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Thai team Woraphod Niamsakhonsakul and Sittipon Srimoontree had done the Asia Dream Cup contingent proud when they succeeded in taking pole position during the qualifying session of the Asia Dream Endurance Race currently underway as part of Round 3 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Suzuka. In the absence of the high flying Hiroki Nakamura and Hafiz Nor Azman team, regrettable pulled out after Hafiz sustained injury in a crash during the free practice, Woraphod and Sittipon were able to step up to the plate with a strong combined fastest time of 5’24.484s. Broc Pearson and Mohd Febriansyah would also be highly prominent as they start the race from third on the grid. The scratch team comprising of Koko Tadachi and Chisato Katayama boosted the Asia Dream Cup presence among the top five qualifiers when they notched the fourth fastest time of qualifying with 5’25.863s.

Hiroki Nakamura and Hafiz Nor Azman, two of the brightest talents in the 2016 edition of the Asia Dream Cup, lived up to their top billings in the annual Asia Dream Endurance Race. Their combined expertise placed them fastest during the third free practice of the class with a time of 2’41.900s, 0.919s seconds ahead of defending champions Seiji Maeda and Yoshiharu Okada. Unfortunately for the duo, their promising results fizzled out when Hafiz suffered a big crash which resulted in a hairline fracture. The disappointed young Malaysian rider and his Japanese team mate have been forced to pull out of the 2-hour Endurance race. Each year at the Suzuka Challenge, the Asia Dream Cup changes its format from a sprint race to a 2-hour Endurance race and is rebranded as the Asia Dream Endurance. This race is open to other competitors and opens up the opportunity for the Asia Dream Cup riders to sharpen their talents against other Japanese competitors. Other Asia Dream Cup combinations that had made it to the top 10 from the first day of practice included third fastest Broc Pearson and Mohd Febriansyah with 2’43.978s as well as Koko Tadachi and Chisato Katayama posted sixth fastest with 2’44.260s

The success of the inaugural Asia Dream Endurance Race in 2015 has convinced race promoters that the 2-hour Endurance race should be a permanent fixture every time the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship visits the Suzuka Circuit. With the historic circuit set to hold Round 3 this June 3 to 5, the young Asia Dream Cup class of 2016 will be pairing up for their first taste of endurance racing. The Asia Dream Endurance is an annual event to coincide with the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The endurance format only happens at Suzuka. What better way to expose the young riders to endurance racing than at the circuit that is famous for this type of motorsports events. However, the Asia Dream Cup riders form only a small percentage of the total participants. They will be competing against other young Japanese teams and riders who will also be taking part in the event. In 2015, the top three podium positions fell to the combinations of Seiji Maeda and Yoshiharu Okada; Seiji Yasutomi and Kouji Fukui; and third place Naoaki Kubo and Kouji Nishizawa. The best-performing Asia Dream Cup pairing came from Hiroki Nakamura and Yusuke Nakamura who finished seventh in the race followed by Broc Pearson and Kazuki Tomita. Unlike the previous year, the 2016 riders’ pairing will be based on their championship rankings as opposed to country : ADC 2016 Round 3 – Entry List