In the Asia Production 250cc category, Yamaha Thailand Racing’s Anupab Sarmoon continued in the on-going trend of first-time winners during Race 1 for the final leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Often overshadowed by his more flamboyant team mate Apiwat Wongthananon, Anupab Sarmoon finally came into his own when he deftly sidestepped a big collision among the front runners to emerge winner of Race 1 with 19’38.679s.
Anupab paced consistently within the front group in the Asia Production 250cc Race 1, even as Takehiro Yamamoto, Apiwat Wongthananon, and Malaysia’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin stole the limelight with their lead-swapping from one corner to another.
The aggressive riding in the front group eventually saw a big crash two corners to the chequered flag involving Kasma, Yamamoto and Apiwat. Anupab brought the rest of the group to the finish line, trailed by team mate Peerapong Loiboonpeng and Yusuke Nakamura who finished second and third with race times of 19’38.897s and 19’39.440s respectively.
“I think that I was really lucky to avoid the crash. I was at the right place, at the right time, to take full advantage of the situation,” said Anupab.
The Thai rider’s first win of the season has propelled him to second overall in the riders’ standings with 153 points. 2015 champion Yamamoto dropped to third overall with 151 points.