The Madras Motor Race Track must be rapidly becoming a favourite hunting ground for the Malaysian riders in the Underbone 150cc category. Race 2 resulted in another all-Malaysian podium, this time with team Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing Team’s Azroy Hakeem Anuar in the lead.
Of the three open-make classes that comprised Round 5 of the 2017 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, the Underbone 150cc Race 2 was the only one that was not affected by adverse weather.
Azroy got off to a flying start and stormed into the lead with the rest of the riders hard on his heels. The Honda rider wasted no time getting into race rhythm and was even able to create a small gap ahead of the chasing pack.
The group thinned out on Lap 2 when defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana took a heavy tumble, taking Race 1 winner Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam into the gravel pits with him. Luckily, both riders were not seriously injured in the incident.
At the midway point, the top five comprising of Azroy, Mohd Helmi Azman, Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues, Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa had pulled away. As the lapboard counted down to the end of the race, Azroy was beginning to feel the pressure from Akid Aziz. On Lap 7, Azroy lost the lead momentarily to Akid but was able to take it back at Turn 6.
In the heat of the battle on Lap 8, Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa crashed into the tyre wall before the last corner. Amirul’s crash brought out the red flag. Results were taken from the previous lap, Lap 7, which placed Azroy Hakeem Anuar on the top step of the podium with a time of 13’29.043s. UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor duo Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues finished second and third with race times of 13’29.175s and 13’29.598s respectively.
Mohd Helmi Azman completed the race in fourth place while Anggi Setiawan was fifth.
The outcome from Round 5 has Akid closing in on the Underbone 150cc podium. With 164 points to his name, Akid holds a 44-point margin in front of defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana. Should Wahyu win both races in the final round, Akid will only need an additional seven points to win the title. Should he succeed, Akid will end an 8-year title drought for the Malaysian contingent in the Underbone category.
Rider’s battle aside, the consistent performance from both UMA Racing riders have won the Team Award crown for UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor. Their combined results had given the Malaysian outfit 189 points. The team holds a 60-point lead ahead of SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing.