Day 1 Recap: Yamaha R3 BLU CRU Asia-Pacific Championship Round 3 – Motegi

Motegi, Japan – July 5, 2025The third round of the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Asia-Pacific Championship 2025 kicked off with energy and anticipation at Mobility Resort Motegi. Riders from across the region gathered early in the morning for registration and warm-up exercises, gearing up for a challenging weekend ahead.Despite early rainfall in the morning, which caused a slight delay in the schedule, the skies eventually cleared, and the practice session went ahead as planned. Riders made the most of the track time to familiarize themselves with the 4.8 km Motegi layout.In Free Practice, Japan’s Hinata Okada topped the session with an impressive lap of 2:21.820, followed closely by Australia’s Hunter Corney and Thailand’s Varis Fleming. The session gave teams and coaches valuable data to work with, and riders spent the afternoon reviewing onboard footage and performance feedback with their technical teams to prepare for qualifying.

As the evening approached, the track dried completely, setting the stage for a fast-paced qualifying session. Okada continued his dominance by securing pole position with a stunning time of 2:16.032, edging out Australia’s Valentino Knezovic and Phoenix O’Brien who locked in the front row.All riders managed to complete their qualifying runs, setting the stage for an exciting grid. However, Wenbin Pan of China struggled due to hand pain and was unable to perform at his best, placing outside the qualification cutoff.

With strong performances and tight times across the board, all eyes now turn to tomorrow’s race day, where the action is expected to be more intense than ever.Stay tuned as the championship continues to unfold here at Mobility Resort Motegi!