2018 IDEMITSU FIM ASIA ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP OPENS TO SIX WINNERS IN SIX RACES

The 2018 season of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship opened to a spectacular six winners in six races at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.

In the super-charged competitive environment that is the Asian road racing industry, the results from Round 1 promises an exciting season ahead.

The 4.554km Chang International Circuit had always brought out the best from Anthony West. This latest outing had been no different. After taking second place in Race 1, West capped off a successful weekend with a convincing victory in 29’59.201s in Race 2.

The Australian was initially caught up in a 6-man pack at the front of the group. But when Azlan ran wide on Lap 15, the Malaysian’s subsequent efforts to make up for lost ground gave West the chance to shake off the group. Racing astride the new Yamaha R6, West crossed the finish line with a 1.9-second margin.

Decha Kraisart took second place while Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman managed to make the cut for the podium when Zaqhwan Zaidi and Ratthapong Wilairot crashed out at the last corner.

Ironically, as the ARRC heads down under to The Bend Motorsports Park in Australia for the very first time, West, the championship leader will be missing from the grid due to a long-standing commitment in the WSSP. Nevertheless, West leads the 600cc title hunt with 45 points. Azlan is second overall with 32 points and Thitipong Warokorn third with 25 points.

SUPERSPORTS 600cc TYRE CHOICE

There were three compounds to choose from in the premiere class. But with air temperature up to 36 degrees Celsius and ground temperature measured at 60 degrees Celsius, the hard compound seemed to be the only viable solution.

SS600 Tyre Choice
Comp Rider Team Make Race 1 Race 2
Front Rear Front Rear
13 Anthony West Webike IKAZUCHI Racing Yamaha H H H H
16 Irfan Ardiansyah Astra Honda Racing Team Honda H H H H
20 Azroy Hakeem Anuar MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda H H H H
21 Zaqhwan Zaidi MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda H H H H
23 Taiga Hada Idemitsu Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10 Honda H H H H
24 Decha Kraisart Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha H H H H
25 Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki H H H H
27 Andi Farid Izdihar Astra Honda Racing Team Honda H H H H
29 Patrick Li Webike IKAZUCHI Racing Yamaha M M M M
32 Ramdan Rosli Hong Leong YAMAHA Malaysia Yamaha H H H H
33 Ahmad Yudhistira Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki H H H H
56 Ratthapong Wilairot Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha H H H H
64 Keminth Kubo Yamaha Racing Asean Yamaha H H H H
66 Ibrahim Norrodin SIC ZK Racing Kawasaki Kawasaki H H H M
634 Tomoyoshi Koyama MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda H H H H
76 Yuki Ito Yamaha Racing Asean Yamaha H H H H
80 Amirul Hafiq Azmi ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team Yamaha H H H H
88 Keisuke Kurihara AP Honda Racing Thailand Honda H H H H
92 Muzakkir Mohd ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team Yamaha H H H H
100 Thitipong Warokorn Core Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team Kawasaki H H H H
123 Passawit Thitivararak AP Honda Racing Thailand Honda H H H H
127 Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin Hong Leong YAMAHA Malaysia Yamaha H H H H
SuperSports 600cc Fastest Lap Summary
FP Keminth Kubo 1’38.902
QP Zaqhwan Zaidi 1’38.469
R1 Thitipong Warokorn 1’39.283
R2 Zaqhwan Zaidi 1’39.213