Veda Ega Pratama: Finishing Fifth Is Not Enough

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Honda Team Asia crew enthusiastically welcomed the pink number 9 bike back into the paddock. However, the same spirit was not quite visible from its rider, Veda Ega Pratama. After bringing his motorcycle to a halt following a fifth-place finish at the Automotodrom Brno circuit in the Czech Republic on Sunday, 21 June, Veda dismounted and walked into the room somewhat hastily. The adrenaline was evidently still surging after a fierce last-lap battle with five other riders, all of whom were on KTM machines. Veda then took off his helmet, sat down in the paddock, and without wasting any time, began an evaluation with the engineers and mechanics. The 17-year-old explained in detail what he felt throughout the race, while the entire team listened attentively. A member of the Honda Team Asia social media crew then brought over a handphone to record Veda, saying, ‘Give me five,’ to symbolise his fifth-place finish. However, the son of national Supersport 600 racer Sudarmono only gave a perfunctory expression to fulfil the high-five request before immediately returning to his discussion with the crew. Veda indeed finished fifth in Brno after starting the race from 20th on the grid. He was supposed to start from eighth position but received a 12-place grid penalty for allegedly slowing on the racing line during the qualifying session. Despite this, he managed to climb 15 positions during the race, a remarkable achievement for a rider in his debut Moto3 season. Yet, his facial expression and gestures showed a clear lack of satisfaction with the result. The youngster is truly hungry for ambition. In a post-race interview, Veda recounted the course of the race and shared his feelings about the capabilities of the SF250RW bike. He noted that there are aspects of the Honda machine that need improvement to match the other rivals in Moto3, although he also believes Honda has certain advantages that can be exploited during a race. On the Brno grid that day, Veda stood at the very back in 20th position. Ahead of him were 19 bikes, 15 of which were powered by KTM engines. The 2026 Moto3 season is dominated by KTM, with eight of the top ten riders in the provisional standings riding the Austrian machine. Veda is the only Honda rider in the top ten, sitting in fifth place, alongside Guido Pini in tenth.