It was a strong presentation by the Indonesians in the Asia Production 250cc race category. Emerging consistent and relentless was Herjun Atna Firdaus of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM who swiped another win today in Race 2 of Round 4, Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship held at Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit.
Race 1 witnessed a battle between Honda, Yamaha and the Kawasaki riders in the first few laps before Herjun finally found his footing at the lead position. While Faerozi and Aldi fought their battle, Rheza broke into P2 and picked up speed to compete with his teammate. Nevertheless, it was futile. Herjun was on his way to victory when Rheza faced rivalry from Aldi and Wahyu, submitting to defeat.
Today’s race began with Herjun and Aldi sprinting ahead. Aldi however managed to take lead at turn one for a moment before Kiandra made his move into P1. By lap 2, Kiandra picked up speed with Muklada injecting intense pressure from the back. Before the lap ended, Aldi who took a spot on the podium yesterday fell. Muklada found her way into P1 with Wahyu at P2. Before lap 2 ended, Rheza
moved into P3 while Aiki took P4. The AP250 race category seemed more vigorous this time around with the additional wildcard riders adding on to the pressure. The exchange of positions was intense but Muklada seemed confident as she went on to hold the position.
By mid-race however, Herjun began working his magic and emerged at P1. He immediately picked up speed and drew a wide gap with the troop trailing behind. His teammate, Rheza moved next in line at P3 while Kawasaki Ninja rider, Aiki managed his pace at P3 before Wahyu took over. With another 2 laps to go, Herjun was comfortably gliding away while the heated battle continued between Rheza, Wahyu and Aiki. Wahyu succeeded Rheza before the Kawasaki boys took over P3 and P4 at the final lap. Seconds before the race ended, Rheza and Irfan fought a good battle before Rheza flaunted his mastery at the last turn, sprinting ahead towards the second spot on the podium.
Herjun made it with flying colours at 18’03:881s. With this victory, ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM celebrated the overall team champion.
Commenting on the race, Herjun said, “In the beginning, it was not so good. I hit another rider and that made me lose my position. But I believed in myself and I had a good pace here so I took a step-by-step approach to move upstream into P1. Eventually, I managed to make a gap. With that, I was able to stay focus and continue to race without much pressure.”
Teammate, Rheza Danica Ahrens took the second place at 18’06:321s.
Irfan Ardiansyah of Motul Sniper Manual Tech Racing came in third at 18’06:367s.
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