Matt Hauser played it smart to notch his first Olympic-distance WTCS win in Yokohama – and hopes it will tee up the ‘year of the Aussies’.
Hauser was runner-up in Japan in this race last year and filled the same spot in this season’s WTCS opener in Abu Dhabi.
But there was no stopping him this time in torrential conditions – heavy rain and strong winds – as he burned off his rivals one by one to stand on the top step of the podium, in front of Vasco Vilaca in second and Miguel Hidalgo in third.
Finishing strong
And speaking afterwards on the live broadcast, he said: “I think I learned a few lessons in Abu Dhabi – not to go too early and burn my matches.
“So that was a good lesson learned and I was able to produce a good result out of that today against some really tough competition like Vasco. He led those last couple laps into the headwind and I just had to play it smart and kudos to those boys for making it a tough finish.
“In the last K or so I was just running through my head ‘they ain’t got that kick like you do’ so I was able to finish it off strong like I know I can and really back myself and believe in myself.
“You can’t settle for anything less than first until you’ve given everything on the line. So yeah, try to produce a bit of that Aussie spirit out there today and it got me home first, which I’m super glad about.”
Home advantage
This WTCS campaign will culminate in the Championship Finals in Wollongong, Australia, and Hauser now stands at the top of the rankings after two of the eight races.
He added: “Wollongong World Champs – this year is the year of the Aussies so hopefully we can come back and put on a show, it should be a great year ahead.”
WTCS 2025 rankings after Yokohama (race two)
- 1. Matthew Hauser (AUS) – 1693.75
- 2. Vasco Vilaca (POR) – 1566.72
- 3. Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) – 1227.45
- 4. Ricardo Batista (POR) – 1134.29
- 5. Ben Dijkstra (GBR) – 1013.98
- 6. Max Stapley (GBR) – 802.52
- 7. Léo Bergere (FRA) – 791.45
- 8. Hayden Wilde (NZL) – 750.00
- 9. Dorian Coninx (FRA) – 732.09
- 10. Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) – 677.19
