Haruki Noguchi (3rd year, College of Social Sciences) placed second in the annual ranking for the ASB1000 class after his performance at the 2022 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, an international motorcycle road racing championship that began in March 2022.

　The Asia Road Racing Championship is an international event that serves to develop riders with their sights set on the world stage and to advance motorsports throughout Asia. In 2022, the championship featured 10 races over five rounds, and Asia’s top riders battled each other in a heated competition.

　Last year, Noguchi was the champion of the ST600 All Japan Road Racing Championship, and this season, he left Japan’s shores to compete in the Asia Road Racing Championship. It was his first attempt at 1000cc class road racing, but he got off to a good start with a third place finish in the opening round and a second place finish in the second round. By this point, he had moved up to second place in the overall rankings.
　He continued to perform well, taking home four wins in the next four races, and moved up to the top spot in the rankings. He raced well throughout the season and seemed to be a shoe-in for the annual champion before the fifth round began.

　Unfortunately, he was forced to miss the final round of the Asia Road Racing Championship due to an accident in which he was rear-ended by another rider during the official practice for the final round of the ST1000 class of the 2022 MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship at Suzuka, where he was scheduled to participate in one race.

　In the final round, the second-place rider finished 5th in the first two races, which was enough to narrowly surpass the absent Noguchi’s points total, thereby putting Noguchi in second place overall at the end of the season.

　Noguchi has already decided to participate in the ASB1000 class at next year’s Asia Road Racing Championship, and expectations are high for him to perform even better in his second season.

　We hope everyone will continue to cheer him on.

　This season was a new challenge for me, but in the end, I was able to race well. Unfortunately, I was rear-ended by the rider behind me during the official practice for the All Japan Road Race Championship at the Suzuka Circuit, which caused me to crash and break my spine. As a result, I missed the final round of the Asia Road Racing Championship and just missed being crowned annual champion.
　I will be competing in the same category next season, and I want to make sure I win the annual championship that I couldn’t win this year. In addition to making a full recovery from my injury, I will also do my best to prove that I am an even better rider than I was this season, not to mention securing the top spot. I hope you will continue rooting for me.