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Andi Farid Izdihar broke new ground for himself and Astra Honda by delivering the team’s first Supersports pole position and first win and podium finish of the season after 16-lap battle with Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Ahmad Yudhistira. Starting from the middle of the front row, Yudhistira got the holeshot from Farid and rode a confident race in the lead as the 20-year-old pressed him relentlessly. Behind them, MUSASHI Boon Siew Honda’s Zaqwan slotted into an increasingly distant third place, before being passed by a plucky Ratthapong Wilairot, who was riding impressively after dislocating his shoulder in a fast crash at Turn 2 on Friday. The Yamaha Thailand rider looked to have made third place his own, but a problem with his R6’s gear lever forced him to run wide, which let Zaqwan back through. Farid’s team-mate, Irfan Irdiyansyah, made a poor start before making his way back up into contention and eventually past Ratthapong. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, who started hoping to close the championship gap on the absent Anthony West, found his Kawasaki unable to rev into the power band and struggled as Taiga Hada and Tomoyoshi Koyama pushed him down the order. Late in the race, as the front two moved further ahead, Farid converted pressure into a pass on Yudhistira, who snatched back the lead a few corners later. With tyre wear playing an increasing part in proceedings, Farid kept pushing on the last lap, slithering in front under braking for Turn 10 and holding on as the Kawasaki powered back at him on the run to the line to get within three hundredths of a second. More than eight seconds back, Zaqwan fought off a late charge by Irfan to claim third, another four seconds clear of Ratthapong. Hada and Koyama were another two seconds back in sixth and seventh, while the ailing Azlan was eighth in front of Azroy Anuar, Keisuke Kurihara and Thai duo, Passawit Thitiwararak and Decha Kraisart. Zulfahmi Kharudin, in as a replacement rider for his own team, was 13th, 38 seconds adrift of Farid. Webike IKAZUCHI replacement riders, New Zealander, Liam Taylor MacDonald and Sheridan Morais finished 14thand 17th respectively.

Friday’s free practice at Sentul International Circuit initially went as expected, as Astra Honda’s Andi Farid Izdihar and Irfan Ardiansyah, together with Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Ahmad Yudhistira, locked out the top three slots on the timing screens in the first two sessions. Then MUSASHI Boon Siew Honda’s Zaqwan Zaidi spoiled the neighbourhood party by barging his way past first past Yudhistira, then Andi Farid, with a lap of 1:30.424 to end Free Practice 3 almost two tenths ahead of the Astra Honda man. Looking at combined times, Yudhistira was next on 1:30.682. The next four fastest all clocked their best times in the second session. Irfan was fourth for the day with a 1:31.029, from Yuki Ito, Taiga Hada and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, whose best round was 1:31.422. Behind Azlan were another five riders in the 1:31s: Keminth Kubo, Decha Kraisart, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Ratthapong Wilairot, who did his best time of 1:31.704 in session 3. The Yamaha Thailand rider had been running close to the top in the first session, before destroying his YZF-R6 and dislocating his shoulder in crash at the fearsomely fast Turn 2. He sat out the lunchtime session in the Medical Centre while his bike was being rebuilt before coming back with a strong run in Free Practice 3. All the above-named riders can be expected to improve their times by around half a second in Saturday morning’s qualifying session as they target Zaqwan’s 2017 pole winning 1:29.628. With championship leader, Anthony West, sidelined by his provisional doping test suspension, and Joe Francis absent and Patrick Li absent, Webike IKAZUCHI have drafted in South African World Supersport winner, Sheridan Morais, and New Zealander, Liam Taylor MacDonald. Morais was the quicker on day one, getting round in 1:33.327, as he found his way with the bike and the unique challenges of Sentul’s track surface.

Anthony West is on course to become the first Australian rider to lift the Asian crown. Four wins and a string of podium finishes had given him a 51-point advantage at the top of the SuperSports 600cc championship ladder. However, West’s 2018 Asian campaign took an unexpected turn when an FIM announcement in mid-September provisionally suspended him for possible doping violation. According to the announcement, the 37-year-old failed an in-competition drug test administered during the Misano round of the World Supersport championship in July. The FIM statement explained that “an Adverse Analytical Finding of a non-specified substance under Section 6 (Stimulants) of the 2018 FIM Prohibited List” was found in West’s urine sample. The statement further explained that the rider, who is “barred from participating in any motorcycling competition or activity until further notice”, can request the analysis of a B sample. While West sorts out his mess, team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing has provisionally named a new line-up for the Indonesian round – New Zealand rider Liam Taylor MacDonald and Sheridan Morais from South Africa.