of season highlight event in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
At the top of the Junior MAX leaderboard, Friday was Panu Stienmonkong in the #207 kart with 56.562. He held just over one-tenth to the defending champion from the 2024 RMC Grand Festival in Malaysia, Shun Sekiguchi of Japan. Less than a second covered all except three of the class of 27. The current Thai champion claimed heat 1 from Eason Tseng out of P3, but Sekiguchi won the next race where the pole-sitter failed to finish then added Saturday afternoon’s Super Heat too. RMC Euro Trophy’s first-ever Mini MAX winner Boaz Maximov flew the flag for the Netherlands to secure a second-row start on Sunday, taking P2 from Tseng who would join Sekiguchi at the front of the field for the finale. Race fans were treated to some terrific action in the last showdown with lots of overtaking in the 18 laps. The result would see Japan grab their first RMCGF ticket with Sekiguchi claiming another Asian title. The man on the move was Stienmonkong in P2 from 26th on the grid. Aussie Hamish Campbell fought hard for the third step of the podium ahead of Tseng.
It was an impressive effort by Thailand’s Panyakorn Aramrassamee, the youngster recording the fastest lap 56.588 in the even numbers group of Senior MAX, enough for pole overall from odd group leader Tomoki Terashima. The 53-strong category pushed the drivers to the limit in a tough competition at Bira. But the Japanese front-runner with three heat wins plus the Super Heat set himself up to be on P1 for the Final. Ultimately, this sealed his chance for a ticket to Bahrain. Fellow countryman Hayato Miyamoto was a heat race winner, while Aramrassamee won the remaining two races. A brilliant drive by Ryan Sy from the Philippines to win the other Super Heat topped off his three second places Saturday to rank P2. After 22 laps, Terashima’s lead was unrivalled, yet minor placings could have gone many ways. Eventually, Austin Gale of Thailand and Hungary’s Armand Hamilton crossed the line for a top-three finish. Chen Yang Tsai of Chinese Taipei won the MAX Masters.
Chinese Taipei made history when Sheng-Ya Hong posted a 54.824 in the 2-speed gearbox DD2 class. The initial ticket for the RMC Grand Finals would be his at the end of the event with an outstanding result. Next were Indian Krish Gupta and local driver Siri Kongsiri, both amongst the less experienced in the smallest field. Finland’s Axel Saarniala suffered an issue in the early stages that sent him to the back, but would position himself between the previous pair and the pole-sitter in the heats. By the Super Heat, he was leading the field. The former Grand Finals champion was unable to repeat the victory in the Final, having to settle for second to Hong on the day. Gupta won the race to the line from Kongsiri for a podium.
“It was our first time hosting this high-profile event here in Thailand, making us extremely proud to welcome many competitors to the RMCIT Asia. Our aim was to be best prepared to ensure a good race meeting for everyone participating and further promote Rotax karting within our region,” said event organiser Orawat ‘Chang’ Tantivejkul, Managing Director of Moment Media Thailand. “There can always be areas to improve. We very much appreciate the support from the RAAT (local ASN), BRP-Rotax, and all those who helped make this event a success. Most importantly, we hope the drivers and their teams enjoyed racing together here at Bira Circuit. Congratulations to the four class winners who will represent their national team at the prestigious RMC Grand Finals, and the Micro MAX and MAX Masters champions. Thanks to all the competitors for their good sportsmanship. Now we look forward to the new season of the RMC Asia Trophy 2025 series and RMC Thailand, where we will award a total of 10 tickets to the RMCGF in Bahrain.”
The livestream coverage had a global audience following the RMCIT Asia, with viewers tuning in at all hours in the various time zones to follow the racing online, hitting a new high on the media front. If you missed the track action, be sure to check out the competition from South East Asia on YouTube!
Results
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WSEuYcs6JuNQ4j9CkMq0jc44LX623xEa?usp=drive_link