2018

WIN NUMBER 6 FOR RHEZA, AS ASTRA HONDA TAKE 1-2

2018, 2018 Round5, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

A convincing display by Astra Honda’s Rheza Danica Ahrens and Awhin Sanjaya left the rest of the AP250 field fighting over the remaining places in Race 1. Rheza’s 15-year-old team-mate and only realistic title rival, Mario Suryo Aji, fell on lap 2, thereby handing over another 25 points advantage. Mario had earlier led a front row lockout after a perfect qualifying session for the Honda home team. With the rest of the field unable to match the pace of the flying Honda’s at the front, a group of five riders behind them fought a pitched battle for third. Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Andy Fadly initially looked strongest, before Muklada Sarapuech, riding with the left clip-on of her Honda adapted to accommodate her injured wrist, pushed her way through, hassled all the way by Rafid Topan Sucipto. M. Faerozi  threatened them just behind, while Anuparb Sarmoon fought to stay in contact. Rafid forced his way past Muklada on the final lap and held his advantage to grab the final place on the podium, while she, in turn, got to the finish line 14 hundredths ahead of Fadly. Faerozi and Anuparb finished sixth and seventh ahead of the best wildcard of the day, Sigit Purno Harjorno, who was 1.5 seconds clear of Anggi Setiawan, Richard Taroreh, Peerapong Boonlert and United M-Mate’s wildcard, Yossie Legisadewo.

WIN NUMBER 6 FOR RHEZA, AS ASTRA HONDA TAKE 1-2 Read More »

ADVANTAGE HELMI AS WILDCARD AGUNG WINS AT SENTUL

2018, 2018 Round5, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

Advantage Helmi as wildcard Agung wins at Sentul Agung Fahrul, one of six wildcard riders in today’s opening race at Sentul , left his mark on the 2018 championship by taking a win from Helmi Azman, whose main rivals, Izzat Zaidi, Ahmad Fazli Sham and Whayu Aji Trilaksana fell further behind. Starting from fourth on the 26-bike grid, Agung stayed in the top five throughout and frequently held the lead, before timing a perfect run to the chequered flag to win from SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda’s Helmi, who had begun work for the day with a 23 point advantage in the standings over RCB Yamaha’s Izzat. The drama bagan on the startline, when Wahyu’s Yamaha was pushed off the grid with a problem, effectively snuffing out the 2016 champion’s title chances. Haziq Fairues converted his pole position into an early lead, which he traded with Agung, Helmi and SND Factory’s Gupita Kresna, before falling back from the 11 bike leading group with mechanical problems. Defending champion, Akid Aziz also broke down and pulled into the pits on lap eight. A fast game of cat and mouse for nine laps gave way to a fist fight at the front at the end, with bikes fanning out across the circuit’s 15 metre width as they fought for advantage. Agung  gained a bike length at the start of the last lap, which computed into  a win of 0.153s over Helmi, who crossed the line a few hundredths in front of Gupita, Amirul Ariff Musa, Izzat, Syahrul Amin and fellow wildcard, Wawan Wello. Fazli Sham finished eighth from Rusman Fadhil and Murobbil Fatoni, who completed the top ten. Izzat suffered a heart-stopping crash after taking the chequered flag, being ejected from his machine, apparently due to another rider hitting his rear wheel. Helmi goes into Race 2 having extended his lead over Izzat by another 9 points and over Fazli Sham by a further 12.

ADVANTAGE HELMI AS WILDCARD AGUNG WINS AT SENTUL Read More »

ZAQHWAN SCRAMBLES AHEAD OF LOCALS IN FREE PRACTICE

2018, 2018 Round5, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

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.

ZAQHWAN SCRAMBLES AHEAD OF LOCALS IN FREE PRACTICE Read More »

MARIO LEADS INDONESIAN FIRST DAY DOMINATION

2018, 2018 Round5, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

Indonesian riders led all free practice sessions in Asia Production 250cc by margins that left the rest wondering how to respond. Astra Honda’s Mario Suryo Aji set the fastest time of the day just 8 laps into the first session, recording 1:42.310, which is half a second better than Gerry Salim managed on his way to pole position in 2017 and 0.8s better than championship leader, Rheza Danica Ahrens, managed in the early run-out. Home advantage aside, there was more evidence of the depth of the new generation of fast Indonesians, as Yamaha riders, M. Faerozi and Rafid Topan Sucipto also dipped under 1:43 to top the second and third sessions, while Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Andy Fadly managed a best time of 1:43.074. The best of the visitors was Yamaha Thailand’s Anuparb Sarmoon, who lies third in the championship. He clocked his best time of 1:43.549 on his fourth flying lap of the day, but spent the rest of the day in the 1:44s. AP Honda’s Muklada Sarapuech, who makes a return after the nasty hand injury she sustained at Suzuka, was a few hundredths adrift of her compatriot and two tenths clear of team-mate, Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi, who improved through the day to record 1:44.702 in the final session.

MARIO LEADS INDONESIAN FIRST DAY DOMINATION Read More »

HELMI ON TOP AS WAHYU FAILS TO MAKE THE CUT FOR SUPERPOLE

2018, 2018 Round5, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

Championship leader Helmi Azman shrugged off assumptions of local superiority to top both free practice and qualifying on Friday. The Malaysian took his SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda around Sentul’s tricky 3.964km in 1:48.692, almost seven tenths faster than Yuzy Honda Vietnam’s Amirul Ariff Musa, who was just clear of Indonesian wildcards, Agung Fahrul and Reza Fahlevi. Gupita Kresna was fifth on the SND Factory Yamaha, while Adib Rosley was sixth for RCB Yamaha YY Pang. Two other wildcards, Rusman Fadhil and Wawan Wello made it to Superpole, as did 2017 champion, Akid Aziz, who was the last rider through on 1:50.447. Shock news was that 2016 champion, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana was 18th and will therefore miss the shootout for the first 15 grid slots. Travis Hall, riding with a strapped up arm from an injury he picked up in Australia, managed 1:51.121 on his Sentul debut and will start from 20th for SCK Rapido. United Oil’s Miu Nakahara, also on her first trip to Indonesia, was outside of the 107% Qualifying maxima and will take no further part this weekend.

HELMI ON TOP AS WAHYU FAILS TO MAKE THE CUT FOR SUPERPOLE Read More »

THE WEST CONUNDRUM

2018, 2018 Round5, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

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.

THE WEST CONUNDRUM Read More »

MUKLADA BACK IN PLAY

2018, 2018 Round5, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

Plucky Thai rider Muklada Sarapuech will be coming back into the thick of action following a three-month hiatus brought about by a crash in Round 3 at Suzuka. Muklada collided with team mate Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi in Race 2 at the Suzuka Circuit, and sustained an injured hand as a result of the incident. The injury broke Muklada’smomentum in the Asia Production 250cc class. Not only did she have to sit out of Round 4 in India, but at the same time, Muklada lost the opportunity to debut in the prestigious Suzuka4 Hours Endurance. With only two rounds remaining on the 2018 calendar, Muklada will have to beat out Indonesian riders Awhin Sanjaya and Andy Muhammad Fadly to make it back into the top five.

MUKLADA BACK IN PLAY Read More »

RHEZA WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR BURIRAM

2018, 2018 Round5, Asia Production 250, Latest News /

There is no sweeter moment for any rider than to seal a major title in front of his or her home crowd. Gerry Salim experienced that magic in 2017 when he lifted the Asia Production 250cc title at the Sentul Circuit. That ‘moment’, unfortunately, will not happen for this year’s championship leader, Rheza Danica Ahrens. At 148 points after four rounds, Rheza leads by 26 points ahead of his own team mate Mario Suryo Aji. Even if Mario’s presence were to be discounted on account of team orders from the Astra Honda Racing Team, Anupab Sarmoon is still a mathematical threat, standing in third with 108 points. Therefore, the Asia Production 250cc title chase will not end in Indonesia. On the other hand, there is a small probability that the Astra Honda Racing Team will pick up the AP250 Team Award for the second consecutive year in the coming round. The Indonesian-based team has pulled ahead by 51 points to the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team in the team rankings. A double win from either Rheza, Mario or Awhin will clinch the deal for the Astra Honda Racing Team. If a double win is not on the cards, then the team will need one win and one second place to seal the title by a single point.

RHEZA WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR BURIRAM Read More »

INDONESIAN WILDCARDS TO EVEN OUT THE ODDS

2018, 2018 Round5, Latest News, Underbone 150 /

For most of the 2018 season, the Indonesian riders in the Underbone 150cc category had been outnumbered 2-to-1 by their Malaysian arch rivals. Indonesia’s top performing Underbonerider, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, had struggled with consistency issues for most of the seasons, often finding himself out-flanked and boxed in by the usual Underbone tactics. However, the Indonesians, long reigning champions in the Underbone class, will enjoy a respite in the upcoming round as an influx of six wildcard riders even out the odds at the 3.964km Sentul track. After four rounds, Mohd Helmi Azman has a small lead with 134 points. He leads Mohd Izzat Zaidi by 23 points. Ahmad Fazli Sham’s double win in India had promoted him to third overall while Wahyu Aji dropped down to fourth. The penultimate round in Indonesia will be Wahyu’s best opportunity to turn the tables around in the Underbone class. Mathematically, 53 points adrift to the leader, the Yamaha rider still has a shot at creating an upset that would open up the title chase.

INDONESIAN WILDCARDS TO EVEN OUT THE ODDS Read More »

WEST LEAVES CHENNAI ON A DOUBLE HIGH

2018, 2018 Round4, Latest News, Supersports 600 /

Team WeBike Ikazuchi Racing will be leaving the Madras Motor Race Track on a winning high after a successful weekend by their star rider, Anthony West. The undulating 3.74km circuit has been particularly kind to West who picked up his first double win of the season by taking Race 2 with a time of 27’10.157s.   Race 2 revved off with West on pole position, and team mates Tomoyoshi Koyama and Zaqhwan Zaidi joining him on the front row. West reversed his race strategy for Race 2, opting to push ahead early in the race rather than sitting back and waiting for the second half of the race.   Racing with a clear piece of track ahead of him, the Australian rider was able to carve out 7 seconds worth of daylight between him and the chasing group comprised of Tomoyoshi Koyama, Taiga Hada and Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi. The three Honda riders were caught up with battling each other for P2. Their 16-lap scuffle ended with the two Japanese riders on the podium. Koyama finished second with 27’17.240s while Hada was third.   Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi missed out on the podium and was forced to settle for fourth. Behind him, defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made up for his crash in Race 1 by completing the second race in fifth place. Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin was the most impressive rider of the day. The Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia rider started the race from 17th on the grid and made up 10 places to finish 6th.   However, the most heart breaking moment of the day was served up by Yuki Ito. In line for a potential podium finish, Ito high-sided at the last corner of the final lap. Even though the top honours were lost, Ito was hell bent on finishing his race. The Japanese Yamaha rider picked up his bike and pushed the broken machine to the finish line as the crowded grandstand cheered him on.   The outcome from Round 4 has given West a huge lead on the championship standings. He is well on his way to becoming the first Australian champion of the ARRC with 136 points. Azlan Shah trails by 51 points.

WEST LEAVES CHENNAI ON A DOUBLE HIGH Read More »