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EXCITING CHANGES IN STORE

2016, Latest News, Supersports 600, Underbone 130, Underbone 150 /

Only two rounds into the 2016 season and the stakeholders in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship are already mulling exciting developments for the coming years. In a meeting held with the manufacturers and team owners, Two Wheels Motor Racing, the race promoters of the ARRC, have tabled two proposals for their consideration. Of immediate concern, the 2016 season would be the last season of the Underbone 130cc category. In keeping with market trends, the most likely race class to take its place would be the 150cc machines. This new class is expected to debut in 2017. “For fans of Underbone racing, the 150cc class will be even more exciting. The bikes are deemed as “Super Underbone” with liquid cool engines, 6-speed gearboxes as well as monoshock suspension,” said Ron Hogg, Director of Two Wheels Motor Racing “While the Underbone class is a heritage category for South East Asia, we need to keep abreast of market sentiments and technological developments. In the past, the regulations of the ARRC Underbone class was the benchmark for most underbone racing championships in Asia. The reason for this was to create a standard platform of racing in each country and thereby consistently bring up the level of racing to a common platform. After 21 seasons, that objective had been achieved and it is now time for the Underbone class of the ARRC to take up its role as the next step-up level for Asian riders. By heading in the direction of the 150cc class, it would become a natural next step for Asian champions graduating from their respective national championships,” Hogg explained. The next change will come in 2018 where the Superbike 1000cc class is now being considered as a replacement for the SuperSports 600cc category. “The Asia Road Racing Championship has raced 600cc as the premiere class since 2000. The reasons we had stuck to this class were many – running costs for teams, market trends, and most importantly, riders standard of racing. In the past, the pool of Asian talents were not yet big enough for us to make that jump into Superbikes. But now it is different. The standard of racing in all classes is very high. The only way to move forward is to take everyone to the ultimate platform – which is Superbike racing.” “This move will open the doors to a wider field of manufacturing competitors and thus creating strong competitive racing. The decision for this class (whether to remain at 600cc or move to 1000cc by 2018, will be made by the end of this year,” Hogg concluded.

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SOLID WIN FROM ROZALIMAN IN SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE

2016, 2016 Round2, Suzuki Asian Challenge /

A solid start placed Malaysian polesitter Mohd Rozaliman Zakaria in good standing to win Race 2 of the Suzuki Asian Challenge in the second leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship season in Thailand. Six riders battled for the win throughout the 7-lap race. As the board counted down to the final lap, it was Race 1 winner Muhammad Sapril who first showed his hand by leaping into the lead. Sapril was soon challenged by April King Mascardo from the Philippines and the lead-swapping continued right up to the final corner which had been the determining point of every single race at the Chang International Circuit. Rozaliman managed to get on to the inside line and succeeded in keeping his winning position at the finish line with a time of 15’58.964s. Muhammad Sapril was forced to settle for second place with 15’59.028s and Jefri Tosema third with 15’59.028s. The Malaysian rider’s second win of the season has earned him the lead in the riders standings with 76 points. Muhammad Sapril stands second overall with 67 points while Jef ranked third with 61 points.

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NAKAMURA EXTENDS ASIA DREAM CUP LEAD

2016, 2016 Round2, Asia Dream Cup /

As Race 2 for the second leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway for the Asia Dream Cup riders, Hiroki Nakamura raced a smart 8-lap race to clinch his third victory of the new season with a time of 16’52.634s The race got off to its usual mayhem. Racing on similar machines, nine riders were bunched together in the lead group even as the 8-lap race went past its midway mark. Race 1 winner Muhd Febriansyah’s crash on Lap 2 did nothing to ease the tension. However, even amidst the melee, three new riders stood out. Vietnamese rider Bui Duy Thong rode a phenomenal race as he mixed it up with the front runners and stood a shot of taking a podium finish if not for a crash at the last corner. Another amazing performance came from India’s Hari Krishnan who led through the final lap but his lack of experience robbed him of the win at the last corner. Hari brought the Indian flag with him to the podium in second place with 16’52.792s. Finally, Australian talent Broc Pearson dedicated his third place finish to his mother as a Mother’s Day present when he crossed the line with 16’52.811s. The Asia Dream Cup riders will be gearing up for their annual 2-hour endurance style race when the championship goes to Suzuka for Round 3. Nakamura is in a strong position, leading with 95 points. Hafiz Nor Azman is second with 66 points and Broc ranked third with 46 points.

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WILY FAZLI STEALS UNDERBONE 130cc WIN

2016, 2016 Round2, Underbone 130 /

Wily Malaysian rider Ahmad Fazli Sham stole the Underbone 130cc Race 2 win in Round 2 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. In this instance, Fazli’s wealth of experience clearly counted when it mattered most. A slow start placed Fazli deep in the group as Amirul Ariff Musa and Race 1 winner Wahyu Trilaksana stole the holeshot. However, Fazli quickly overcame the disadvantage and appeared to be fighting for the lead midway through the 8-lap race. However, Race 2 did not go entirely to script. Instead of the usual swarm of riders jostling for P1, the riders were split into two main groups with five riders in the first group and another five in the second pack. Given more room to manoeuvre , Fazli nipped into Wahyu’s slipstream as the riders approached the last corner, deftly managed the tricky last corner by hugging the apex, and won the photo-finish battle against Wahyu by only 0.021 seconds. Fazli’s win was recorded at 17’36.626s while Wahyu finished second with 17’36.647s and Florianus Roy third with 17’36.748s. “It’s really gratifying when your strategy works out,” grinned a delighted Fazli Sham. “I thought I could break away, but it was obvious that racing solo would cause too much strain on the engine. This way was more of a gamble, but the split group of riders certainly helped.” Underbone 130cc championship leader Mohd Izzat Zaidi finished fourth in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2 to stay in front with 69 points. Amirul Ariff Musa came in within the top-6 in both races and is second overall with 57 points. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana’s double podium from Round 2 placed him third with 56 points.

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YAMAMOTO ENDS APIWAT’S WINNING STREAK

2016, 2016 Round2, Asia Production 250 /

Apiwat Wongthananon’s winning streak in the Asia Production 250cc class finally came to an end. Unfortunately, the defeat came at the worst possible moment – in front of his home crowd at Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Buriram, Thailand. Buoyed by three straight wins, Apiwat and his team mate enjoyed a dream start to Race 2 of the Asia Production 250cc. However, it was hardly a nightmare for the rest of the grid. While the Yamaha Thailand Racing trio tried to put up an impenetrable wall at the front of the group, their defences were slowly but surely chipped away by Kawasaki duo Takehiro Yamamoto and Ayumu Tanaka as well as Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama. While the Yamaha riders were clearly more prominent in the race, there was no denying that they were under a lot of pressure with a lead group comprising of 11 riders, all racing within one second of each other. The Kawasaki riders’ bid for 1-2 position was almost destroyed on Lap 8 when Ayumu Tanaka crashed out heavily. Left alone on a hostile grid, Yamamoto relied heavily on Galang’s presence to force the Thai riders’ attention away from him. The Japanese defending champion managed to tuck into a slipstream at the last corner and slingshot into his first victory of the season with a time of 19’30.632s. Galang Hendra Pratama netted Indonesia’s first AP250 podium in second place with 19’31.018s followed by Peerapong Loiboonpeng in third with 19’31.319s “Ayumu and I constantly discussed how to break through the Yamaha riders’ defenses. While I am sorry he crashed out, I am pleased to find that the strategy had worked. Galang’s presence also helped tremendously,” said the TRICKSTAR Racing winner.

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ZAQHWAN HAS THE FINAL SAY IN BURIRAM

2016, 2016 Round2, Supersports 600 /

Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi took top honours in Race 2 of the SuperSports 600cc class after surviving a wheel-to-wheel battle against compatriot Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman as the second leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship wrapped up at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. The 21-year-old flew into the lead at the start of the race, with 20 fierce competitors hot on his tail. The MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda rider barely had time to settle into his racing as Ahmad Yudhistira, Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ratthapong Wilairot, and Azlan Shah made their presence felt in the leading pack. The battle for P1 raged on for the first six laps. Yudhistira was particularly aggressive but the arrival of Anthony West on Lap 7 distracted the Indonesian rider from his relentless pursuit of the lead. This allowed Zaqhwan and Azlan to carve out some daylight between them and the 5-rider battle for P3. Meanwhile, Yuki Takahashi who was pushed wide at the start of the race, arrived at P3 after successfully overtaking 17 other riders in a determined 9-lap charge. Even as Takahashi stole the spotlight for his achievement, the battle at the front intensified. Two laps to go and Azlan began to put pressure on Zaqhwan. However, learning from his experience at the Johor Circuit in Round 1, Zaqhwan was not so easily intimidated. Azlan took the lead at the hairpin corner during the final lap, but Zaqhwan was quick to slip through his defenses. Both riders were neck-to-neck through the last corner until Zaqhwan’s momentum carried him to victory with a time of 30’05.166s. An exhausted Azlan had to settle for second place with 30’05.950s while Takahashi rounded up the winning trio in third place with 30’07.239. “I knew that my bike had the best pace and I tried really hard to pull away at the start of the race. That was impossible, so I quickly changed my race approach. During the closing stages of the race, I knew that Azlan was going to make a move at the last corner and I slammed the door on him just at the right time to disrupt his rolling speed and force him on the brakes,” said Zaqhwan. Koyama’s victory in Race 1 and Zaqhwan’s win in Race 2 had brought the SuperSports 600cc title chase back to square one. Azlan still leads with 78 points but Zaqhwan is now only 1 point behind with 77 points. Koyama stands third with 69 points. Things are looking a little less tense in the team awards category. Strong performances by both Zaqhwan and Takahashi had placed team MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda at the lead with 91 points. Team BikeART Racing Kawasaki, having only Azlan to rely on, is now second with 78 points while Tomoyoshi Koyama had brought team T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS with WoW into third position with 69 points.

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SAPRIL EKES OUT FIRST WIN IN SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE

2016, 2016 Round2, Suzuki Asian Challenge /

After Jefri Tosema’s inspiring first performance in Pasir Gudang last April, it was compatriot Muhammad Sapril’s turn to impress as he scored his first victory in the Suzuki Asian Challenge at the Chang International Circuit, the host for Round 2. Sapril brushed aside competition from Jefri and Philippine’s Eane Jaye Sobretodo with a 0.124s margin, completing the 7-lap race with a time of 16’04.277s. Jef picked up his second podium finish of the season while Eane scored one for the Philippines in third place.

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INDONESIA RAYA RINGS OUT FOR FEBRIANSYAH IN THE ASIA DREAM CUP

2016, 2016 Round2, Asia Dream Cup /

Hafiz Nor Azman may have been the fastest Asia Dream Cup rider in the qualifying session for Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, but it was Indonesian rider Muhd Febriansyah who took the honours of the day in Race 1. Polesitter Hafiz was quickly swallowed up by the group, but the show-stealer in Race 1 was Harith Farhan Baharin who started the race from pitlane and managed to catch up with the front group before he crashed out on Lap 7. In the final mad sprint to the finish line, Febriansyah broke out of the slipstream and pipped Hiroki Nakamura and Hafizh Nor Azman to the finish line. Febriansyah won with a time of 17’01.972s, 0.138s in front of Nakamura.

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WAHYU SPRINGS SURPRISE IN THE UNDERBONE CATEGORY

2016, 2016 Round2, Underbone 130 /

Outnumbered but not outclassed, Indonesian riders Wahyu Aji Trilaksana and Florianus Roy Brilyan eliminated a grid full of Malaysian riders to secure two podium finishes in Race 1 of the Underbone 130cc category at the second leg of the 2016 season in Thailand. While the Malaysian riders were more visible in the early part of the 8-lap race, Wahyu and Florianus sprung a surprise challenge at the final lap. Both riders took advantage of the break in their rivals’ racing momentum and sprinted to the finish line with Wahyu in first place and Florianus in third. Only Malaysian rider Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues was able to keep up, and the 15-year-old finished second to take his first Asian podium. Meanwhile, championship leader Izzat Zaidi finished fourth place and stayed at the top of the standings with 58 points. Second-ranked Amirul Ariff Musa and third overall rider Norizman Ismail also ended their races within the points.

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THAI-JAPANESE BATTLE IN 250cc

2016, 2016 Round2, Asia Production 250 /

The Asia Production 250cc Race 1 for Round 2 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship was a battle between two countries as the Japanese and Thai riders set aside their brand identities to fight for honours at the Chang International Circuit. After topping the timesheets throughout the first day of free practice, Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s Apiwat Wongthananon lost the pole position to team mate Peerapong Loiboonpeng. At the same time, Trickstar Racing’s Ayumu Tanaka managed to snare a spot on the front row and effectively set the stage for the 10-lap showdown that was to come. As the lights went off for the start of the race, Apiwat leapt into the front but was unable to break free of the chasing group. A nine-bike front group leant plenty of racing excitement as compatriots Tanaka, Takehiro Yamamoto and Yusuke Nakamura banded together to challenge the might of the Yamaha Thailand trio. The Kawasaki bikes had the better top speed, but the Yamahas were superior at the corners. The lead swapping continued right up to the last lap with neither group willing to back down. Yamamoto managed to sneak into the lead at the final lap but crashed out with Anupab Sarmoon right at the critical moment. The crash resulted in the expected all-Thai podium. Apiwat and Peerapong secured a 1-2 finish for team Yamaha Thailand Racing with 19’33.867s and 19’34.484s respectively. AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra broke up the Yamaha domination and climbed onto the third step of the podium with 19’34.732s. Apiwat’s hattrick secured his position at the top of the rider standings with the maximum 75 points. Peerapong Loiboonpeng, who also netted three consecutive second-place finishes, holds 60 points in second overall.

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