The intensity of the high-powered machine complimented by the extremely dextrous riders taking charge of the circuit is one of the greatest accomplishments one can achieve in the Asia Superbike 1000cc. Today, Suhaithai Chaemsup of EEST NJT Racing proved his accomplishment when he took the win in Race 2 of Round 5, FIM Asia Road Racing Championship held at Chang International Circuit.
At turn one of the first lap, Ikuhiro Enokido took an immediate move into P1, followed by Apiwath and Zaqhwan at P2 and P3 respectively. Poleman Kasma however lost his pace and went down to P8 in the first lap. Meanwhile, Zaqhwan was trying to close his gap with Apiwath however it was not an easy feat.
The front troop, Ikuhiro, Apiwath, Zaqhwan, Anupab and Yuki Ito were lined up in a row waiting for their moment to strike and by the end of the third lap, Apiwath managed to take lead. Half way through the third lap, Zaqhwan made a quick move and switched positions into P1. Apiwath inches away was adamant with his chase, trying his best to supersede Zaqhwan.
At the back, Kasma moved his way back up to P6. Seconds into the sixth lap, Zaqhwan lost his momentum. With that, Apiwath and Anupab quickly made their moves ahead of him. By the end of the seventh lap, several changes took place with Anupab at the lead position, followed by Apiwath and Zaqhwan at the top three positions. Kasma made impressive moves and locked into P4 waiting to strike. His moment to slide from the inside came when Apiwath took a fall, instantly placing him at the lead position. Anupab dropped to P4.
As the heat picked up between duo, Kasma and Zaqhwan, Ikuhiro managed to slide ahead of Zaqhwan at the last turn of the tenth lap. The critical moment among the riders began when wildcard rider Suhaithai came out of nowhere into the lead position.
By the last lap, Suhaithai charged ahead fearlessly with a gap of 4.8s from Ikuhiro who was at P2 and marked victory at 23’01:544s. The Thailand rider was 2-time Asian GP125 Champion for year 2000 and 2002.
Commenting on the race, Suhaithai said, “It was a very good weekend. In the beginning, I was not serious about the race however the decision to change the tires made a whole lot of difference for me.”
At the second spot was replacement rider Ikuhiro Enokido of SDG Motor Sports HARC-PRO Ph. who clocked in at 23’06:347s.
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of ONEXOX BMW TKKR Team takes the third place when he logged in at 23’07:374s.
The Asian Champion for the Asia Superbike 1000cc year 2022 goes to Md Zaqhwan Zaidi.
Commenting on the title, Zaqhwan said, “I have no words to describe the happiness that I feel right now but I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have supported me in my journey. I would like to thank the team for the great setup of the machine. This victory is for my friend, Rozaiman – have a speedy recovery!”