The competition among the Asia Production 250cc riders has always been a captivating one with the ladies and gentlemen of the best kind taking the rhythm up a notch. Sailing through flawlessly and bagging the top spot was Veda Ega Pratama of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM in Race 2 of Round 5, FIM Asia Road Racing Championship which was held at Zhuhai International Circuit.
Recapping the performances of Race 1, Veda took charge of the circuit making waves on each lap while,Muklada, Jakkreephat and Rheza battled their rivalries behind. With two more laps to go, Veda who had made a 7-second gap, had a ride through penalty, which gave the trio an instant pass to supersede him. Veda lost his chance but the lady was all out to bring the boys down. On the final lap, Muklada blazed her way to victory with Rheza taking the second spot and Jakkreephat landing himself third.
Veda was quick to make his move at turn one, immediately taking lead as Jakkreephat and Muklada took P2 and P3. Nevertheless, Faerozi and Rheza were quick in getting ahead of Muklada before lap 1 ended. Muklada would not give up. As her teammate diligently trailed Veda, Muklada was fighting a battle with Faerozi and Rheza for the third position. She embraced the challenges as she went on to compete competitively. By the end of lap 3, Veda was 0.7s away from Jakkreephat who maintained his pace at P2. Mid lap 4, Herjun began making his moves and glided ahead of the trio. By then, Viet Nam emerged among the second troop.
By mid-race, the duo in front were pacing with no pressure. But the intensity among the back troop became nerve-wrecking. Herjun took lead with Faerozi and Viet Nam chasing aggressively for the third place. With another three laps to go, Veda was 4.8 seconds away from Jakkreephat. Herjun and Faerozi picked up speed but Viet Nam caught up quickly. On the final lap, Veda and Jakkreephat went on to complete the race at first and second spot respectively. The second troop had one final battle before Herjun took speed to finish third.
Commenting on the race, Veda who logged in at 18’20:774s said, “Race 1 didn’t work out for me because of the ride through. So, this was my time to make up for my loss yesterday. I did my best to stay focused and keep up with my pace. With that, I managed to draw a good big gap and avoided all threats from the back. I thank my team, crew members and everyone who have supported me throughout!”
Jakkreephat Puettisan of Honda Racing Thailand clocked in second at 18’30:018s.
Herjun Atna Firdaus of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM made it third at 18’34:804s.
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