2019 Round7

Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA) is pulling out all the stops in his bid to defy the odds that are stacked against him in the ASB1000 title hunt. Zaqhwan, who still has an outside chance of becoming the first FIM Asian ASB1000 champion, has been working hard all weekend at the season finale to give himself every opportunity to turn the tables on championship leaders Broc Parkes (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN) and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team).   Zaqhwan was easily the most hard working rider in the ASB1000 qualifier. The Honda rider was out on track for most of the qualifying session and got onto the top of the leader board after 20 minutes. He became the first ASB1000 rider this weekend to lap below 1’36 when he posted 1’35.954s.   The final six minutes of the qualifier was where all the action happened. With four minutes left on the board, Zaqhwan posted another flying lap to take pole with 1’35.714s.   Azlan muscled his way up to P2 with 1’35.960s while Apiwat Wongthananon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) who had been consistent all weekend qualified for P3 with 1’36.132s. Championship leader Broc will head up the second row.

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) is taking no prisoners at the final round of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand as he tops the times with 1’36.123s. As Azlan prepares to engage in the final battle for the first ASB1000 title, this has given the Malaysian a 0.310s advantage over second place Broc Parkes (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN).   The fact that the Chang International Circuit was to be the host for the season finale has tipped the odds in Azlan’s favour. The Malaysian was virtually unchallenged at this 4.554km circuit at the previous meet in Round 3 when he converted pole position to a strong double win.   Azlan and Thai rider Apiwat Wongthananon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) were the first two to get up to speed, displacing each other at the top. Broc, as usual, was marching to the rhythm of his own drums, not feeling the need to get involved in the early rush.   With 8 minutes of FP3 to go, Azlan logged his best time, 1’36.123s, and promptly dove into the pits for a conference with his BMW engineers. Sensing the opportunity, Broc put in a series of quick laps and managed to push Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA) down to P3.   The three title contenders, Azlan, Broc and Zaqhwan, have locked out the provisional front row. Apiwat Wongthananon dropped to fourth with 1’36.597s. In P5, Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) poses as a substantial threat. Thai fans can expect to see Thitipong go all out for the win on his homeground. The Thai rider had missed Round 3 while he recovered from a back injury sustained as a wildcard during the World SSP.

A recent run-in with a careless driver will not stop Federico Sandi from making his second ARRC wildcard appearance in the final leg of the season at the Chang International Circuit.  Federico’s plans to continue his role as developmental rider for the Access Plus Racing DUCATI Philippines Essenza Team was almost derailed earlier this week. The massively talented and experienced Italian rider was out jogging around his local neighbourhood when he was hit by a car. Thankfully, further checks had found nothing broken although he will be slightly handicapped by a couple of stretched ligaments Federico came onto the ASian scene in the penultimate round at the Sepang International Circuit as part of the team’s on-going process to get the Ducati Panigale V4 R into podium shape. With his level of experience, the Italian was able to deliver the best result for the team so far, many times coming close to disrupting the title chase between the main protagonists of the 2019 season, Broc Parkes and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.

The season finale of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit this November 29 to December 1 will witness the final battle between Broc Parkes and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman to become the first Asian Superbike champion. The two riders have been locked in a tussle over the course of the past 12 races, with Broc’s consistent approach to winning a championship keeping him in the driving seat for most of the season. Both rivals representing the Yamaha and BMW camps respectively have scooped up seven podiums each. Broc has picked up three wins from Australia, Japan and China. He has also consistently finished within the top five in every race. The mercurial and unpredictable Azlan, on the other hand, holds five wins out of seven podiums but is handicapped by two DNF results from Round 1 and Round 5. In all this, Honda’s Zaqhwan Zaidi cannot be discounted yet. Trailing Broc by 46 points, the Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA rider still has an outside chance of creating an upset in Buriram. The final battle at the  4.554km Chang International Circuit may be tilted in Azlan’s favour. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team rider converted pole to double win during the previous race in Round 3. If Azlan were to repeat his double-victory feat, Broc must finish at least third in both races to win the title by a single point. Should he succeed, Broc will become the first Australian to win the Asian title. Spoilers who could potentially derail the title chase include Thai riders Thitipong Warokorn, Apiwat Wongthananon, and returning WSBK wildcard, Federico Sandi.