Asia Production 250

If there was one weakness that has marred the promising career of Indonesian rider Rafid Topan Sucipto, it would be his lack of consistency. Brilliant one day, india the next, it has always been hard to predict what Rafid would do in any given race. However, Rafid displayed none of that at the Zhuhai International Circuit when he picked up a double AP250 win from the 4.3km circuit. All eyes were on the Bike Corner SYS KYT Racing Team rider when he lined up on pole position – would he repeat his Race 1 feat? Rafid struggled at the start of the race, dropping quickly from pole to fourth on Lap 1 as Andy Muhammad Fadly, Awhin Sanjaya, and Tatchakorn Buasri took charge of the 10-lap race. The newly applied equalizer rule on Awhin and Irfan had done little to slow the pace of the two Astra Honda Racing Team riders. The duo had been able to quickly adjust to the reduction in power and were dominant in the first half of the race. By Lap 8, with two laps remaining, Rafid was still hunkered down in P6, deep within the leading group. The Indonesian rider finally made his move on the penultimate lap, moving up three spots to get into position for the final push to the finish line. When Muklada Sarapuech powered her way past Awhin and Irfan into the lead, Rafid tucked himself into her slipstream. With only half a lap remaining, the Indonesian rider successfully got past Muklada and stormed to his second win of the weekend with 19’10.448s Irfan Ardiansyah claimed the second spot with 19’10.541s followed by a jubilant Piyawat Patoomyos in third. This would be Piyawat’s first podium of the season. The AP250 Race 2 was a strategically important race for championship leader Andy Muhammad Fadly. After Race 1, Fadly was 47 points ahead of his team mate Aiki Iyoshi. Under the equalizer rules in the AP250 class, a second equalizer would be imposed should Fadly’s lead margin extend beyond 50 points against that of the fifth placed rider. In this case, to avoid the second equalizer, Fadly had to rein in his performance in Race 2. In other words, he had to lose the battle in order to win the war. Fadly finished the race in P9 to add seven more points to his points haul while his team mate Aiki Iyoshi picked up none after crashing out on Lap 2. Luckily for Andy, Aiki has dropped down to sixth overall while Lucky Hendriansya is now fifth with 97 points. Andy’s 145 points at the top of the table is 48 points clear of Lucky’s position. Therefore, the second equalizer will not take effect just yet.

Indonesian Rafid Topan Sucipto pulled off a stunner of a Race 1 at the Zhuhai International Circuit when he brought his privately funded Honda to the top of the AP250 podium. The former Moto2 rider had been struggling for the most part of the season, ofttimes finding it hard to break into the top 10. At the Zhuhai International Circuit, Rafid finally hit his stride. The Bike Corner SYS KYT Racing Team rider snared the limelight when he qualified P1 to take pole position. A bumpy start as the lights went off saw Rafid dropping down to fifth in the first half of the race. The highly experienced Indonesian rider was able to make up for lost ground and he emerged in the lead on Lap 8. Although constantly harassed by Astra Honda Racing Team duo Awhin Sanjaya and Irfan Ardiansyah, Rafid was able to hold his advantage until the end of the 10-lap race. He picked up his first win of the season with 19’10.656s. It was clearly a Honda party at the sharp end of the grid. Astra Honda Racing Team trio – Awhin, Irfan and Lucky Hendriansya – escorted Rafid to the podium in second, third and fourth respectively. Andy Muhammad Fadly who have had a tough time in China, finished fifth, enough to extend his lead at the top of the AP250 standings. The key to the title chase, however, happened off the podium. Aiki Iyoshi finished 13th, and there is now a 33-point gap between Awhin Sanjaya and Aiki on the overall standings. Similarly, Irfan leads Aiki by 29 points. By the rules of the AP250 class, the first equalizer rule (500rpm cut) will also be applied to Awhin and Irfan in Race 2.

Signs of an Astra Honda Racing Team comeback in the AP250 class is in the offing, when Lucky Hendriansya and Irfan Ardiansyah locked out the top two positions after a first day of practices at the Zhuhai International Circuit. Unlike the past two years, the Indonesian based Astra Honda Racing Team has been uncharacteristically low-key in the first half of the 2019 season. The change of location from South Korea to China as the host of Round 5 seems to have brought a new lease of life to their title campaign. Lucky was the only rider to check in below 1’54, setting a high benchmark for the AP250 class with 1’53.758s. Irfan Ardiansyah was second on the combined timesheets at 1’54 flat. The Hondas look to have an edge that is ideal to the stop-and-go style of racing demanded by the 4.3km Zhuhai International Circuit. Of the top five riders, four are Hondas. Rafid Topan Sucipto logged third fastest with 1’54.016s followed by Awhin Sanjaya in fourth with 1’54.274s. Anggi Setiawan from Yamaha Racing Indonesia was the quickest Yamaha on the grid, fifth fastest with 1’54.465s. Championship leader Andy Muhammad Fadly’s Kawasaki will be finding the stop-and-go nature of the Zhuhai track to be a challenge. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider ended the day eighth fastest with 1’54.598s. India’s best results came from Sethu Rajiv who was about 3 seconds off the fastest rider. Former ADC rider, Zhou Sheng Jun Jie will have a lot of ground to make up as he clocked 21st fastest with 1’57.062s.

The return of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship to the Zhuhai international Circuit may present a twist in the tale in the AP250 title chase. With the possible exception of wildcard Zhou Sheng Jun Jie, most of the existing riders in the class have yet to learn the intricacies of the 4.3km race track located in the southern tip of China. As it stands, Andy Muhammad Fadly is defying the odds of the equalizer rule. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider has been able to maintain a strong presence at the top of the championship table. With 23 points margin under his belt, Fadly will be relying heavily on personal coach Katsuaki Fujiwara’s expertise to eke out a headstart in Round 5. Fujiwara, the rider-turned-team director, was one of the last ARRC riders to have won races at the Zhuhai International Circuit. Fadly will be wary of the potential challenge posed by his Indonesian compatriots – Irfan Ardiansyah and Awhin Sanjaya. In the previous round at the Suzuka Circuit, the two Astra Honda Racing Team riders have managed to overcome a slow start to their title campaign. Solid podium finishes from Suzuka has the two team mates tied in second overall with 104 points each. After a disappointing outing at the Suzuka 4 Hours two weeks ago, the Astra Honda Racing Team riders can be expected to go all out for the top step of the podium. Of the five riders in the top-five, only Irfan and Awhin are not yet hampered by the 500rpm cut. Fadly’s first line of defence, ironically, could come in the form of Thailand’s Muklada Sarapuech. Fired up from her recent record-breaking stint when she became the first female rider to win the Suzuka 4 Hours, Muklada will be looking to get past the two Astra Honda Racing Team riders to get her title chase back on track.

As the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship marks its return to Zhuhai this weekend, Chinese rider Zhou Sheng Jun Jie will also be staging a comeback into the series. Zhou has confirmed his AP250 wildcard through the Wuyang-Honda Racing Team. Zhou Sheng Jun Jie is an alumni of the Asia Dream Cup (ADC) series initiated by the ARRC as part of its talent development platform from 2012 to 2016. The Chinese rider completed two full seasons in the ADC, finishing 10th overall in 2015 and 7th overall in 2016. Zhou’s best results in the ADC came in 2016 with a double podium at the super-challenging Sentul Circuit in Indonesia. On the AP250 grid, Zhou will find himself reunited with a few familiar faces. Muklada Sarapuech, currently in the chase for the 2019 crown, was the Asia Dream Cup champion in 2015 along with Idemitsu Honda Racing India’s Sethu Rajiv.

Astra Honda’s Awhin Sanjaya was a class apart in a wet race two, keeping his head while many of those around him were losing theirs, to win by a comfortable margin. It was a good day for the Indonesian team, as Irfan Ardiansyah took another second place and a good day for Andy Fadly, as he finished third and benefited from a DNF by championship rival, Muklada Sarapuech. Rafid Topan Sucipto made the most of his pole position to take the lead at the start from Muklada, Irfan, Piyawat Patoomyos, Rey Ratukore and Fadly. AP Honda’s Muklada crashed on lap two after grabbing the front brake too hard, which left Fadly just needing a reasonable to complete his weekend’s work. Ratukore began to fall back at half distance, as Awhin got past Irfan for second and Fadly got ahead of Piyawat for fourth, while Yamaha Thailand’s class rookie, Sawapol Lillabong, moved up to join the fight for second and third. Topan fell out of the lead on lap seven and Awhin pulled clear, leaving the fight behind him and stroked his CBR250RR home four seconds clear of Irfan who took second from Fadly, Piyawat and Suwapol. Aiki Iyoshi stormed through from last on the grid to finish sixth, well ahead of Izam Ikmal, Ratukore and wildcards, Tanimoto and Mori. Fadly’s 41 points from Suzuka bring his total to 127, which is 23 clear of Irfan and Awhin, who are level on 104. Muklada, who went to Suzuka level on points with Fadly, now finds herself fourth on 97 and 30 points from the top.

Andy Fadly continued the form he showed since arriving at Suzuka by leading from the first turn in race one and getting clear with a pace that the rest of the ARRC AP250 field couldn’t get anywhere near. However, the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki rider didn’t have it all his own way in qualifying, ending up second after a fierce three-way fight with Rafid Topan Sucipto and Irfan Ardiansyah. Sporting his new team’s livery and a change of race number to 911, Topan claimed pole position from Fadly by 31 hundredths of a second by taking his Bike Corner SYS KYT Honda around Suzuka’s 5.8 kilometres in 2’28.714 to edge Fadly out to second. Irfan, who had led much of the 30-minute session, qualified third on 2’29.685. Behind them, Faerozi Toreqotullah came through to lead the second row from Suzuka first-timer, Nazirul Izzat and championship leader, Muklada Sarapuech. Astra Honda’s Lucky Hendriansiya and Awhin Sanjaya qualified seventh and eighth in front of Reynaldo Ratukore. Rafid launched well from the start, but Fadly got the better of him into turn one broke away at the front. Behind him Muklada fought with a group of another five Indonesian riders, who did their best to keep her at bay. All three Astra Honda riders took turns at the front, though it was Irfan who looked the most convincing contender for second place. ONEXOX TKKR SAG’s Rey Ratukore, the sole Yamaha rider in the front group, looked increasingly threatening on the break at the final chicane. Clearly fighting handling problems, Muklada did her best to get to the front of the group, but, as the last lap unwound was unable to get herself into a podium position. As Fadly cruised over the line 2.6 seconds ahead, Irfan put enough distance between himself and the others to claim second without a serious challenge, while Ratukore got the better of Awhin, Muklada and Lucky to cross the line third. Rafid Topan came through in seventh from Piyawat Patoomyos, Faerozi and Sasaki, who completed the top ten.

Andy Muhammad Fadly was fastest in all three free practice sessions today. Despite running with a maximum rev ‘equaliser’ of 500rpm, the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki rider kept an advantage of more than half a second all day. His best time of 2’28.450 came in a red flag interrupted second session. After a steady start in FP1, Astra Honda’s Irfan Ardiansyah finished second on combined times with a best lap of 2’29.382, which was 0.098s better than Rey Ratukore on the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Yamaha. Fadly’s team mate, Aiki Iyoshi was fourth in front of AP Honda duo, Muklada Sarapuech and Piyawat Patoomyos. Rafid Topan Sucipto, Awhin Sanjaya, Faerozi Toreqotullah and Sethu Rajiv completed the top ten. Round three, race two winner, Tatchkorn Buasri, struggled to match pace of his team mates and crashed hard in the third session. The fastest wildcard was Otojirou Tanimoto with 2’32.501, which placed him 18th overall.

AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Muklada Sarapuech and Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing’s Andy Muhammad Fadly will be heading for a tie-breaker at Round 4 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Suzuka, Japan. The two riders tie at the top of the standings with 86 points apiece but Muklada has one more podium finish to her name as compared to Fadly. Here’s a recap of their performances so far: Rider R1/R1 R1/R2 R2/R1 R2/R2 R3/R1 R3/R2 Muklada Sarapuech DNF 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 5th Andy Fadly 2nd 2nd 1st DNF 6th DNF   However, Round 4 will be more than just a showdown between two ferocious competitors. Team play will be very much in evidence as Aiki Iyoshi, currently third in the AP250 standings, seeks to support his Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing team mate while claiming the best possible results for himself. Expect the same from AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Tatchakorn Buasri who proved his race-winning capabilities in the previous round in Buriram. The newly introduced equalizer rule has certainly done its job. Only 12 points separate the top four riders in the series, three of whom are racing with 500 rpm less to their maximum limit.   An AHRT Resurgence In The Making? The Astra Honda Racing Team, a force to be reckoned with over the past two seasons, have been remarkably low-key in 2019. Awhin Sanjaya, Irfan Ardiansyah and Lucky Hendriansya are fifth, sixth and seventh respectively on the championship ladder. While the AP Honda Racing Thailand Team and the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing Team struggle for dominance in the AP250 class, Indonesian-based Astra Honda Racing Team may be biding their time before making a definitive move. With only four rounds remaining to the end of the season, that move must come soon and the Suzuka Circuit where the team had experienced so much success, may be the perfect arena to launch their attack.   Wildcards Make 33 The AP250 class will see as many as seven wildcards in the Japanese leg, bringing the grid up to a total of 33 riders. The wildcards are:   RIDER TEAM #20 Yuta Kasai TEAM TEC 2 # Shunya Mori TEAM TEC 2 #31 Kazuki Tomita ATJ Racing with NMC #38 Keiji Goto YSS *ANDO Racing Mercury #73 Ryunosuke Nakamura ENDLESS TEAM SHANTI # Nobuteru Sasaki Team KYOEI GO&FUN # Otojirou Tanimoto DOGFITHR RPM YAMAHA

Rookie Tatchakorn Buasri capped off a successful weekend at the Chang International Circuit by picking up his first AP250 win in Race 2. As the lights went off for the 10-lap AP250 race, there was a great weight of responsibility on Tatchakorn’s shoulders. His senior team mate and pole sitter, Muklada Sarapuech, having achieved a 25-point lead ahead of the fifth ranked rider in Race 1, had 500 rpm less at her disposal. The young rider lived up to expectations when he proved himself capable of mixing it up with the main contenders of the AP250 class. When Muklada retired on Lap 3 following an unfortunate puncture, Tatchakorn held his own against Irfan Ardiansyah, Awhin Sanjaya, and aggressive Andy Muhammad Fadly and team mate Piyawat Patoomyos. Despite the best efforts from Astra Honda Racing Team trio Irfan, Awhin and Lucky, Tatchakorn was able to pip his rivals to the finish line by 0.310s. The young Thai rider brought home team AP Honda Racing Thailand’s second win of the weekend with 19’04.262s. Awhin Sanjaya finished second, his best performance this season, with 19’04.572s. Behind the two leaders, Yamaha Racing Indonesia’s Muhammad Faerozi Toreqottullah sprung an unexpected surprise at the last corner. Unknown to the leaders who were focused on getting past Turn 12 to the finish line, Faerozi had slipstreamed his way into the leading group and dodged past their defences to claim the first AP250 podium for Yamaha in 2019. Faerozi got himself onto the third step of the podium with 19’04.829s. Interestingly, Andy Muhammad Fadly, Muklada Sarapuech and Aiki Iyoshi, all three riders with the 500 rpm equalizer, are back at the top of the AP250 standings. Fadly tops the standings with 87 points after taking fifth place in Race 1 and Race 2. Despite sitting out for most of Race 2, Muklada Sarapuech is only a point behind with 86 points. Aiki Iyoshi ranked third with 78 points while Tatchakorn’s victory had boosted him up to fourth overall with 74 points.