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With only a fortnight to go before the start of the 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing season, here’s a recap of the biggest movers and shakers to date:   CLASS TEAM WHAT’S HAPPENING? UB150 Cardinals Racing Malaysia The team finished 8th on the 2019 Team Standings in its debut season with Rozaiman Said, Fitri Ashraf Razali and Chepy Armansyah. The team has announced a brand new line-up for 2020 and will partner seasoned campaigner Ahmad Fazrul Sham with debutant Iqbal Amri. UB150 4S1M Racing Team The momentum from the Philippines continue following McKinley Kyle Paz’s title winning performance last year. The 4S1M Yamaha Racing Team will be the first Filipino satellite team to compete in hyper competitive UB150. For its debut season, the 4S1M Yamaha Racing Team will combine the talents of John Emerson Inguito with 2014/2015 Underbone champion Gupita Kresna Wardhana. ASB1000 SS600 AP250 UB150 ONEXOX TKKR SAG TEAM Still the largest team line-up in the Asian paddock, the formidable ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team will field 11 riders across the four championship classes. ASB1000 – Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman will again don the green and black livery of the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team for his ASB1000 title defense. Having won the riders award last year, the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team has set its eyes on clinching the team title this season. Towards that end, Azlan is now partnered with Swiss WSBK rider Markus Reiterberger. SS600 – Ramdan Rosli will reprise his role as the team’s lead rider in this class. The Malaysian rider landed 9th on the standings after an inconsistent season in 2019 with one win, two podiums and a number of DNF results. Nazirul Izzat Bahauddin’s career will go up a notch as the team moves him up from the AP250 to SS600. AP250 – The team has retained the services of Indonesian rider Rey Ratukore to spearhead their AP250 campaign. Rey will be joined by Malaysian Muzakkir Mohamed and Syafieq Aiman. UB150 – The partnership between Wahyu Aji Trilaksana and Ahmad Fazli Sham is set to continue. The duo will race alongside Hafiza Rofa and Faiz Zekri. ASB1000 SS600 Yamaha Thailand Racing Team ASB1000 – Apiwat Wongthananon, who finished fourth in the ASB1000 inaugural season, will be taking another shot at the Asian title this season. Anupab Sarmoon returns to the Asian Championship after a season in the CEV Moto2 European Championship and will be racing alongside Apiwat in the ASB1000. Outside of the Asian paddock, the team’s top performers from 2019, Peerapong Boonlert and Keminth Kubo, will be heading West to race in the CEV Moto2 European Championship. SS600 – Ratthapong Wilairot will return to the SS600 class to defend the title for Yamaha Thailand Racing Team. ASB1000 SS600 AP250 Victor Racing Team ASB1000 – Chinese rider Li Zheng Peng had a successful wildcard ride at the Zhuhai Circuit last year when he finished 7th and 10th in Race 1 and Race 2 respectively. Li is back for more as he joins the line-up of elite riders for a full season in the ASB1000. SS600 – Indonesian rider Ahmad Yudhistira believes that he will be more effective in the SS600 class. Yudhis’s return is expected to spice things up in the intermediate category. AP250 – The Victor Racing Team will facilitate the debut of the class’s first entry from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region – Leong Nang Tse. UB150 Team One For All Team One For All will maintain the same line up for this season with Mohd Affendi Rosli and Peerapong Luiboonpeng. ASB1000 Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN The strongest ASB1000 pair returns for the 2020 season. Broc Parkes and Yuki Ito combined for a total of 3 wins and 13 podiums in 2019.  Their first target of the season would surely be the Azlan Shah-Markus Reiterberger combo. UB150 Proliner RCB 549 Kaboci Racing Team The Proliner RCB 549 Kaboci Racing Team will form a 3-rider squad in 2020 – comprising of Richard Taroreh, Iswandi Muis and Aldy Taufil. UB150 RCB Yamaha YY Pang Team RCB Yamaha YY Pang goes international with the inclusion of Vietnamese rider To Ha Dong Nghi into the team’s line-up with Mohd Adib Rosley and Mohd Izzat Zaidi. SS600 AP250 Astra Honda Racing Team Still no indication of an ASB1000 debut, the Astra Honda Racing Team continues to focus on rider development in the SS600 and AP250 classes. Irfan Ardiansyah will join Rheza Danica Ahrens in the SS600 class. Lucky Hendriansya will lead the AP250 trio with newcomers Herjun Atna Firdaus and Mohammad Adenanta Putra. SS600 AP250 UB150 Yamaha Racing Indonesia Team Yamaha Racing Indonesia is expanding its presence in the new season of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The team will make its SS600 comeback with Faerozi Toreqottullah. Wahyu Nugroho and Anggi Setiawan will maintain the team’s presence in the AP250. Young maverick Aldi Satya Mahendra will stay in the UB150 for one more season. SS600 Akeno Speed Yamaha Akeno Speed Yamaha is back! Former ARRC rider Makoto Inagaki is set to place two young riders in the SuperSports 600cc class – Soichiro Minamimoto and Yusuke Nakamura. SS600 AP250 AP Honda Racing Thailand AP Honda Racing Thailand made waves when it decided to field Muklada Sarapuech in the SS600 class alongside Passawit Thitivararak. Muklada will be creating history as the first female rider to race full season in the intermediary class. Rookie rider Kantapat Yakantai will fill the vacuum left by Muklada in the AP250 line-up, and join forces with Piyawat Patoomyos. UB150 SND Factory Racing Rapido Wawan Wello is set to return to the UB150 grid with SND Factory Racing Rapido in 2020. The team has also recently signed up Muhammad Hildan Kusuma as their second rider. Hildan competed in the Asia Talent Cup last year and finished 12th overall. ASB1000 Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA Solo no more, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi gets a team mate this year. Gerry Salim will be racing alongside Zaqhwan in the Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA’s 2020 line-up.

The Maxpeedingrods Chieton China Racing Team is set to make history as the first Chinese team to participate in the full season of the ASB1000, the Superbikes class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The team announced its entry on Wednesday at their home base in Beijing and will be supported by BMW Motorrad China. For its first full season, the team will feature two strong Chinese riders – Ma Sai who had raced as wildcard in the SuperSports 600cc category last year and seasoned campaigner Huang Shi Zhao. With the exception of the first two opening rounds, Ma Sai raced as a wildcard in the five remaining legs of the 2019 season. His best results in the SS600, came predictably, from the China round where he claimed two top-10 finishes in front of his home crowd. Huang Shi Zhao is no stranger to the Asian series, having competed in the championship several times in the course of his decades-long career. He made a wildcard appearance in the ASB1000 class during the Chinese leg last year where he finished a credible 9th in Race 1 and placed 11th in Race 2. photo : Maxpeedingrods Chieton China Racing Team