2018 Round6

WAWAN WELLO WELL AHEAD OF THE PACK

2018, 2018 Round6, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

Indonesian team Yamaha Yamalube SND Factory is pulling no punches in the final leg of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. With super-wildcard Wawan Wello astride the team’s striking yellow Yamaha, the team has smashed lap times in the Underbone 150cc class.   Wawan was the only rider to lap below the 2-minute mark during the free practice, and earned the right to park his bike on pole position when he aced the Underbone 150 SuperPole with 2’01.313s.   The front row of the Underbone 150cc class will feature a mixed bag of nationalities. Local rider Peerapong Luiboonpeng qualified second on the grid with 2’02.979s and Malaysian seasoned campaigner Mohd Affendi Rosli third with 2’03.222s. Both riders are racing under the Team One For All colours, owned by former GP rider Youichi Ui.   A blown engine during the qualifying session prevented championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman from making the cut into the SuperPoles. He will start the race from 19th on the grid.

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RATTHAPONG #ALLIN FOR A SHOT AT THE TITLE

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Thai rider Ratthapong Wilairot is giving it his all at the final round of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Even though the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider only has a very slim chance, the 26-year-old rider is prepared to put up everything he’s got.   Ratthapong is one of six riders with a chance to win the SuperSports 600cc title in 2018. Currently ninth on the standings with 91 points, Ratthapong will need a double win on his home track to turn the tables on the other five contenders.   The Thai rider did just that when he aced the first day of free practice sessions by clinching the quickest lap of 1’38.939s. However, Ratthapong has yet to break the existing lap record held by Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (1’38.469s).   Ratthapong’s compatriot and team mate Decha Kraisart was second fastest with 1’39.226s. Although the seasoned campaigner is no longer in championship contention, team play within the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team could see Decha playing wingman to Ratthapong’s race strategies.   Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing’s Ahmad Yudhistira clocked in third fastest with 1’39.469s. Randy Krummenacher has quickly gotten back into the groove with a fourth quickest time of 1’39.500s.   The main title contender for the weekend, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, posted fifth fastest after the first day of practice with 1’39.691s.

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THAI RIDERS STEAL THE SPOTLIGHT IN AP250 FREE PRACTICE

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The Thai riders on the Asia Production 250cc grid made full use of their homeground advantage to come up tops in the first day of free practices at the final round of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.   Racing at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit, AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi topped the timesheets for the first time as the quickest man of the day with 1’52.997s. The Honda rider broke the previous 1’53.064s lap record set by Anupab Sarmoon in Round 1.   Even though the Asia Production 250cc title is now safely in the hands of Rheza Danica Ahrens, the level of competition in the class had not abated. The top-10 riders of the day all managed to lap within a second of each other. Anupab Sarmoon from the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team was second quickest with 1’53.089s followed by Kawasaki’s Andy Muhammad Fadly in third with 1’53.339s.   Mario Suryo Aji, eager to redeem himself after a double crash weekend in the previous round in Indonesia, posted fourth fastest with 1’53.598s. Mario will need to repeat his double podium performance here at the Chang International Circuit to stand a chance of finishing the season in second overall.   Peerapong Boonlert clocked in fifth fastest with 1’53.643s while Round 1 winner Muklada Sarapuech was sixth.   Uncharacteristically, Rheza Danica Ahrens only logged the tenth fastest time of the day with 1’53.859s.

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WAWAN WELLO GOES UNDER THE 2-MIN MARK

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Laptimes continue to tumble in the Underbone 150cc class as the teams bring one years’ worth of developmental efforts back to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand for the final joust of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.   Championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman broke his own Round 1 lap record (2’01.917s) in the first free practice session with 2’01.359s and upped the ante in the second free practice by lapping 2 minutes flat.   However, the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team paid a heavy price for that initial burst of speed when Helmi’s bike broke down before he managed to clock a single lap in the Qualifying for SuperPole.   While the SCK engineers raced against time to get Helmi back out on track, wildcard rider Wawan Wello had taken charge at the top of the timesheets. Not only did the Yamaha Yamalube SND Factory rider improve on the lap record, he was the only Underbone 150cc competitor to lap under the 2-minute mark. Wawan has set a new benchmark for the Underbone class at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit with 1’59.998s.   Wawan’s time is followed by a quartet of Malaysian riders. Yuzy Vietnam Honda Racing’s Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa posted the second quickest time with 2’00.198s followed by Team One For All’s Mohd Affendi Rosli third fastest with 2’00.530s, and UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team’s Mohd Akid Aziz fourth with 2’01.231s. Amirul’s younger team mate, Mohd Aiman Azman clocked home at fifth fastest with 2’01.475s.   Other riders who made the cut into the SuperPole include Reza Fahlevi (sixth with 2’01.503s), title contender Mohd Izzat Zaidi (seventh with 2’01.678s), Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam (eighth with 2’01.762s), Peerapong Luiboonpeng (ninth with 2’01.931s) and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (tenth with 2’01.953s).   As a result of the mistake in the Qualifying session, championship leader Helmi Azman will start both Race 1 and Race 2 from 19th on the grid.

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SIX IN CONTENTION FOR 600cc CROWN

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The SuperSports 600cc title is still wide open with six riders in contention as the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship heads to its season finale at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand this weekend.   Team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing’s Anthony West had been unbeatable in the first half of the season. He has picked up 136 points so far.   Defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman has had an erratic season. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki rider is second on the standings with 102 points. Azlan will face a strong contender in the form of Randy Krummenacher who is set to replace West in the final round. To close the 34-point gap, Azlan must finish second in both Race 1 and Race 2.   Also in the running are Andi Farid Izdihar (Astra Honda Racing Team) and Ahmad Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki). Both Indonesian riders are tied in third place with 99 points each. For either one to win the title, they must finish at least second in both Race 1 and Race 2, and they must also finish ahead of Azlan.   2014 and 2016 600cc Champion Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi also has a shot of winning his third Asian title. However, currently standing fifth with 94 points, Zaqhwan will need a double win from the Buriram weekend to leapfrog his way up the ladder.   The same goes for Ratthapong Wilairot who is racing under the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team colours this season. The Thai rider is sixth on the standings with 91 points. If Ratthapong can pull off a double win on his home track, he stands a chance of becoming the third Thai rider to win the 600cc crown.

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WILL RANDY KRUMMENACHER BE WEBIKE IKAZUCHI’S KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR?

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Team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing, the present leader in the SuperSports 600cc category, will be relying on Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher to be their knight in shining armour.   The Singapore-based outfit roped in Liam Taylor MacDonald and Sheridan Morais for the previous round in Indonesia. For the final round, the team has decided that Krummenacher, with his experience in the MotoGP as well as his recent win at the Chang International Circuit in the World SSP, would be the ideal rider to bring home the top prize for them.   Team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing has amassed 149 points at the top of the 600cc team standings. Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing, which fields Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Ahmad Yudhistira, trails by only 19 points.   Should the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing duo dominate the race proceedings in Buriram this weekend, Krummenacher will need to finish third in both races to win the team title by a single point.

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2017 AP250 CHAMPION GERRY SALIM TO REPLACE INJURED IRFAN IN BURIRAM

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Fans of 2017 Asia Production 250cc Champion Gerry Salim will get to see him in action on the Asian stage this weekend at the Chang International Circuit.   As the clock ticks down to the final race of the season, Gerry has been tapped in to replace injured Irfan Ardiansyah in the SuperSports 600cc class. The Astra Honda Racing Team rider was recently injured in a training session.   Gerry Salim has spent the bulk of 2018 in Europe, particularly in the Moto3 class of the CEV. The talented Indonesian rider is no stranger to the 600cc class. Prior to taking the AP250 category by storm in 2017, Gerry was already making fans take notice when he raced in the SuperSports 600cc class in 2016.

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UMA RACING MAJU MOTOR BRINGS BACK POPULAR WILDCARDS

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UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor will be bringing back popular wildcards for the final round of the 2018 Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Mckinley Kyle Paz from the Philippines and Vietnamese rider To Ha Dong Nghi will join full-season riders Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues on the Underbone 150cc grid.   McKinley, in particular, has been one of the more outstanding wildcards of the season, especially when he pulled off a stunning ride in Australia to finish second in his 150cc debut.

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TEAM SCK #ALLIN FOR UB150 TEAM AWARD

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The SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing is going all out to end a nine-year title drought in the Underbone class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. With Mohd Helmi Azman in good standings for the riders’ trophy, hopes are high that the team will also be able to claim the crown that they last won in 2009.   Standing in their way, is another Malaysian racing bedrock, the RCB Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team. The two teams are separated by 36 points. To seal the deal, the SCK team will only need one of their riders (championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman, Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, or Australian wildcard-turned-permanent-rider Travis Hall) to finish within the top 9 in Race 1 and Race 2.   In this respect, the SCK team has the advantage of numbers. By fielding three riders to YY Pang’s Izzat-Adib Rosley combination, the SCK team betters their odds of picking up the points they need.   The Team Awards points system in the Asia Road Racing Championship assigns points from each team’s top performing rider to the team.

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WHAT’S LEFT FOR THE 250s? PLENTY!

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Now that Rheza Danica Ahrens and the Astra Honda Racing Team have got the Asia Production 250cc rider and team trophies in the bag, what’s left for the sophomore class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship as it heads to its final round in Buriram this coming December 1 and 2?   As it turns out, plenty! Only four points separate Anupab Sarmoon and Mario Suryo Aji in the fight for second overall position. Awhin Sanjaya, Rafid Topan Sucipto, and Andy Muhammad Fadly are also in the running to finish as the first runner up. Currently standing seventh overall in the rankings, Muklada Sarapuech, also has a shot at leapfrogging up the ladder.   Of the two main contenders Anupab and Mario, the Indonesian rookie has had the more consistent podium record (six podiums so far) while Anupab will be banking on the home ground advantage.

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