It was a delightful performance by the SuperSports 600cc riders at Race 2 of Round 4, FIM Asia Road Racing Championship held at the Sepang International Circuit with Malaysian trio battling at the top three position. But it was Azroy Hakeem Anuar of Boon Siew HONDA Racing Team made a significant
finish.
Seconds upon the flag off, a casualty occurred which kicked Andi Farid and Ratthapong off the chart. In an instant, the window opened for Azroy to take the lead position with Nakarin at P2 and Kritchaporn at P3. As Azroy picked up on his speed, so did Nakarin and the duo were seen creating a wider gap in between for the riders tailing them.
By the end of the second lap, Azroy pumped up on acceleration, creating a 1.274 gap with Nakarin. Three laps down, Helmi Azman who was at the 8th position in lap one succeeded in pulling himself up to P3 and with dexterity and experience in hand, he overtook Nakarin gracefully. By mid-race, Azroy has distanced himself way ahead with approximately 1.739s gap from Helmi.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim was making his way closer to Nakarin and in the sixth lap, the gaps closed as the former switched places with the latter. With three Malaysians at the top three positions, the HONDA riders seemed powerfully aligned. In the seventh lap, Helmi attempted to reduce the gap as he went on to fix his speed. Towards the end of the lap, he was 0.236s away from Azroy.
At the last lap, it was a heated battle between duo of the same team. For a moment, Helmi took control at P1 only to be knocked back down to P2. At the last turn, Helmi missed out on the window to slide in and with that, Azroy bolted ahead to victory at 21’53:325s.
Commenting on the race, Azroy said, “I had to take the win today, no matter what. I knew that Helmi was very close behind me in the last three laps but I went on as usual. At the last lap, Helmi started making his moves and attacked me. But I recognise his riding styles and I went on to overtake him. We were in and out of P1 but at the last corner, I gave my best shot. I am truly happy to have won this
race.”
Md Helmi Azman takes the second spot on the podium at 21’53:451s.
Md Ibrahim Md Noroddin of SIC Racing came in third at 21’54:954s.
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