2016

DETERMINED NAKAMURA AIMS FOR MORE PODIUMS

2016, 2016 Round1, Asia Dream Cup /

Hiroki Nakamura returned to the Asia Dream Cup for his second season in the Honda developmental platform determined to win the coveted title and its benefits this year. The 23-year-old Japanese rider secured the pole position for Round 1 with his best lap of 1’50.773s and will lead a front row comprising of Hafiz Nor Azman and Australian Broc Pearson. Rider Quotes: Hiroki Nakamura: “I was second overall last year so I must be the winner this season. I am aiming for podium finishes in every single race this year. I may have been fastest during the qualifying but I am still not satisfied with my lap times. I believe that my performance and consistency can still be improved.” Hafiz Nor Azman: “I was more focused on race distance during the qualifying. I already know that my bike has the pace. It was more important for me to learn how the tyre characteristics will change during the course of the race.”​

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JEFRI TOSEMA STILL CONSISTENT IN SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE

2016, 2016 Round1, Suzuki Asian Challenge /

Indonesian rider Jefri Tosema clocked the fastest time in the Suzuki Asian Challenge for the second consecutive day and earned himself the right to park his bike on pole for the upcoming race. Checking home with a time of 1’50.352s, the freshman rider successfully wrested the pole position away from April King Mascardo who is in his second season of the Suzuki talent development programme. “I am proud to start the race on pole. This may be my first year in the Suzuki Asian Challenge, but I certainly don’t consider myself a rookie as I have won numerous races back home,” said Jefri. “However, I must admit that the level of competition is higher here, and certainly much more interesting as I get to race against riders from so many countries. I know it will be a tight race tomorrow and my strategy is to maintain my cool and stay focused,” he said. April King Mascardo, second fastest in the qualifying with 1’59.460s will also line up on the front row together with Rizal Feriyadi who clocked the third fastest time.

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CHAOS AND COMMOTION IN THE ASIA PRODUCTION 250cc

2016, 2016 Round1, Asia Production 250 /

The first race for the Asia Production 250cc class began with chaos and commotion when 21 riders out of the 28-bike grid were penalized for dangerous riding behaviour during the qualifying session. The 21 riders, including provisional leader Apiwat Wongthananon, flouted explicit rules that forbade slow riding during the qualifying session. All the riders were penalized with 15 seconds added to their fastest time. This resulted in a topsy-turvy Race 1 grid with the top runners pushed to the middle of the grid. Malaysian rider Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin found himself the unexpected pole man in Race 1. However, Kasma’s advantage was short-lived as Apiwat and his team mates quickly made up for lost ground in the early part of the race. By lap four, Apiwat, Anupab Sarmoon and Yusuke Nakamura successfully challenged Kasma for the lead. The remaining eight laps of the 12-lap race saw a constant change of leaders at the front of the pack. The Thai riders’ excellence in team strategy emerged at the end of the race. In a move that was reminiscent of the exact same tactic used in 2015, Apiwat led his Yamaha Thailand Racing team mates past Nakamura to score a perfect podium for the team’s full-season entry in the Asia Production 250cc class. Apiwat won the race with 21’30.906s. Peerapong Loiboonpeng and Anupab Sarmoon were second and third with 21’31.386s and 21’31.895s. Yusuke Nakamura and defending champion Takehiro Yamamoto rounded up the top five. Kasma who started from pole, was only able to secure a seventh place finishing for himself. “The 15-second penalty did not affect my performance at all. This is a great start with a great team. So far, in just a few short months, they have shown tremendous dedication and commitment towards our common goal – which is to win the title in the team’s first season in this class,” said Apiwat.

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TYRE STRATEGY PAYS OFF FOR AZLAN

2016, 2016 Round1, Supersports 600 /

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman crafted a spectacular Asia Road Racing Championship comeback when he piloted his Kawasaki to victory at Round 1 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Held at the Johor Circuit on April 1 and 2, 2016, Azlan displayed a near-perfect performance to win the SuperSports 600cc Race 1 with a total time of 26’00.806s. As Round 1 commenced, it was all about the tyre in the SuperSports 600cc class. New tyre rules for the 2016 season brought the element of slick tyres into the Asian premiere category and was a game-changer in more ways than one. Azlan started the race third on the grid, but his choice of hard compound for his front tyre and soft compound for the rear gave him the speed he needed to power his way into the hole shot. For the remainder of the 16-lap race, Azlan controlled the race pace at the front of the pack. “I worked really hard to save my tyre while keeping the rest of the competition at bay. During the first half of the race, I thought that the other riders who had opted for medium rear tyres were biding their time, waiting for my tyres to degrade before they made their move. This turned out to be the right strategy. When Koyama finally attempted to overtake on Lap 11, I still had enough grip left to respond aggressively,” said Azlan who has signed on with BikeART Racing Kawasaki this season. Azlan’s win ended a 9-month Kawasaki drought in the SuperSports 600cc category. The last time a Kawasaki rider won the premiere class of the ARRC was Ahmad Yudhistira who took first place at the Sentul International Circuit last year. 0.795s behind Azlan, T Pro Yuzy Honda NTS rider Tomoyoshi Koyama ended the race in second place. Pole-sitter Zaqhwan Zaidi admitted that he was still grappling with the idea of tyre strategies when he finished third with 25’02.573s. “Both Yuki Takahashi and I opted for a hard-medium combination. But despite our prime starting position at the front row, we were unable to defend that advantage,” said Zaqhwan. Indonesian rider Dimas Ekky Pratama was fourth after a hard-won battle against fifth-placed Taiga Hada. Ratthapong Wilairot finished sixth. Anthony West went from 10th to seventh in his first exposure in SuperSports 600cc racing.

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INDONESIAN FRESHMAN JEFRI TOSEMA PUTS IN STRONG EARLY PERFORMANCE

2016, 2016 Round1, Suzuki Asian Challenge /

After a dominating performance by Indonesian Andreas Gunawan in the 2015 edition of the Suzuki Asian Challenge, another rider from the archipelago seems set to follow in his footsteps. Jefri Tosema blazed through the competition when he alone clocked 2’00.732s among the 15-rider line-up. Philippine’s April King Mascardo who is repeating a second season in the Suzuki Asian Challenge posted the second fastest time of 2’01.062s followed by countryman Eane Jaye Solacito Sobreto who was third fastest with 2’01.091s. Indonesia’s Rizal Feriyadi and Muhammad Sapril were also timed within the same second – the two riders checked in with 2’01.270s and 2’01.356s respectively. ​

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UPPER HAND FOR SOPHOMORE ASIA DREAM CUP RIDERS

2016, 2016 Round1, Asia Dream Cup /

The second-season riders of the Asia Dream Cup are holding the upper hand during the free practice session at Round 1 in the Johor Circuit. Seasoned trio Hafiz Nor Azman, Md Harith Farhan and Hiroki Nakamura were a second faster than the rest of the grid. Hafiz led the timesheets with 1’51.726s followed Harith with 1’51.848s and Nakamura third with 1’51.964s. Japanese rider Tokio Shibuta led the class of 2016 when he posted fourth fastest with 1’52.843s, a little more than half a second in front of Indonesia’s Mohd Febriansyah. Thailand’s Sittipon Srimoontree and India’s Sethu Rajiv were equally impressive when they ended the first practice 6th and 7th fastest.

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NEWCOMERS SET THE UNDERBONE PACE

2016, 2016 Round1, Underbone 130 /

Underbone 130cc newcomers Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Md Haziq Md Fairues distinguished themselves during the first day of practice at the kick-off leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. 17-year-old Azroy emerged as the fastest rider with1’53.833s while 15-year-old Haziq checked in at second fastest with 1’54.222s. Despite consistently dominating the timesheets during the pre-season test, RCB KAGE Motobatt Yamaha YY Pang duo Md Adib Rosley and Md Izzat Zaidi were only third and fourth fastest in the Underbone 130cc SuperPole. Unlike the other classes, the Underbone 130cc grid is determined by SuperPole method. Each rider gets a clean piece of track on which to perform. The reason was to eliminate the element of slipstream towing from the heritage South East Asian class.

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APIWAT REAPS BENEFITS FROM PRE-SEASON TEST

2016, 2016 Round1, Asia Production 250 /

The official pre-season test of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship held only a week before the season opener has brought benefits for many of the riders. In the Asia Production 250cc class, most of the riders were able to spend the first day of free practices focused on their riding instead of machine set-up. Thai rider Apiwat Wongthananon continued to exert his dominance in the Asia Production 250cc class. The 22-year-old rider was consistently the fastest man on the grid, and topped the first day’s timesheets with 1’45.142s. Indonesia’s Rey Ratukore upped his game and posted the second fastest time of 1’45.513s. Defending champion Takehiro Yamamoto was third fastest with 1’45.582s. Similar to the SuperSports 600cc class, the lap record charted during the pre-season test held intact after the first day of practice. “We didn’t make much changes to the bike set-up for today, the team and I were satisfied with the results from last week’s pre-season test. But thanks to the extra practice, I now feel more comfortable on this bike. Today, I spent the three free practice sessions focused on my riding and I am confident that I will be in contention for pole position during qualifying,” said Apiwat. Apiwat’s team mate, Anupab Sarmoon and Johor-born Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin rounded up the top five.

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NO SWEAT: ZAQHWAN CONTINUES 600cc DOMINATION

2016, 2016 Round1, Supersports 600 /

The temperature may be soaring at the Johor Circuit, but local boy Zaqhwan Zaidi is not sweating the competition as he faces down a 21-strong SuperSports 600cc grid. The 21-year-old rider secured the provisional pole position for the season opening leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship with his fastest time of 1’31.423s. Zaqhwan, who is also 2014 SuperSports 600cc Asian Champion, will expect stiff competition from Japanese rider Tomoyoshi Koyama who was second fastest with 1’31.654s and his former team mate Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman who clocked third fastest with 1’31.902s. The top three riders were the only ones lapping within the 1 minute 31 second barrier. Zaqhwan’s fastest time recorded during the official pre-season test, 1’31.112s, remains as the unofficial lap record at the 3.86km Johor Circuit. “I think everyone was more relaxed today because we have all been able to do many laps during the pre-season test last week. The variables such as track temperature and tarmac condition has remained the same. So, for the free practices, we were able to focus on long runs to find the limits of the new tyres instead of going for speed. I have been able to test out many different compound combinations but we are still fine-tuning our strategy for qualifying and the race. I am expecting a drastic change of results during the qualifying session so we can’t rest on our laurels yet,” said Zaqhwan. Thai riders Ratthapong Wilairot (1’32.130s) and Thitipong Warokorn (1’32.166s) completed the free practices in fourth and fifth places respectively. Indonesian riders Gerry Salim and Ahmad Yudhistira, double 600cc champion Decha Kraisart, 600cc sophomore Taiga Hada and defending champion Yuki Takahashi all made it into the top-10 in the SuperSports 600cc. Moto2 rider Anthony West, was 13th fastest with 1’32.741s, 1.5 seconds off Zaqhwan’s pace.

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FIM ASIA ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP INKS PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERSPORT.TV, PREMIERE LIVE STREAMING PLATFORM

2016, Latest News /

The 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) will now have a new online home at www.EverSport.tv. EverSport and ARRC announced an exclusive multi-year partnership today to bring the championships to all global regions through the EverSport streaming platform, syndication network and via their smart embed player, which will be embedded directly on the FIM ARRC website. The on-track drama of each race will live on the EverSport platform and be available on web and mobile. “We chose to partner with Eversport because they have a sophisticated OTT solution to bring our race to many new fans in and outside of Asia,” said Ron Hogg, Promotions Director of Two Wheels Motor Racing, the race promoters of the ARRC. EverSport is an innovative media company that provides a best-in-breed streaming platform proven to grow rights holders’ audience and revenues more effectively than any other platform by harnessing the power of syndication, marketing and social media. “We are thrilled to add the ARRC to our fast growing motor and action sports portfolio, as this will be an exciting Championship for fans around the world to watch,” said Wayne Sieve, CEO of EverSport.

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