HAFIZH HELD OFF RIVALS
The premier ASB1000 category exploded into life on the opening day of Round 2 in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 as the region’s fastest riders traded blows in a breathtaking display of speed at Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand. After three intense practice sessions and countless lead changes on the timesheets, it was Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM who emerged on top, delivering a stunning late charge in Practice 3 to secure the fastest combined time of 1’35.742s. The Malaysian ace had steadily built momentum throughout the day before unleashing his strongest performance in the final session, finally breaking into the 1’35s barrier to take control of a fiercely contested field. Hafizh’s pace not only underlined his growing confidence aboard the superbike machinery, but also firmly established him as one of the riders to beat heading into qualifying and the races. However, the fight at the front remains incredibly tight. SAVITAR TEAM ASIA rider Rocco Sessler produced one of the standout performances of the day by storming into second overall with a brilliant 1’35.888s effort in Practice 3. The young rider continued to impress with his consistency and composure, ending the day just 0.146s behind Hafizh in what quickly became a thrilling battle for supremacy. IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA also demonstrated formidable pace throughout all three sessions. Azroy Hakeem Anuar climbed to third overall after clocking 1’35.997s in Practice 3, while teammate Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi, who had topped both Practice 1 and Practice 2 earlier in the day, eventually settled for fourth overall with a best time of 1’36.005s. Zaqhwan had initially set the benchmark in Practice 1 with a rapid 1’36.530s before improving further to 1’36.005s in Practice 2, consistently showcasing strong race pace and remarkable straight-line speed. Meanwhile, Azroy grabbed attention after recording the highest top speed of the day at a staggering 294.30km/h during Practice 3, highlighting the sheer intensity of the ASB1000 battle around the long straights. Completing the top five overall was Indonesia’s Andi Farid Izdihar of JDT RACING TEAM, who remained a constant threat throughout the day and finished with a best lap of 1’36.165s from Practice 2. The Indonesian rider consistently hovered near the top of the standings and added further depth to an already stacked front-running group. Earlier in the day, local hopes were lifted by Thailand’s Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, who briefly featured inside the top five in Practice 1 for HONDA RACING THAILAND, while Japan’s Keito Abe also impressed in Practice 2 by placing fourth for SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES. Hafizh stated, “Alhamdulillah, we completed Day 1 with a really positive feeling overall. We had a strong start from FP1 until FP3 and managed to work well through our programme together as a team. I had a small crash in FP1 while trying to understand the limit and push a bit harder. Sometimes these things happen in racing, but thankfully everything was okay and we managed to come back stronger afterwards. In the afternoon, we improved the feeling on the bike and completed two long runs, including one during the hottest part of the day, which was important for us to understand the bike and tyre performance better. So far, everything looks quite under control, but we’ll continue studying the data tonight and look for every area where we can still improve. Big thanks to the whole team because today’s result came from everyone’s hard work together. Hopefully tomorrow we can continue this momentum and make a strong start in qualifying.” TOP 5 FASTEST – COMBINED PRACTICE 1. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (1’35.742s) 2. ROCCO SESSLER – SAVITAR TEAM ASIA (1’35.888s) 3. AZROY HAKEEM ANUAR – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (1’35.997s) 4. MUHAMMAD ZAQHWAN ZAIDI – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (1’36.005s) 5. ANDI FARID IZDIHAR – JDT RACING TEAM (1’36.165s)
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