It was quite an evening for the riders of the SuperSports 600cc at Round 5 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship as they fought their battle for yet another shot of fame. Andi Farid Izdihar of ASTRA HONDA Racing Team took the win in Race 1 when he completed the race with flying colours.
The race begun with Kritchaporn at the pole position. Andi Farid took the second spot on the grid while Ratthapong started from the third spot. As soon as the race flagged off, Kritchaporn went on a steady start at the lead position while Ratthapong strode at P2. Irfan slid into P3 but as the race went on, Andi Farid who fell two positions down made it back to P3 by the end of lap 1.
Meanwhile, leader of the overall standings, Helmi Azman took a start at the 10th spot on the grid but by the end of third lap, he was seen slowly picking up his momentum at P7. While Kritchaporn was speeding his way ahead of the troop, Andi was inching closer to Ratthapong and by the end of the fourth lap, the former made his move ahead of the latter.
Andi was on fire as he went on to pick up speed. Mid of lap four, he succeeded in getting ahead of Kritchaporn who began losing his momentum. Ratthapong then took P2 and engaged in a heated battle with Andi. For a moment Ratthapong exchanged positions with Andi but the red suit rider was adamant in taking back his position. By the end of the sixth lap, Andi made it just to be succeeded by Ratthapong once again.
At P3, Nakarin seemed to be closing the gaps little by little. But the highlight remained between the Thai and Indonesian rider who were relentlessly pursuing their ultimate goals before Nakarin took the leap up to P1 at the end of the eighth lap. The pressure went on the rise among the trio as they exchanged positions among themselves.
By the last lap, it was Andi taking lead with Nakarin and Ratthapong on a chase for the top spot. Andi began picking up speed and at the final lap, confidence was boosted as he dashed to the finish line clocking in his fastest at 20’04:379s.
Commenting on the race, Andi said, “The race was very tough. I noticed that the gaps were quite close in all the laps. I tried to attack towards the last three laps and I managed to make my move towards the end.”
“I thank my crew members, the team who have worked very hard for this victory. I would also like to thank my friends and family members who have been extremely supportive. We will do our best again tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of HONDA Racing Thailand took the second spot on the podium when he logged in at 20’05:429s.
Ratthapong missed it at the last turn and Azroy Hakeem Anuar of Boon Siew HONDA Racing Team grabbed the opportunity to strike. He made it third at 20’05:583s.