Race 1 of Round 6 of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in the ASB1000 category at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, saw Andi Farid Izdihar of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo clinch a commanding victory, securing the top spot on the podium.
During the qualifying session, Andi Farid Izdihar earned pole position with the fastest lap time of 1’34:700s. His teammate, Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, followed in second with a time of 1’34:876s, while Yuki Kunii of SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda Ph. secured the third grid position with a time of 1’34:975s.
As the race began, the trio from Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo—Andi Farid Izdihar, Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, and Md Zaqhwan Zaidi—took the lead, with Zaqhwan moving into second place ahead of Nakarin. The championship leader, Yuki Kunii, was in P5, attempting to close the gap with the front riders.
The Honda Asia-Dream Racing trio displayed impressive speed, with Zaqhwan reaching a top speed of 300km/h as he overtook the Thai rider, Nakarin, to take P2. By lap 6, the top three riders had pulled a gap of 2:345s ahead of the second group, while Yuki struggled to overtake Japanese wildcard rider Tetsuta Nagashima of Astemo SI Racing with Thai Honda. Yuki was subsequently overtaken by Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT Racing Team.
Despite the challenges, Yuki started to show signs of improvement, making his way up to P4, while Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of TKKR BMW Racing Team’s position after a fall on lap 10.
Andi became more comfortable in the lead, creating a gap of 2 seconds ahead of Zaqhwan. On the final lap, Yuki, who had been trailing Nakarin closely, managed to overtake him to secure P3.
Race 1 concluded with Andi crossing the finish line to claim victory with a time of 20’44.539s, making him the new championship leader with 165 points—5 points ahead of Yuki.
Andi Farid Izdihar said, “In the beginning, I just focused on maintaining a good pace, which is the right strategy. I didn’t expect to still claim the victory after making some mistakes, but I’m happy with the result. Tomorrow, we’ll analyze everything before Race 2, but for now, I want to celebrate and release the tension.”
Zaqhwan finished in second place with a time of 20’46:156s, while Yuki secured third with a time of 20’48:724s.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
ASB1000
- Andi Farid Izdihar – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (20’44:539s)
- Md Zaqhwan Zaidi – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (20’46:156s)
- Yuki Kunii – SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda Ph. (20’48:724s)
- Nakarin Atiratphuvapat – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (20’48:753s)
- Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah – JDT RACING TEAM (20’53:221s)