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WILDCARD MINAMIMOTO BREAKS PEERAPONG’S WINNING STREAK

2019, 2019 Round4, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

AKENOSPEED Yamaha’s Soichiro Minamimoto carried an excellent free practice and qualifying performance through to a convincing win in Supersport 600 race one. In doing so, he denied Yamaha Thailand’s Peerapong Boonlert the chance to equal the all time class record for seven consecutive wins. The Japanese wildcard, who had squeezed Peerapong Boonlert out to the middle of row one in morning qualifying, had a poor start and watched from behind as the championship leader got away with Hong Leong Yamaha’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin at the front. Musashi Boon Siew Honda’s Azroy Hakeem Anuar clashed and crashed with MOTOBUM Honda’s Arakawa first time around at turn one; both riders were unhurt. By lap five of ten Peerapong was having trouble holding his lines on Suzuka’s long turns. As Kasma sensed the opportunity and turned up the heat, Minamimoto closed in to join the battle for the win. Kasma was first past the Thai Yamaha R6, closely followed by the Japanese. Minamimoto took the lead on the penultimate lap and immediately put some clean air between himself and Kasma, while Peerapong settled for third on his unusually unruly Yamaha. Five seconds behind Peerapong, Yuto Sano just beat Adam Norrodin to the line to finish fourth, while Kyosuke Okude was sixth ahead of Afif Amran, Rheza Danica Ahrens and AP Honda duo Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi and Passawit Thitiwararak.

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UNTOUCHABLE FADLY TAKES RACE ONE

2019, 2019 Round4, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

Andy Fadly continued the form he showed since arriving at Suzuka by leading from the first turn in race one and getting clear with a pace that the rest of the ARRC AP250 field couldn’t get anywhere near. However, the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki rider didn’t have it all his own way in qualifying, ending up second after a fierce three-way fight with Rafid Topan Sucipto and Irfan Ardiansyah. Sporting his new team’s livery and a change of race number to 911, Topan claimed pole position from Fadly by 31 hundredths of a second by taking his Bike Corner SYS KYT Honda around Suzuka’s 5.8 kilometres in 2’28.714 to edge Fadly out to second. Irfan, who had led much of the 30-minute session, qualified third on 2’29.685. Behind them, Faerozi Toreqotullah came through to lead the second row from Suzuka first-timer, Nazirul Izzat and championship leader, Muklada Sarapuech. Astra Honda’s Lucky Hendriansiya and Awhin Sanjaya qualified seventh and eighth in front of Reynaldo Ratukore. Rafid launched well from the start, but Fadly got the better of him into turn one broke away at the front. Behind him Muklada fought with a group of another five Indonesian riders, who did their best to keep her at bay. All three Astra Honda riders took turns at the front, though it was Irfan who looked the most convincing contender for second place. ONEXOX TKKR SAG’s Rey Ratukore, the sole Yamaha rider in the front group, looked increasingly threatening on the break at the final chicane. Clearly fighting handling problems, Muklada did her best to get to the front of the group, but, as the last lap unwound was unable to get herself into a podium position. As Fadly cruised over the line 2.6 seconds ahead, Irfan put enough distance between himself and the others to claim second without a serious challenge, while Ratukore got the better of Awhin, Muklada and Lucky to cross the line third. Rafid Topan came through in seventh from Piyawat Patoomyos, Faerozi and Sasaki, who completed the top ten.

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GUPITA STORMS THROUGH AT SUZUKA

2019, 2019 Round4, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

SND Factory Racing’s Gupita Kresna made up for a poor qualifying performance, which saw him start from 22nd position on the grid, to take a brilliantly judged win in Underbone 150 race one which saw almost half the riders who started lead the race at some point. In the morning’s Superpole contest, Akid Aziz, Friday’s fastest qualifier, confirmed his provisional pole position with a near perfect lap of 2’39.065 ahead of Peerapong Luiboonpeng and Wahyu Nugroho. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana broke down on his superpole lap and started 15th. 13 year-old Gun Mie impressed by qualifying ninth. The first half of the six lap race saw UMA Racing Yamaha’s Akid Aziz contesting the lead with Ahmad Fazli Sham, Wawan Wello, Peerapong Luiboonpeng, Haziq Fairues, McKinley Kyle Paz and Wahyu Aji. With two laps remaining, Gupita completed his charge through the field to lead briefly, before settling into the first four of the leading group. As the leaders fanned out at the final chicane, Gupita placed himself perfectly to get ahead of team-mate, Wawan and Wahyu Aji to add another win at Suzuka to his resume. It was an impressive team performance for SND Factory, as Syaruhl Amin finished fourth. Peerapong crossed the line fifth ahead of Fazli Sham and Amirul Ariff Musa. Non finishers included Gun Mie, Kyle Paz and both RCB YY Pang Yamahas of Adib Rosley and Izzat Zaidi.

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ZAQHWAN LEADS FREE PRACTICE DESPITE CRASH

2019, 2019 Round4, Asia Superbike 1000, Latest News /

Honda Asia Dream’s Zaqhwan Zaidi was at his best for most of free practice, combining an apparently sweet machine set-up with his extensive experience of Suzuka to make getting around the circuits 5.8 kilometres of curves and contours look easy. His best time of 2’09.874 was two hundredths clear of Yamaha Thailand’s Apiwat Wongthananon, whose pace improved through the day and was good enough to top FP3. The Malaysian headed the first two sessions from Yamaha Racing ASEAN’s Yuki Ito, then crashed heavily, without injury, in FP3. Yuki himself had a hard crash in FP2, but managed to dust himself off and get the R1 straightened out in time for FP3. His best time in FP2 placed him third overall. Fourth was Ratthapong Wilairot, whose acclimatisation to the R1 is improving exponentially, while Broc Parkes, who is no stranger to Yamaha superbikes and Suzuka Circuit placed fifth on the day with a best lap of 2’10.299. Round three double race winner, Azlan Shah also improved through the day on the ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW. His best of 2’10.849 left him seventh, sandwiched between wildcards Koji Teramoto, and Shinichi Nakatomi. Australian Bryan Staring, making his third stand-in appearance for Kawasaki Thailand’s injured Thitipong Warakorn and his first ever appearance at Suzuka, wrecked his machine in FP1 and missed FP2 while it was being put back together. Nevertheless, his best time of 2’12.657 gave an indication that he’ll improve further in tomorrow morning’s qualifying session.

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WILDCARD MINAMIMOTO TOPS FRIDAY PRACTICE

2019, 2019 Round4, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

AkenoSpeed Yamaha’s wildcard rider, Soichiro Minamimoto, stole the glory from runaway championship leader, Peerapong Boonlert in free practice by clocking the fastest time of the day late in FP3 with a lap of 2’14.046, to lead by 0.061. Wildcards grabbed plenty of attention in the first session, occupying second to sixth places behind Yamaha Thailand’s Supersport star. As the ARRC regulars acclimatised to the challenges of Suzuka, Ramdan Rosli got closest to Peerapong, taking the top slot in FP2, before finishing the day third with 2’14.540. Another wildcard, Battle Factory’s Yuto Sano, was fourth overall from Hong Leong Yamaha’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin. Andi Farid Izdihar was the next best of the ARRC visitors on 2’15.068 just ahead of Azroy Hakeem Anuar, Rheza Danica Ahrens and Afif Amran, who was tenth. SIC Junior ZK Racing’s Adam Norrodin, on his first visit to Suzuka, spent the day finding his way around, recording his best time of 2’16.235 in FP3.

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FADLY CLEARS OFF IN FREE PRACTICE

2019, 2019 Round4, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

Andy Muhammad Fadly was fastest in all three free practice sessions today. Despite running with a maximum rev ‘equaliser’ of 500rpm, the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki rider kept an advantage of more than half a second all day. His best time of 2’28.450 came in a red flag interrupted second session. After a steady start in FP1, Astra Honda’s Irfan Ardiansyah finished second on combined times with a best lap of 2’29.382, which was 0.098s better than Rey Ratukore on the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Yamaha. Fadly’s team mate, Aiki Iyoshi was fourth in front of AP Honda duo, Muklada Sarapuech and Piyawat Patoomyos. Rafid Topan Sucipto, Awhin Sanjaya, Faerozi Toreqotullah and Sethu Rajiv completed the top ten. Round three, race two winner, Tatchkorn Buasri, struggled to match pace of his team mates and crashed hard in the third session. The fastest wildcard was Otojirou Tanimoto with 2’32.501, which placed him 18th overall.

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AKID LEAPFROGS WAHYU AJI FOR PROVISIONAL POLE

2019, 2019 Round4, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

UMA Racing Yamaha’s Akid Aziz kept the best until last in underbone qualifying this afternoon. ONEXOX TKKR SAG’s Wahyu Aji Trilaksana led most of the session, after banking a time of 2’37.133 relatively early on in what is starting to look like a return to form for the Indonesian. Akid had shown good pace from the opening laps, topping the first session on a drying track, while Team One for All’s Peerapong Luiboonpeng recorded the overall fastest lap of the day in FP2 with a lap of 2’36.723. What had been an advantage of more than a second for Wahyu in qualifying got nibbled away during the last few minutes by Haziq Fairues, McKinley Kyle Paz, Peerapong Luiboonpeng and Akid who eventually pushed Wahyu down to second. Peerapong finished third in front of Kyle Paz, Fairues, Aiman Azman, Wawan Wello and Affendi Rosli, all of whom were bracketed within the 1’37s. HI REV SCK Honda’s 13-year-old Japanese rider, Gun Mie, was a few places further back in 12th on 1’38.555, while Adib Rosley was 15th and therefore the last rider through to Saturday morning’s Superpole competition, which determines positions for the first five rows of the starting grid. Lap record holder and winner of last year’s race two at Suzuka, Gupita Kresna, only managed a 2’39.89 to qualify 22nd one place in front of Australia’s Travis Hall, who had an off during the session. Round three, race two winner, Ahmad Fazli Sham, also found himself down the order in 18th.

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PERTAMINA ENDURO BACKS ALI ADRIAN’S ASB1000 DEBUT

2019, 2019 Round4, Asia Superbike 1000, Latest News /

photo : ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team Round 4 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will mark the ASB1000 debut of Indonesian rider Ali Adriansyah. Backed by Pertamina Enduro, Ali Adrian will be racing astride the BMW SS1000 RR as part of the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team. The 26-year-old rider, who most recently in 2018 raced in the WSS 300, has set himself a new challenge of racing in the litre class for the very first time. “I’m looking forward to this challenge. Special thanks to PT Pertamina Lubricants, for the opportunity to race in four rounds of the ASB1000,” said Ali Adrian.   Ali Adrian’s profile in brief: 2009 to 2012 – Indonesian National Championship 2013 to 2017 – European Junior Cup; Bike Promotion 1st Serie; Bike Promotion 2nd Serie; WSSP300 2018 – 23rd overall, WSSP300, World Superbike Championship Serie

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ASB1000: BROC AND AZLAN TAKES THE BATTLE FOR ASB1000 SUPREMACY TO SUZUKA

2019, 2019 Round4, Asia Superbike 1000, Latest News /

The battle for supremacy in the spanking new ASB1000 class heads to the 5.8km Suzuka Circuit in Japan for the fourth leg of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The two hugely experienced riders will be locked in a battle for control over the title chase. Only eight points separate the two with the more consistent Australian rider holding the advantage at the top of the standings. While Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc has picked up four podiums and one win on his Yamaha R1 to date, the more mercurial Azlan have been experiencing his typical roller-coaster of a season astride his BMW S1000RR. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team rider has clinched three wins to date, the highest number of wins in the season so far, yet trails Broc due to a costly DNF in Round 1.   Zaqhwan Zaidi Will Need To Amp Up To Stay In The Game Meanwhile, Honda’s sole representative in the ASB1000 will need to amp up his game if he hopes to stay in the title chase. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi won Race 2 in the season opener and logged a second place finish in Buriram. Apart from those high points, Zaqhwan had been consistently fourth in three out of the six races to date. Currently third in the standings, Zaqhwan trails championship leader Broc by 21 points, while he is only eight points ahead of Apiwat Wongthananon. At Suzuka, the home of Honda, the pressure mounts on Zaqhwan.   Homeground Advantage For Ito The threat posed by Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Yuki Ito cannot be taken lightly at this point. Yuki had time and again proven his ability to win races at the Suzuka circuit. Currently fifth overall in the standings, Yuki will need a good outing in Suzuka to improve his ranking in the ASB1000 class.   Nakatomi Could Be The Spoiler The addition of three wildcard riders will bring the Suzuka ASB1000 grid up to 16 bikes. The trio will be led by Shinichi Nakatomi. The last time the former WSBK rider entered as a wildcard in the ARRC, he scored a double-win in the SuperSports 600cc class and disrupted the title chase in the process. Given Nakatomi’s years of expertise at the Suzuka Circuit, adding to that his in-depth knowledge of the ASB1000 slicks as the test rider during the development of the rubbers, Nakatomi could be the spoiler at Broc and Azlan’s party yet again.

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SS600: A NEW ARRC RECORD IN THE MAKING?

2019, 2019 Round4, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

The Suzuka leg of the 2019 FIM Asia Ro­ad Racing Championship could potentially witness a new ARRC record in the making as 600cc supremo Peerapong Boonlert gears up to equal or break a 14-year-old record held by Toshiyuki Hamaguchi. The longest winning streak recorded in the ARRC was logged by Hamaguchi who picked up seven consecutive SuperSports 600cc wins in 2005. Since then, while hattricks have been relatively common, no other rider had been able to come close to the level of domination exhibited by Hamaguchi in the early days of the 600 class. No other rider, that is, until Peerapong Boonlert, 14 years later. As the ARRC heads to the Suzuka Circuit for the fourth leg of the season, the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider will get the chance to rewrite the history books. The odds are very much in favour for Peerapong as he embarks on his latest quest. Not only will he be buoyed by his winning momentum so far, Peerapong, a two-time Suzuka 4 Hour winner, is no stranger to the 5.8km Suzuka Circuit. While Peerapong forges ahead with a 79-point advantage, four other riders are scrambling to get ahead. Astra Honda Racing Team’s Andi Farid Izdihar has finished within the top five in four out of the previous six races. With two second-place podiums to his name, Andi is second overall with 71 points. Malaysians Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Adam Norrodin tie in third with 69 points apiece. Azroy has only finished on the podium once so far as opposed to Adam’s three. However, the SIC Junior ZK Racing rider lost out on points from Round 2 which clashed against his scheduled appearance in the CEV. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin is also still within reach of the title. The Malaysian maverick is fifth on the standings with 65 points.

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