Fadillah Arbi Aditama of the ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM claimed a hard-fought victory in Race 1 of the AP250 category at Round 2 of the 2025 IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, held at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.
In the earlier qualifying session, Riichi Takahira of the TY Antares Racing Team secured pole position with a blistering lap time of 2’23.259s. Cao Viet Nam of the HONDA RACING VIETNAM TEAM followed closely in second with a time of 2’23.516s, while Candra H from YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA completed the front row in third with a 2’23.634s lap.
When the race got underway, Riichi made a strong start and led the early stages, closely pursued by Galang Hendra Pratama of YAMAHA BAF YAMALUBE AKAI JAYA MBKW2 RACING and Mohammad Murobbil Vittoni of YAMAHA LFN HP969 INDONESIA RACING TEAM. Starting from seventh, Arbi steadily climbed through the field and seized the lead by Lap 3.
On Lap 4, Candra clocked the fastest time on the back straight to momentarily snatch the lead, but Arbi responded quickly and reclaimed the top spot on Lap 5. Meanwhile, Irfan Ardiansyah of MAEZTRO NWN SCK HONDA RACING TEAM delivered an impressive ride, charging through the field to take second and close in on Arbi. Cao Viet Nam, in contention for the front, unfortunately crashed out, ending his race prematurely.
The final lap brought more drama as Krittapat Keankum of YAMAHA THAILAND RACING TEAM and Aldiaz Aqsal Ismaya of YAMAHA BAF YAMALUBE AKAI JAYA MBKW2 RACING, running in P4 and P5, both crashed at the critical last corner, ruling them out of the podium fight.
Despite facing the challenge of an RPM limit due to regulations, Arbi remained composed and crossed the finish line first with a time of 19’22.493s. Irfan secured second at 19’23.119s, while Md Izam Ikmal Izamli of VICTOR RACING TEAM completed the podium just 0.038 seconds behind with 19’23.157s.
Arbi stated, “It’s been a tough weekend for me. Due to the regulation, I had an RPM cut, so I had to find something extra from within myself. Yamaha has strong torque, so I focused on consistency. From FP1, I worked alone and concentrated on my pace and riding. It was a challenge from practice through to qualifying, but in the end, the hard work finally paid off. I’m truly grateful to my team for doing such a great job.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
- Fadillah Arbi Aditama – ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM (19’22.493s)
- Irfan Ardiansyah – MAEZTRO NWN SCK HONDA RACING TEAM (19’23.119s)
- Md Izam Ikmal Izamli – VICTOR RACING TEAM (19’23.157s)
- Riichi Takahira – TY Antares Racing Team (19’23.544s)
- Muhammad Irfan Haykhal Amidi – MAEZTRO NWN SCK HONDA RACING TEAM (19’23.830s)