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RAFID STUNNER

2019, 2019 Round5, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

Indonesian Rafid Topan Sucipto pulled off a stunner of a Race 1 at the Zhuhai International Circuit when he brought his privately funded Honda to the top of the AP250 podium. The former Moto2 rider had been struggling for the most part of the season, ofttimes finding it hard to break into the top 10. At the Zhuhai International Circuit, Rafid finally hit his stride. The Bike Corner SYS KYT Racing Team rider snared the limelight when he qualified P1 to take pole position. A bumpy start as the lights went off saw Rafid dropping down to fifth in the first half of the race. The highly experienced Indonesian rider was able to make up for lost ground and he emerged in the lead on Lap 8. Although constantly harassed by Astra Honda Racing Team duo Awhin Sanjaya and Irfan Ardiansyah, Rafid was able to hold his advantage until the end of the 10-lap race. He picked up his first win of the season with 19’10.656s. It was clearly a Honda party at the sharp end of the grid. Astra Honda Racing Team trio – Awhin, Irfan and Lucky Hendriansya – escorted Rafid to the podium in second, third and fourth respectively. Andy Muhammad Fadly who have had a tough time in China, finished fifth, enough to extend his lead at the top of the AP250 standings. The key to the title chase, however, happened off the podium. Aiki Iyoshi finished 13th, and there is now a 33-point gap between Awhin Sanjaya and Aiki on the overall standings. Similarly, Irfan leads Aiki by 29 points. By the rules of the AP250 class, the first equalizer rule (500rpm cut) will also be applied to Awhin and Irfan in Race 2.

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MCKINLEY BACK ON TOP

2019, 2019 Round5, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

After a few rounds with indifferent results, McKinley Kyle Paz is back on top of the UB150 standings following a stunning performance at Race 1 at the Zhuhai International Circuit. The Filipino rider had arrived in China determined to win back the championship lead that he had lost following the Suzuka leg of the season. The young rider displayed his determination when he qualified for the front row with 2’02.302s. He started the race from P2, flanked by polesitter Aldi Satya Mahendra and championship leader Wawan Wello. The 29-rider grid bunched up together as soon as the lights went off. At a track like the Zhuhai International Circuit, breaking away was almost impossible. The close-contact racing continued right up to the final lap until a series of unrelated crashes gave McKinley the opportunity to extend his lead. First, Murobbil Vitoni high sided at the exit of Turn 1. A few corners later, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana tangled with Rozaiman Said. Then, championship leader Wawan Wello high sided out of the race. With the key competitors in the group out of the race, McKinley was able to speed to the finish line with a time of 16’17.478s. His team mate Fernando Masato made it a Filipino 1-2 for the UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team. Young Aldi Satya Mahendra finished in third.

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ZAQHWAN SNARES PROVISIONAL POLE AT SEARING HOT ZHUHAI

2019, 2019 Round5, Asia Superbike 1000, Latest News /

With ambient temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius and track temperature hitting the high 60s, Round 5 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Zhuhai International Circuit is looking to be a sizzling hot affair. As the ASB1000 riders hit the 4.3km Zhuhai track for the very first time, many of the riders have found the circuit to be highly challenging. Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA) laid down the first marker in the premiere class by clocking 1’34.482s at the top of the combined practice results. Zaqhwan is only 0.048s faster than championship leader, Broc Parkes. The Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN rider was second fastest in the practice sessions with 1’34.530s. The Aussie rider is joined by his team mate, Yuki Ito, who came in third fastest with 1’34.539s. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, now officially backed by BMW, was fourth fastest with 1’35.179s. Yamaha Man Lee Tat Racing Team’s wildcard, Li Zheng Peng, leads the Chinese charge in the ASB1000. He clocked fifth with 1’35.297s. Thitipong Warokorn, newly returning to the battle after recovering from a crash earlier this year, put up a commendable P6 finish with 1’35.297s.

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KASMA CHECKS PEERAPONG IN DAY 1 PRACTICE

2019, 2019 Round5, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

Malaysian rider Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin has succeeded in out-pacing Peerapong Boonlert as the SuperSports 600cc riders went out for their first day of practice at Round 5 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Zhuhai. The Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia rider set the pace in the SuperSports 600cc class with 1’37.551s, effectively breaking the 8-year-old record of 1’37.644s set by Mohd Zamri Baba in 2011. However, Kasma will not be able to rest on his laurels. Championship leader Peerapong Boonlert (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) is only half a second slower, with 1’38.126s. Meanwhile ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Ramdan Rosli came home third fastest on the combined timesheets with 1’38.437s.

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ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM RIDERS LUCKY, IRFAN LIVING IT UP IN ZHUHAI

Leave a Comment / 2019, 2019 Round5, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

Signs of an Astra Honda Racing Team comeback in the AP250 class is in the offing, when Lucky Hendriansya and Irfan Ardiansyah locked out the top two positions after a first day of practices at the Zhuhai International Circuit. Unlike the past two years, the Indonesian based Astra Honda Racing Team has been uncharacteristically low-key in the first half of the 2019 season. The change of location from South Korea to China as the host of Round 5 seems to have brought a new lease of life to their title campaign. Lucky was the only rider to check in below 1’54, setting a high benchmark for the AP250 class with 1’53.758s. Irfan Ardiansyah was second on the combined timesheets at 1’54 flat. The Hondas look to have an edge that is ideal to the stop-and-go style of racing demanded by the 4.3km Zhuhai International Circuit. Of the top five riders, four are Hondas. Rafid Topan Sucipto logged third fastest with 1’54.016s followed by Awhin Sanjaya in fourth with 1’54.274s. Anggi Setiawan from Yamaha Racing Indonesia was the quickest Yamaha on the grid, fifth fastest with 1’54.465s. Championship leader Andy Muhammad Fadly’s Kawasaki will be finding the stop-and-go nature of the Zhuhai track to be a challenge. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider ended the day eighth fastest with 1’54.598s. India’s best results came from Sethu Rajiv who was about 3 seconds off the fastest rider. Former ADC rider, Zhou Sheng Jun Jie will have a lot of ground to make up as he clocked 21st fastest with 1’57.062s.

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AKID AZIZ TOPS DAY 1 TIMESHEETS IN ZHUHAI

2019, 2019 Round5, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team’s Mohd Akid Aziz has consistently been the fastest UB150 rider as Round 5 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship opened at the Zhuhai International Circuit this weekend. The Malaysian rider opened the day by laying down the benchmark for the Underbone 150 class, clocking fastest in P1 with 1’59.825s. Akid maintained his edge throughout the day, ending the day by taking provisional pole in Qualifying with 1’59.158s. Of the 29 riders on the UB150 grid, only four have managed to lap below the 2-minute mark. Second fastest in qualifying was senior rider Ahmad Fazli Sham (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) with 1’59.610s. Championship leader Wawan Wello (SND Factory Racing Rapido) piloted his Honda to third in the qualifier with 1’59.713s. Young Aldi Satya Mahendra, who in the previous round, had just set a record as the youngest winner of the UB150 class, was fourth with 1’59.740s. Elsewhere, Filipino rider McKinley Kyle Paz who his fighting to keep his title hopes alive, managed to make the cut into the SuperPole. The UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team rider was 11th fastest in qualifying while his team mate Fernando Masato sneaked in at P15.

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ARRC RACE DIRECTION CRACKS DOWN ON UNRULY RIDING

2019, 2019 Round5, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Race Direction has recently begun cracking down hard on unruly riding in the four classes of the championship. As the level of competition rises in the second half of the 2019 season, the trend of riders pushing the limits of safety has also increased correspondingly. For example, Mohd Akid Aziz was fined during the qualifying session at Suzuka. His dangerous riding had caused another rider to crash. In the same leg, Gupita Kresna Wardhana was found to have been riding dangerously in Race 1. He was penalized with a ride-through penalty in Race 2. Similarly in Round 3 at Buriram, Mohd Adib Rosley was also penalized with a ride-through penalty for dangerous riding. The Race Direction team is taking this matter seriously and will not hesitate to hand out severe penalties in order to deter future incidents.

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AZLAN, ONEXOX TKKR SAG TEAM IS NOW OFFICIALLY BACKED BY BMW MOTORRAD

2019, 2019 Round5, Asia Superbike 1000, Latest News /

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman’s impressive run at the top of the ASB1000 has brought home BMW Motorrad’s official support for the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team. This factory support is expected to elevate Azlan and team’s competitiveness as they head into the second half of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. “The support from BMW Motorrad is certainly good news for us. After running the first three rounds as a private team without factory support, we believe that this can only make us even more competitive,” said Azlan who is currently second overall in the ASB1000 class. “The start of the season was very tough for us. Our bikes had arrived in Malaysia just in time for the pre-season test at the Sepang Circuit, which preceded the season opener by only a few days. In spite of the short lead time we had for preparation, our engineers had been able to produce a race winning bike for me,” he elaborated. Azlan created history in Round 1 as the first winner of the ASB1000. Azlan’s results continued to stay consistent as the 2019 season unfolded. He picked up a double win in Round 3 at the Chang International Circuit. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team has been successfully competing against a number of factory outfits in the ASB1000 class of the ARRC. These include two Yamaha factory teams (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN and Yamaha Thailand Racing Team); one official Honda entry (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA); and one Kawasaki team (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team). Ducati’s presence is also maintained in the ASB1000 through the Access Plus Racing Ducati Philippines Essenza Team. The ASB1000 class has been steadily gaining momentum, generating immense interest from Asian teams and riders who compete for the limited wildcard slots at every stop.

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THITIPONG BACK IN ACTION

2019, 2019 Round5, Asia Superbike 1000, Latest News /

Thai Superbike rider Thitipong Warokorn is finally back in action and is set to re-join the ASB1000 at Round 5 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Zhuhai, China. The Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team rider who started the inaugural ASB1000 campaign with a double podium at Round 1, had been out of commission for the better part of the year. Soon after the ARRC 2019 season opener in Sepang, Thitipong put in a wildcard stint at the Thai round of the WSBK. A high side crash resulted in back injuries. Thitipong was expected to be out for the rest of the season, but the Thai rider was determined to beat the odds. Months of intense physical therapy has Thitipong back in racing form again. He has missed three rounds of the ARRC this year, and has dropped to 10th overall in the rankings. As Thitipong resumes his partnership with Chaiwichit Nisakul, Australian rider Bryan Staring will not be heading to China for Round 5. Bryan has done a sterling job playing stopgap for Thitipong. Thanks to the Aussie’s efforts, the Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team is still in the running for the ASB1000 Team Awards, currently standings third overall with 120 points. Meanwhile, up at the top of the standings, four of the top ASB1000 contenders will be flying to China amped up after a stint in the iconic Suzuka 8 Hours. Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc Parkes, who also races for YART Yamaha in the World Endurance Championships, looks to be well on his way to becoming the first Australian rider to win the Asian title. Broc has netted 150 points after four rounds, and leads the ASB1000 by 27 points. Malaysian riders Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Zaqhwan Zaidi are second and third on the ladder with 123 points and 115 points respectively. The two Malaysians are expected to be strong contenders for the Zhuhai podium. Apiwat Wongthananon, fourth overall in the ASB1000, had also completed his first ride in the Suzuka 8 Hours. The Zhuhai leg of the season will have 19 bikes on the ASB1000 grid. Six wildcards have been confirmed including Canadian Robert Daniel Kruger with Titanic Kawasaki; Chinese riders Li Zheng Peng (Yamaha Man Lee Tat Racing Team), Huang Shi Zao (China Yamaha Maxpeedingrods Racing Team) and Chen Peng Yuan (DML 97 Racing Team); Japanese Masahiro Shinjo from Speedmaster Racing & RS-Itoh; as well as Australian Mark Aitchison from team YSS China.

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NO STOPPING PEERAPONG AS THE ARRC HEADS TO CHINA

2019, 2019 Round5, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s Peerapong Boonlert continues to reign supreme in the SuperSports 600cc class. Peerapong’s unfettered rampage this season has netted an unbroken string of podium finishes with 7 wins out of 8 races and one third-placed finish. However, even with 191 points in the bag and a 93-point lead over second placed Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, the title chase is not likely to end at the upcoming round. For the first time this season, Peerapong and the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team are being presented with an unknown variable – the 4.3km Zhuhai International Circuit. With no existing data available to the team, the engineers will be racing against the clock to prepare Peerapong as he chases after his eighth and ninth wins this season. The tough racing conditions in the previous Suzuka round had prevented Peerapong from breaking Toshiyuki Hamaguchi’s record of seven wins in a row. But Peerapong is still in good form to score a new record of his own – the highest number of 600cc wins in a single season. The burden of checking Peerapong’s ambitions will mainly fall on Malaysian rider Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, still viewed as Peerapong’s biggest rival this season. The young Malaysian, currently second overall on the standings with 98 points, has picked up four podium finishes to date, but has yet to claim a race win. Meanwhile, Indonesian rider Andi Farid Izdihar will be bracing for a tough weekend. Currently third on the standings with 83 points, Andi recently dislocated his finger in a crash during the previous Suzuka 8 Hours a few weeks ago. The Astra Honda Racing Team rider is in danger of losing his top three position against former Moto3 rider, Adam Norrodin from Malaysia. The return of the ARRC to the Zhuhai International Circuit has sparked a strong interest among Chinese riders and teams, eager to prove themselves against their Asian peers. Six wildcards have been confirmed for the upcoming race. Ma Sai from the China Yamaha Maxpeedingrods Racing Team will lead the Chinese contingent. Ma will know exactly what they are up against, having raced as a wildcard in Round 3 and Round 4.  Ma was able to finish 13th and 11th in his 600cc debut at the Chang International Circuit, but the strong competition at Suzuka saw him finishing out of the points in both races. Other wildcards confirmed for the weekend include Ou Jin Bin from FS.D Racing, Chen Hong Yan from JIM777Y Racing Team, Chan Yan Hang from the Wuyang-Honda Racing Team, Sha Juntong from the TS Kawasaki Racing Team and Macau’s Au Leong Fu also from the TS Kawasaki Racing Team.

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