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Round 1 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship drew to a dramatic end at the Sepang International Circuit. The weather, that had been sunny and dry all week long, took a turn for the worse just as the pit lane was about to open for the ASB1000 show closer. The rain made for an even more challenging race as none of the riders have had the opportunity to ride on the wet tyres at the Sepang Circuit. This was made even worse by the uneven rainfall around the 5.5km track. There was torrential downpour on the North Track while the South Track remained relatively dry. It was a tentative first lap as the more seasoned riders took their time gaining a better feel for the track conditions. Farid Badrul Hisham from the ONEXOX TKKR SAGRacing Team, on the other hand, had nothing to lose. Farid, who is riding as a replacement for injured Hafiq Azmi that weekend, finished sixth in Race 1. While the rest of the grid felt their way gingerly around the first two laps, Farid had pulled an 8 seconds lap at the front of the group. However, all that reckless riding around the drier parts of the track took a toll on his performance. Farid aquaplaned out of Lap 4 on Turn 4, followed soon by Ahmad Yudhistira. Farid’s crash left Yuki Ito in charge of the ASB1000 lead but he too had his fair share of problems. A broken shifter around Lap 7 adversely affected Ito’s race pace. As Ito’s focus shifted from winning the race to just finishing the race, Honda Asia Dream Racing With Showa’s Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi came riding past. Zaqhwan quickly pulled a lead at the front and took the win with 27’20.147s. 2019 championship leader Thitipong Warokorn netted the highest points haul from the weekend when he finished second with 27’23.706s while Yuki Ito settled for third place with 27’27.360s.

Malaysian rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made history when he became the first winner of the inaugural ASB1000 class in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. It was also the 35-year-old’s first outing with new team ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team. Last season, Azlan was racing in the 600cc class with Kawasaki. TheMalaysian rider started the race from second on the grid, sandwiched between pole sitter Thitipong Warokorn and fellow Malaysian Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi in third. Australian Broc Parkes, who had been a formidable competitor all week long, crashed out during the morning qualifying practice. His best qualifying time of 2’06.808s placed him sixth on the grid behind Indonesian Ahmad Yudhistira and Chaiwichit Nisakul. A flying start from Thitipong gave him the holeshot. The Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team rider was able to quickly gain some distance on the chasing Azlan. Behind him, Broc Parkes made a mistake at Turn 1 and dropped further down the group to eighth. The gap between Thitipong and Azlan began to narrow on Lap 7, while at the same time Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc Parkes had clawed his way up to third. By then, Broc was 2.7 seconds adrift of the leaders and the remaining four laps looked to be a two-rider race. Thitipong tried to respond to Azlan’s pressure on Lap 9 but seemed to have over-cooked his tyres. Azlan took the lead at the entry of the last corner and immediately opened up a gap on Lap 10. As the chequered flag came down on Lap 11, Azlan became the first official winner of the ASB1000 class with 23’21.172s. Thitipong and Broc maintained their respective positions to join Azlan on the podium. “I tried to overtake Thitipong at the start of the race, but he was racing very hard. So I decided to settle down and wait for the closing laps while keeping my tyres fresh. I knew my chance would come soon when I saw Thitipong sliding all over the place on Lap 5,” said Azlan who dedicated this win to his new team, the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team. Azlan’s Race 1 win could not have come at a better time. All day long throughout the season opener of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, the Malaysian riders had missed out on the chance to stand on the top step of the podium in the Underbone 150cc, Asia Production 250cc and SuperSports 600cc categories. The riders will meet again for Race 2 at 1.00pm on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Entry to the Sepang Circuit grandstands are free for the public.