Race 1 of Round 3 IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in the Asia Superbike 1000cc category showcased high-speed drama and exhilarating moments for fans. Sho Nishimura of TKKR BMW Racing Team emerged victorious, clinching the top spot on the podium.
Earlier in the Qualifying session, Yuki Kunii of SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda Ph. secured pole position with a blistering lap time of 1’49:444s. At the second grid position was Sho at 1’49:467s followed by Soichiro Minamimoto of YAMAHA TEKHNE Racing Team ASIA at 1’49:916s.
Sho Stormed into the lead as soon as the race started. Behind him, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM, Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo and Yuki raced fiercely to challenge Sho’s position at the front.
Unfortunately, on lap 3, a crash occurred due to a collision between Yuki and Nakarin. A red flag came up during the race.
After a brief interruption, the race resumed with 9 laps. The battle was thrilling as soon as the race started, While Hafizh leading the race, Sho went on to pressure Hafizh and managed to overtake Hafizh on lap 4. Behind them, Azlan followed closely with Nakarin at P4.
On lap 6, Nakarin managed to overtake Azlan at P3, while Sho and Hafizh maintained at P1 and P2 respectively. The intensity inscreased as the gap between top 3 riders became tight.
On the final lap, Hafizh overtook Sho but the latter made his way to reclaim the position and sped after the finishing line at 16’44:222s to take victory.
Sho stated, “This race was incredibly challenging, particularly due to the hazardous conditions on the second lap of Race 1, where I had to navigate through oil spills. Despite the initial setback and the subsequent red flag, I managed to regain my focus and executed a very good start. I am very happy to clinched the victory. For tomorrow, I’m determined to maintain my focus and strive for another victory in Race 2.”
Second place went to Nakarin who concluded the race at 16’44:314s, while Hafizh finished clocked 16’44:803s to take third spot on the podium.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
ASB1000
- Sho Nishimura – TKKR BMW Racing Team (16’44:222s)
- Nakarin Atiratphuvapat – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (16’44:314s)
- Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah – JDT RACING TEAM (16’44:803s)
- Soichiro Minamimoto – YAMAHA TEKHNE Racing Team ASIA (16’48:232s)
- Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman – TKKR BMW Racing Team (16’49:199s)