The Japanese went all out, staying clean within the racing lines with the aim of scoring a double-win on his home-ground circuit in the Asia Superbike 1000cc however, Hafizh Syahrin of JDT RACING TEAM who was all about making up for the loss in Race 1 traded blows with Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES before taking him down for a 25-point celebration. The rivalry is bound to continue at Mandalika International Circuit during Round 4 of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship but with a certain additional twist from Andi Farid Izdihar of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM.
The Indonesian lost a double opportunity to scale higher in Round 3 after encountering a racing incident in his local championship. Now, fit to embrace all possibilities, Andi will be back to make his story count especially on his home-ground circuit. Last season, Andi mesmerised the crowd when he took a win in Race 1 on his home-soil and although he succumbed to third place in Race 2, his rewarding performance gave him the boost he needed to be in contention for the championship title. Andi ended the season as 1st runner up, 2-point shy from his closest contender.
This season has been somewhat glum for Andi who was seen struggling to seal the deal on the top three spots. The rider who is known to have it in spades currently sits ninth in the overall standings after the mid-season race with a total of 32 points. It’s a huge gap to fill to fit into the finest spots but the odds are there with a condition to make the top five cut – if he wraps the coming round up a 50-pointer. Will Andi be up for the challenge and make a quick turn around?
Andi said, “I am pretty geared up for the coming race on my home soil. It will definitely be tough to compete with those ahead of me right now since I have missed out on two races. But I am recovery well and fine for now and I believe that I will be back to a 100% by this weekend. The aim is to improve further and make amends on aspects that I have lost, not just the missed weekend but also the two crashes in round 1 and 2. That has certainly pulled down further. The target is of course to aim big and take the win in the coming races and as fun as it may sound, it is not an easy task considering the close contention from the rivals. But again, who knows what could happen and where the championship will lead us all to?!”
“I like the character of Mandalika’s tarmac and I particularly enjoy riding on the last sector when you need to brake harder to avoid overshooting from the racing line – to optimise speed. That is quite a challenge but I love it. It brings with it a different kind of umph. At this point of time, I am reducing focus on the rivalry and will pay more attention to what I can be achieved further. Every round is challenging as it is but we all know that every rider in the race category is highly capable. As per my mantra – “Life never gets easy but we try our best despite the odds.” I will look back and analyse the mistakes so that I can keep learning and be better!”