2025 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia-Pacific Championship
Round One – Chang International Circuit
Qualifying honours at the opening round of the 2025 Yamaha bLU cRU R3 Asia-Pacific Championship went to Japan’s Hinata Okada, who stole the spotlight with a record-breaking 1:57.310 pole position. Australia’s Valentino Knezovic pushed hard to take second place on the grid.
Race One
Valentino Knezovic took victory in the season-opening bout after 12 intense laps by a bike length over Thanakit Pratumtong, who also had Hinata Okada and Markus Maxwell Mays in close company at the chequered flag.
Hunter Corney rounded out the top five a few bike lengths further back from the top quartet.
New Zealand’s Haydn Fordyce came home in seventh, with Australian Nikolas Lazos ninth. Fellow Aussie Jed Louis took 15th while countryman Phoenix O’Brien was the final finisher. Varis Fleming is entered as a Thai rider courtesy of his heritage but grew up here and is essentially Austraia, Fleming opened his account with a 12th place finish.
Race One Results
| Pos | Name | Diff |
| 1 | Valentino Knezovic | 23:53.534 |
| 2 | Thanakit Pratumtong | 0.128 |
| 3 | Hinata Okada | 0.206 |
| 4 | Markus Maxwell Mays | 0.330 |
| 5 | Hunter Corney | 1.189 |
| 6 | Pasin Chompurat | 3.024 |
| 7 | Haydn Fordyce | 6.171 |
| 8 | Zain Kaizzer Doblada | 13.433 |
| 9 | Nikolas Lazos | 13.620 |
| 10 | Theppitak Kraiyafai | 13.824 |
| 11 | Mytchell Joshua NGO | 14.231 |
| 12 | Varis Fleming | 19.972 |
| 13 | Ing Asavanund | 34.579 |
| 14 | Jiaqi Gong | 42.791 |
| 15 | Jed Louis | 44.213 |
| 16 | Huanni Ke | 50.261 |
| 17 | Wenbin Pan | 1:16.512 |
| 18 | Phoenix O’brien | 1 Lap |
Race Two
The second and final bout of the opening round witnessed a spectacular fight between Hinata Okada against the Aussie pairing of Valentino Knezovic and Hunter Corney. The triumvirate continuously exchanged the lead throughout the race. Thanakit Patoomtong was also a strong contender, consistently challenging the front-runners.
Over the final laps Knezovic and Corney engaged in a thrilling duel for the top position. However, Okada seized the opportunity to make a decisive move, overtaking both of them to secure the lead when it mattered, leaving the Aussie duo to battle it out to the line for second place honours. Ultimately, Corney ran a little wide on the final corner and Knezovic capitalised to claim that second place and with it the early championship lead.
Thanakit Patoomtong was only a few bike lenghts further behind in fourth, with a small buffer over Markus Maxwell Mays and Varis Fleming.
Valentino Knezovic
“It’s been such a good week and then to get a race win and a second on the weekend just made it even better. Everything has been super organised, and the races were unreal. It was so close and there were guys going everywhere, so you really had to think about your strategy and not make any mistakes.”
Kiwi Haydn Fordyce finished ninth. Aussies O’Brien 10th, Lazos 12th and Louis 13th.
Valentino Knezovic leads the championship with 45 points, closely followed by Hinata Okada with 41 points. Thanakit Patoomtong remains a strong contender in third place with 33 points, while Hunter Corney and Thailand’s Markus Maxwell May round out the top five with 27 and 24 points respectively.
Fordyce is just outside the top five on 16 points in sixth. Lazos is 10th with 11-points, O’Brien 13th with six, and Louis 16th with four points.
Next stop on the R3 Asia Pacific Championship calendar is Japan – Sportland Sugo, June 27-28, 2025.
Race Two Results
| Pos | Name | Diff |
| 1 | Hinata Okada | 23:53.861 |
| 2 | Valentino Knezovic | 0.151 |
| 3 | Hunter Corney | 0.375 |
| 4 | Thanakit Pratumtong | 0.476 |
| 5 | Markus Maxwell Mays | 0.843 |
| 6 | Varis Fleming | 0.997 |
| 7 | Theppitak Kraiyafai | 1.520 |
| 8 | Moses Gerard Reyes | 1.647 |
| 9 | Haydn Fordyce | 2.548 |
| 10 | Phoenix O’brien | 2.947 |
| 11 | Pasin Chompurat | 5.040 |
| 12 | Nikolas Lazos | 20.764 |
| 13 | Jed Louis | 29.103 |
| 14 | Ing Asavanund | 31.191 |
| 15 | Jiaqi Gong | 41.272 |
| 16 | Nguyen Huu Phap Tri | 41.637 |
| 17 | Alvin Wu | 1:01.331 |
| 18 | Wenbin Pan | 1:08.994 |
2025 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia-Pacific Championship Standings after Round One
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Total |
| 1 | V.KNEZOVIC | AU | 45 |
| 2 | H.OKADA | JP | 41 |
| 3 | T.PRATUMTONG | TH | 33 |
| 4 | H.CORNEY | AU | 27 |
| 5 | M.MAYS | TH | 24 |
| 6 | H.FORDYCE | NZ | 16 |
| 7 | P.CHOMPURAT | TH | 15 |
| 8 | T.KRAIYAFAI | TH | 15 |
| 9 | V.FLEMING | TH | 14 |
| 10 | N.LAZOS | AU | 11 |
| 11 | M.REYES | PH | 8 |
| 12 | Z.DOBLADA | PH | 8 |
| 13 | P.O’BRIEN | AU | 6 |
| 14 | I.ASAVANUND | TH | 5 |
| 15 | M.NGO | PH | 5 |
| 16 | J.LOUIS | AU | 4 |
| 17 | J.GONG | CN | 3 |
