Florence, Thiscover.id – Pembalap Indonesia Veda Ega Pratama kembali mencuri perhatian pada putaran ketujuh Moto3 World Championship 2026 di Sirkuit Mugello, Italia. Rider Honda Team Asia itu berhasil finis di posisi kedelapan setelah terlibat dalam persaingan ketat bersama kelompok terdepan sepanjang balapan.
Balapan berlangsung dalam kondisi cuaca cerah dan suhu lintasan mencapai 43 derajat Celsius. Memulai lomba dari posisi ke-12, Veda langsung bergabung dengan rombongan depan dan terus bersaing memperebutkan posisi teratas selama 17 lap.
Pembalap asal Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, itu bahkan sempat masuk dalam perebutan podium pada lap-lap terakhir. Dengan dua lap tersisa, Veda masih berada di kelompok yang berpeluang finis di tiga besar sebelum akhirnya menyentuh garis finis di posisi kedelapan dengan selisih 1,081 detik dari pemenang balapan.
“It was a really demanding race because the group was very large and there were many overtakes from the first lap until the finish. There was a lot of contact between riders and several moments where I lost positions and had to recover them again. I kept pushing to stay with the leading group and give myself a chance to fight for the podium,” kata Veda.
Veda Petik Banyak Pelajaran dari Mugello
Meski gagal naik podium, Veda menilai akhir pekan di Mugello tetap memberikan banyak pelajaran berharga. Ia mengakui tim sempat mengalami kesulitan menemukan setelan motor yang ideal sepanjang rangkaian balapan.
“This was not our easiest weekend because we struggled to find the perfect setup, but even in difficult situations we learned many important things. I want to take all the positive lessons from Mugello and use them for the next races,” ujarnya.
Veda juga mulai mengalihkan fokus ke seri berikutnya di Hungaria yang akan menjadi pengalaman baru dalam kariernya di Moto3.
“Hungary will be a completely new circuit for me, so I am excited for the challenge and motivated to keep improving together with the team,” lanjutnya.
Honda Team Asia Nilai Veda Berpotensi Lebih Baik
Manajer Honda Team Asia, Hiroshi Aoyama, menilai Veda menjalani balapan yang kuat meski hasil akhirnya belum sepenuhnya sesuai target tim.
Menurut Aoyama, Veda sempat kesulitan pada fase awal balapan sebelum perlahan meningkatkan kecepatan dan bergabung dalam persaingan kelompok terdepan.
“Today’s Moto3 race at Mugello was very exciting from start to finish. Veda started from 12th position and gradually improved his pace throughout the race. In the beginning he struggled slightly, but from the middle stages onward he was able to recover positions and join the fight at the front,” kata Aoyama.
Ia menilai peluang podium sebenarnya terbuka bagi pembalap Indonesia tersebut hingga lap terakhir.
“At one point he was battling for the podium and remained inside the leading group until the final lap. The race was very chaotic and the competition extremely close. Finishing eighth is not exactly the result we were aiming for because there was potential for even more, but Veda did a good job managing the race and bringing home another strong result,” ujarnya.
Zen Mitani Finis di Posisi 22
Di sisi lain garasi Honda Team Asia, Zen Mitani harus menjalani balapan yang lebih berat setelah memulai lomba dari bagian belakang grid. Pembalap Jepang itu mampu memperbaiki posisinya, namun kesulitan mengejar kelompok yang bertarung di zona poin.
Mitani akhirnya menyelesaikan balapan di posisi ke-22 dengan selisih 26,357 detik dari pemenang.
“The beginning of the race was actually quite positive. I felt comfortable on the bike and during the opening laps I was able to stay close to the group ahead. Unfortunately, I lost contact on the straight and after that it became very difficult to recover the gap,” kata Mitani.
Meski kecewa dengan hasil yang diraih, ia optimistis dapat tampil lebih baik pada seri berikutnya.
“Of course, finishing 22nd is not where we want to be and I am disappointed with the result. However, we understand more about the areas where we need to improve, and now the focus is on Hungary,” ujarnya.
Setelah menyelesaikan seri Italia, Honda Team Asia akan langsung bersiap menghadapi putaran kedelapan Moto3 World Championship 2026 yang berlangsung di Sirkuit Balaton Park, Hungaria, akhir pekan depan.