Race 1 of Round 3 in the 2025 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship’s SS600 category delivered a breathtaking finish, with Anupab Sarmoon of YAMAHA THAILAND RACING TEAM pulling off a stunning late-race charge to seal victory at the Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan.
Earlier in qualifying, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin of HONG LEONG YAMAHA RACING stormed to pole position with a blistering lap of 1’53.037s. Hot on his heels was ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM’s Mohammad Adenanta Putra with 1’53.233s, while Khairul Idham Pawi of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA locked in third with 1’53.292s.
At the start, Kasma led the field away cleanly with Khairul in close pursuit and Adenanta holding third. The early laps brought drama when Md Syarifuddin Azman of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA crashed out on lap 2, ending his race prematurely.
By lap 3, Kasma continued to control the pace with Adenanta shadowing him closely and Khairul still holding third, but the real charge came from Anupab, who clocked the fastest lap of 1’54.406s as he powered his way through the pack.
Anupab set another blistering time on lap 4 with a 1’54.241s, steadily reeling in the leaders. By lap 7, Kasma still held the front, with Adenanta just 0.237s behind, while Anupab had successfully overtaken Khairul to move into third and join the lead battle.
On lap 8, Anupab made a decisive move to overtake Adenanta for second and continued hunting down Kasma. Lap 10 saw dramatic action when Adenanta boldly overtook both Anupab and Kasma, but an error saw him run wide, allowing Anupab to seize the lead while Kasma slipped to third.
On the final lap, Kasma closed back in and launched an overtake attempt, but Anupab who’s known for his racecraft and fearless riding,defended brilliantly and powered to the finish line, taking the win at 23’00.808s. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin settled for second at 23’00.985s, with Mohammad Adenanta Putra completing the podium at 23’01.225s.
“This race was really tough for me because I started from P10, so I knew I had to fight hard right from the start. I had good confidence in my bike, so I focused on overtaking the riders one by one. From the first lap, I could see my lap times were strong. I tried to stick with Kasma and Adenanta and learn from them, especially how they braked so hard into the corners. In the last two laps, I pushed even more because I saw some riders struggling with tyre grip as the temperature went up. Luckily, my bike’s setup was perfect and in the end, the victory is mine!”
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
- Anupab Sarmoon – YAMAHA THAILAND RACING TEAM (23’00.808s)
- Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin – HONG LEONG YAMAHA RACING (23’00.985s)
- Mohammad Adenanta Putra – ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM (23’01.225s)
- Wahyu Nugroho – YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA (23’01.437s)
- McKinley Kyle Paz – HONG LEONG YAMAHA RACING (23’01.660s)