The ASB1000 category delivered another exciting battle at the Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand as Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM held off a strong Honda challenge to secure victory in Race 2 of Round 2 in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026.
At the start, Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA made a strong launch to take the lead, followed closely by teammate Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Hafizh in third. Home rider Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of HONDA RACING THAILAND settled into fourth, while Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES completed the top five.
By Lap 2, Hafizh had moved into the lead after overtaking Zaqhwan, while Azroy remained in close contention in third. Behind them, Keito and Nakarin continued to stay within striking distance as the front group remained tightly packed.
Hafizh continued to increase the pace, setting the fastest lap time of 1’35.788s on Lap 4 while defending several overtaking attempts from Zaqhwan. The battle behind also intensified as Keito briefly moved ahead of Azroy for third, though the Malaysian quickly reclaimed the position.
On Lap 5, Azroy responded with a fastest lap of 1’35.673s and a top speed of 299.2km/h as the leading trio began to separate themselves from the chasing riders. A lap later, Azroy overtook Zaqhwan to move into second and immediately began chasing Hafizh at the front.
However, the race took a turn on Lap 8 when Azroy crashed at Turn 8 while pushing hard to close the gap to Hafizh. The incident promoted Zaqhwan back into second, with Keito moving up to third and Nakarin into fourth.
Despite being chased by Honda riders for much of the race, Hafizh remained calm and steadily built his advantage. By Lap 10, the JDT RACING TEAM rider had extended his lead to 3.017s, maintaining strong pace with a top speed of 295.9km/h.
The fight for the podium intensified in the closing laps as Keito overtook Zaqhwan for second on Lap 11. On the final lap, Nakarin also moved ahead of Zaqhwan, while the Malaysian rider crashed at the final corner during an overtaking attempt.
Unchallenged at the front, Hafizh crossed the finish line to claim victory in 24’01.995s. Keito secured second place in 24’04.743s, while Nakarin completed the podium on home soil in 24’05.477s.
Hafizh shared, “I made a good start and entered the first corner in third position. I almost hit Azroy Hakeem Anuar because he braked a bit early at Turn 3, but thankfully I managed to avoid an accident.
During the middle of the race, I struggled a little as the bike felt different, possibly due to the changing conditions from hot to cooler temperatures. I tried to understand the situation, stay calm, and control my pace.
Luckily, toward the end of the race, I managed to set the fastest lap and create a good gap, which helped me control the race until the finish. Achieving four wins in a row feels really special, and this victory is for my team, my boss, HRH Tunku Mahkota Ismail, and everyone who has supported me. I also want to wish good luck to Johor Jewel in their finals tonight, and JDT football team. Seeing others from the same camp succeed gives me extra motivation to keep pushing and finish the season strongly.
As I always say, hard work pays off. I trained hard in the heat, spent many hours cycling, and pushed myself to prepare for moments like this. Now, I just want to enjoy this moment, prepare mentally for the next race, and continue working hard. Thank you to all the Malaysian fans, this victory is for you.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 2
1. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (24’01.995s)
2. KEITO ABE – SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES (24’04.743s)
3. MUHAMMAD ZAQHWAN ZAIDI – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (24’05.477s)
4. NAKARIN ATIRATPHUVAPAT – HONDA RACING THAILAND (24’10.150s)
5. LACHLAN EPIS – SWIFT GROW RACING TEAM (24’12.771s)