Malaysia’s Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM continued his remarkable run of form in the ASB1000 category, producing another flawless performance to claim his sixth consecutive victory at Round 3 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 at Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan.
Throughout Race 2, Hafizh steadily built an advantage over his rivals before crossing the finish line in 27’29.019s. Behind him, a fierce battle unfolded for the remaining podium positions, with Japan’s Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES edging Thailand’s Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of HONDA RACING THAILAND by just 0.044s to secure second place.
Starting from the front, Hafizh immediately established himself at the head of the field, leading Nakarin, Keito, and Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA through the opening laps. While Hafizh initially came under pressure from the chasing pack, he quickly demonstrated the pace that has made him the benchmark rider this season.
By Lap 2, Hafizh had already set the fastest lap of the race at 1’55.376s while reaching a top speed of 282.72kph. A lap later, he lowered the benchmark dramatically with a stunning 1’49.359s effort. Meanwhile, Zaqhwan crashed while running in fourth position. Although he managed to rejoin the race, the incident dropped him to the back of the field.
The focus then shifted to an intense fight behind the leader. Keito and Nakarin exchanged positions several times, with the Japanese rider eventually moving into second place on Lap 6. The Thai rider remained glued to Keito’s rear wheel, ensuring the battle remained alive throughout the race.
Meanwhile, Hafizh simply disappeared into the distance. Consistently lapping in the 1’49s range, he extended his advantage from 1.515s on Lap 5 to more than five seconds by the closing stages. On Lap 8, he set the fastest lap of the race at 1’48.980s, underlining his complete control of the contest.
Further behind, Shota Ite of AKENO SPEED.UMA RACING YAMAHA MAJUMOTOR ASIA TEAM and Kohta Arakawa of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing joined the battle for the top five, while JDT RACING TEAM’s Andi Farid Izdihar charged through the field to secure sixth position.
With Hafizh comfortably clear entering the final lap, attention turned to the fight for second. Keito successfully resisted Nakarin’s relentless pressure to secure his best result of the weekend, while Nakarin completed the podium at 27’34.042s.
Hafizh said, “Alhamdulillah, six wins in a row. There is not much more I could ask for from the championship so far. We knew we had the pace this morning, but the important thing was to stay calm and not do anything silly because once you lose confidence, you can lose time very easily. At the start of the race, I knew I had the pace and the opportunity to make my move, so I focused on braking a little later and securing my position. From there, I just concentrated on maintaining my rhythm, and the pace kept getting better and better. Surprisingly, we were able to produce qualifying-level lap times consistently throughout the race. I challenged myself compared to yesterday because I wasn’t completely satisfied with my pace in Race 1. Today, I understood the rear tyre better, understood the bike better, and it allowed me to maintain a strong and consistent pace. Thank you to the team, my crew chief and all the crew who have worked incredibly hard since the beginning of the season. I would also like to thank HRH Tunku Mahkota Ismail for believing in me, my family, and all our sponsors who have supported this journey. This victory is for all of you.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 2
1. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (27’29.019s)
2. KEITO ABE – SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES (27’33.998s)
3. NAKARIN ATIRATPHUVAPAT – HONDA RACING THAILAND (27’34.042s)
4. SHOTA ITE – AKENO SPEED.UMA RACING YAMAHA MAJUMOTOR ASIA TEAM (27’34.613s)
5. KOHTA ARAKAWA – Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing (27’37.277s)