2026 Idemitsu Moto4 Asia Cup
Round Five – Sepang, Malaysia
Qabil Irfan gave the Malaysian fans a home victory to celebrate before Hayato Chishiki emerged from a dramatic second Moto4 Asia Cup race at Sepang with a stronger grip on the championship.
Irfan swept around the outside at the final corner to claim his maiden win on Saturday, while Sunday’s honours changed hands after the chequered flag. Bintang Pranata crossed the line first but lost the victory to a track limits penalty, promoting Chishiki and leaving the Japanese rider 32 points clear heading to the Lusail finale.
Australian Judd Plaisted endured a difficult Saturday after a jump start brought a double Long Lap Penalty, before recovering to score two points with 14th on Sunday. Teerin Fleming finished 12th in the opener but crashed out of Race Two.
Practice and Qualifying
Irfan signalled his intentions from the opening session, topping FP1 with a 2m18.300 ahead of Kotaro Togashi and Haruki Matsuyama. Muh Badly then lowered the benchmark to 2m17.441 in FP2, despite completing only four laps, with Irfan second and Maulana Malik third.
Plaisted arrived in Malaysia after wrapping up his third consecutive Australian MotoMini championship. He was 16th in FP1 before improving by more than two seconds to a 2m18.833 and 11th in FP2. Fleming was ninth in the morning and tenth in the afternoon.
Togashi secured pole with a 2m17.157, just 66 thousandths ahead of Irfan, while Pranata completed the front row. Matsuyama, Waku Kunitate and championship leader Chishiki filled row two, with nine riders qualifying within a second of pole.
Fleming qualified 13th with a 2m18.696, while Plaisted’s 2m19.351 put him 17th on the 21-rider grid.
Race One
Saturday’s 11-lap race was declared wet, with the field on wet tyres as the circuit gradually dried. Irfan launched into the lead from second on the grid, but fellow Malaysian Qayyim Razin soon joined him at the front after charging from eighth.
Razin led across the line from laps two to five, while Malik also took a turn at the head of a five-rider contest that included Irfan, Pranata and Badly. The changing conditions kept the order moving, with the leading riders still close enough to trade places into the closing stages.
Badly’s challenge was blunted by a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding after a close exchange with Razin along the main straight. That left Irfan, Razin, Pranata and Malik to dispute the podium places.
Pranata attacked at Turn One on the final lap, but could not get away. Razin came back through at the penultimate corner to lead onto the back straight, before Pranata responded as they approached the final turn.
Irfan then produced the decisive move, carrying his speed around the outside of both rivals at the final corner to snatch the lead and hold it to the flag. He beat Pranata by 0.166 seconds, with Razin only another 56 thousandths behind. Malik finished a career-best fourth, just 0.380 seconds from victory.
The new winner also set the fastest lap, a 2m27.450 on the final tour. Kunitate headed the next group home in fifth, narrowly ahead of Badly and pole-sitter Togashi, with Resky Yusuf eighth.
Noprutpong Bunprawes and Abimanyu Fermadi completed the top ten. Matsuyama finished 11th after serving the double Long Lap Penalty carried over from the Mandalika incident that also eliminated Chishiki and Kunitate.
Fleming took 12th, 0.828 seconds ahead of Chishiki, whose 13th place cut his championship advantage over Kunitate from 23 to 15 points. Pranata’s second place also brought the Indonesian closer to the title fight.
Plaisted and Shiyu Chen both received double Long Lap Penalties for jump starts. Plaisted completed both loops and finished 21st, while all 21 starters reached the chequered flag.
Sepang Moto4 Race One Results
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| Pos | Rider | Bike | TimeGap |
| 1 | Q. Irfan | Hon | 27m45.895 |
| 2 | B. Pranata | Hon | +0.166 |
| 3 | Q. Razin | Hon | +0.222 |
| 4 | M. Malik | Hon | +0.380 |
| 5 | W. Kunitate | Hon | +5.777 |
| 6 | M. Badly | Hon | +5.944 |
| 7 | K. Togashi | Hon | +6.026 |
| 8 | R. Yusuf | Hon | +6.862 |
| 9 | N. Bunprawes | Hon | +8.979 |
| 10 | A. Fermadi | Hon | +12.489 |
| 11 | H. Matsuyama | Hon | +13.840 |
| 12 | T. Fleming | Hon | +14.180 |
| 13 | H. Chishiki | Hon | +15.008 |
| 14 | W. Zhong | Hon | +26.171 |
| 15 | P. Thonggerdl | Hon | +26.756 |
| 16 | P. Aeimnoi | Hon | +27.563 |
| 17 | M. Naqib | Hon | +27.641 |
| 18 | N. Viet Tuan | Hon | +47.628 |
| 19 | S. Chen | Hon | +48.106 |
| 20 | T. Sriperchsu | Hon | +1m18.728 |
| 21 | J. Plaisted | Hon | +1m28.828 |
Race Two
Sunday brought dry conditions and another closely fought 11-lap race, with the championship picture changing dramatically at the final corner.
Togashi led away from pole, but Chishiki was already second at the end of lap one after starting sixth. Chishiki, Kunitate and Pranata all took turns leading across the line as Irfan, Yusuf and Matsuyama joined the contest at the front.
Fleming’s race ended at the start of lap five, shortly after he had recorded a 2m17.831. That remained the seventh-fastest lap of the race despite his early exit. Badly also fell, rejoined, then received the black flag with orange disc before retiring in the pits.
Togashi led across the line to begin the final lap, but the riders were still jockeying for position as they approached the back straight. Kunitate took the lead out of the penultimate corner, only for Chishiki and Pranata to use the slipstream and attack on either side.
Pranata emerged ahead at Turn 15, while contact between Togashi and Kunitate sent Kunitate into a highside just a few hundred metres from the finish. Kunitate was reported OK and taken to the medical centre, but his race was over.
Pranata held off Chishiki to cross the line first by 0.084 seconds, only for a final-lap track limits infringement at Turn 14 to bring a one-place penalty. His maiden victory became another second place, while Chishiki collected his fifth win of the season.
Yusuf completed the podium, 0.245 seconds behind the classified winner, with Togashi fourth and Saturday winner Irfan fifth. Malik edged Matsuyama by just 29 thousandths for sixth, while Razin finished eighth. Matsuyama set the fastest lap with a 2m17.443.
Fermadi beat Bunprawes to ninth by only 0.025 seconds, with Pacharagorn Thonggerdloung 11th and Muhammad Naqib 12th.
Plaisted improved from 17th on the grid to finish 14th, just 41 thousandths behind Nguyen Viet Tuan. His best lap of 2m18.999 was quicker than his qualifying time, and the result added two championship points after Saturday’s disappointment.
Chen claimed the final point in 15th ahead of Wen Ze Zhong. Tanutchanon Sriperchsuwan was classified 17th after Pongkhun Aeimnoi also received a one-place penalty for exceeding track limits on the final lap.
Sepang Moto4 Race Two Results
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| Pos | Rider | Bike | TimeGap |
| 1 | H. Chishiki | Hon | 25m29.580 |
| 2 | B. Pranata | Hon | 25m29.496* |
| 3 | R. Yusuf | Hon | +0.245 |
| 4 | K. Togashi | Hon | +0.334 |
| 5 | Q. Irfan | Hon | +0.660 |
| 6 | M. Malik | Hon | +1.355 |
| 7 | H. Matsuyama | Hon | +1.384 |
| 8 | Q. Razin | Hon | +1.456 |
| 9 | A. Fermadi | Hon | +5.967 |
| 10 | N. Bunprawes | Hon | +5.992 |
| 11 | P. Thonggerdl | Hon | +8.707 |
| 12 | M. Naqib | Hon | +11.819 |
| 13 | N. Viet Tuan | Hon | +14.731 |
| 14 | J. Plaisted | Hon | +14.772 |
| 15 | S. Chen | Hon | +15.737 |
| 16 | W. Zhong | Hon | +18.719 |
| 17 | T. Sriperchsu | Hon | +35.214 |
| 18 | P. Aeimnoi | Hon | +35.092* |
| NC | W. Kunitate | Hon | 1 lap |
| NC | M. Badly | Hon | 5 laps |
| NC | T. Fleming | Hon | 7 laps |
* Pranata and Aeimnoi were each demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap. The table follows the amended classification; Pranata’s recorded race time and Aeimnoi’s recorded gap are shown.
Championship
Chishiki leaves Sepang on 161 points, with Pranata’s pair of second places moving him from fourth to second on 129. The Indonesian collected 40 points across the weekend, gaining 12 on Chishiki, but still heads to the finale 32 behind.
Kunitate’s final-corner retirement leaves him third on 121, 40 points from the lead. With 50 points available from the two remaining races, Chishiki, Pranata and Kunitate are the only riders still mathematically in contention for the title.
Matsuyama is fourth on 109, four ahead of Togashi, while Irfan’s 36-point home weekend lifts him to 98 in sixth. Thonggerdloung, Yusuf, Razin and Badly complete the top ten.
Fleming sits 12th on 59 points, while Plaisted is 14th on 41. The championship concludes at Lusail in Qatar next weekend.
Moto4 Asia Cup Points
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| Pos | Rider | Pts |
| 1 | H. Chishiki | 161 |
| 2 | B. Pranata | 129 |
| 3 | W. Kunitate | 121 |
| 4 | H. Matsuyama | 109 |
| 5 | K. Togashi | 105 |
| 6 | Q. Irfan | 98 |
| 7 | P. Thonggerdl | 83 |
| 8 | R. Yusuf | 82 |
| 9 | Q. Razin | 81 |
| 10 | M. Badly | 64 |
| 11 | M. Malik | 61 |
| 12 | T. Fleming | 59 |
| 13 | N. Bunprawes | 56 |
| 14 | J. Plaisted | 41 |
| 15 | N. Viet Tuan | 28 |
| 16 | M. Naqib | 23 |
| 17 | A. Fermadi | 19 |
| 18 | W. Zhong | 19 |
| 19 | P. Aeimnoi | 13 |
| 20 | B. Paige | 11 |
| 21 | S. Chen | 10 |
| 22 | V. Octavianus | 6 |
| 23 | J. Paige | 6 |
| 24 | T. Sriperchsu | 3 |
| 25 | P. O’Brien | 2 |
| 26 | M. Salem | 2 |
| 27 | V. Maidadpan | 1 |
2027 Selection
The Malaysian visit also included the selection event for the 2027 Idemitsu Moto4 Asia Cup, held at Sepang International Kart Circuit ahead of the race weekend. Nine riders were selected and another nine named as reserves after 88 hopefuls from 17 countries and territories were invited to take part.
The selected group represents seven countries and territories: Indonesia, Thailand, Qatar, China, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam and Japan. Among those chosen were China’s 2025 MotoMini 190 cc World Final winner Shengbo Sun, Indonesia’s Clevan Octavianus and Vietnam’s Ngo Nguyen Viet Tuan.
