Introduced in 2015, the Suzuki Asian Challenge developmental platform had continually been dominated by riders from the Indonesian archipelago. First won by Andreas Gunawan in 2015 and then by Jefri Tosema in 2016, the latest edition of the Suzuki Asian Challenge could be shaping up to be yet another Indonesian affair.
Ahmad Saugi was the rider of the day during the free practice sessions. He clocked fastest in the first practice with 1’58.507s, half a second faster than Thailand’s Punchana Kulrojchalalai who posted 1’59.037s. India’s Arunagiri Prabhu was third fastest with 1’59.056s.
Unfortunately for the Suzuki Asian Challenge riders, the plans and strategems to better their laptimes during the second free practice was washed out after the session was red flagged and subsequently cancelled due to an electrical storm at the 3.86km circuit.