Asia Production 250

Muklada Sarapuech bagged one for the Thai contingent with an uncontested AP250 Race 1 win as Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway at the Chang International Circuit. Starting the race from pole position, the AP Honda Racing Thailand rider got herself into the front by the first lap, and easily maintained a consistent one-second lead ahead of her rivals to take the win with 19’01.091s. Behind Muklada, her team mate Tatchakorn Buasri made it an AP Honda Racing Thailand 1-2 when he crossed the finish line in second with 19’02.295s While Muklada and Tatchakorn’s race went perfectly to script, what went on behind them was madness. Andy Muhammad Fadly, racing with a 500rpm equalizer, found himself in the thick of battle against Irfan Ardiansyah, Piyawat Patoomyos and Faerozi Toreqottullah for P3. The close fighting among the four riders led to close contact at the last corner of the final lap when Irfan seemed to touch Andy’s bike and somehow, caused Andy’s front wheel to lift. Andy was able to stay on the bike but lost the final sprint to the chequered flag. Irfan Ardiansyah from the Astra Honda Racing Team claimed third place with 19’04.491s. Further down the grid, Cao Viet Nam’s perseverance over the past few seasons seemed to have paid off. The Vietnamese rider recorded his best results in the AP250 to date when he finished ninth ahead of Rafid Topan Sucipto, Suttipat Patchaeetron and Rey Ratukore. Muklada’s win has brought her to the top of the standings with 86 points. She is 34 points in front of fifth ranked rider Irfan Ardiansyah, and will be riding with a -500rpm equalizer in Race 2. Andy Muhammad Fadly finished fifth to climb up to second overall with 76 points. Aiki Iyoshi crashed out of the Race 1 melee and dropped to third with 68 points.

AP Honda Racing Thailand duo Muklada Sarapuech and Piyawat Patoomyos dominated the AP250 proceedings during the free practice sessions as Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway at the Chang International Circuit. Muklada stopped the clock at 1’53.138s to top the timesheets followed by Piyawat second with 1’53.666s. Muklada’s time, however, is still about a second off the 2018 lap record set by Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi (1’52.339s). Despite riding with a 500 rpm cut, Andy Muhammad Fadly proved to be still competitive, coming in third on the combined timesheets with 1’53.724s. AP Honda Racing Thailand’s third rider Tatchakorn Buasri clocked the fourth quickest time followed by the fastest Yamaha on the grid, Faerozi Toreqottullah who posted fifth fastest with 1’53.850s. Championship leader Aiki Iyoshi, also riding with a 500 rpm cut, paced home at sixth fastest followed by the Astra Honda Racing Team trio Irfan Ardiansyah, Lucky Hendriansya and Awhin Sanjaya.

A new regulation was introduced in the Asia Production 250cc class in 2019. The Balancing Various Motorcycle Concepts rule was created to equality among the competing motorcycles and balance the performances by adjusting the RPM limit. The equaliser rule will apply to the top five riders in the overall championship standings. The first equaliser, a 500rpm reduction to the rev limit, will be applied once any of the top four riders acquire a 25-point lead over the other competitors in the top five. The adjusted RPM limit will stay throughout the season or further adjusted if they are affected by the second or third equaliser. The second equaliser will come into play once a 50-points lead is acquired by the 1st to 4th rider over the other competitors in the top-5. Should a 75-point lead be achieved, a third equaliser will be applied. After two rounds, team Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing’s Andy Muhammad Fadly and Aiki Iyoshi will be the first to achieve First Equaliser status. Fadly’s reduction was executed after Race 1 in Australia while Aiki’s will take effect from Round 3 onwards. The rev limit for each of the manufacturers/bike models are as follows:   Make/Model                           Max RPM Yamaha RS25                           14900 Kawasaki ZXR250                   14750 Honda CBR250RR                    14600

ARRC newcomer Aiki Iyoshi has gotten himself into the lead of the Asia Production 250cc with a convincing Race 2 win at The Bend Motorsport Park. All eyes were on the AP250 class, especially Andy Muhammad Fadly, who will be racing with a 500rpm cut after Race 1. However, the Indonesian rider highsided at the apex of Turn 1 on the opening lap and was unable to complete the second race. Unfazed by the absence of his team mate, Aiki successfully challenged early race leader Muklada Sarapuech and got himself into the lead on Lap 5. Aiki maintained his position to the end of the race with 19’19.635s. Muklada, who was having a tough time controlling a machine with heavy chattering problem in Race 2, gamely tried to narrow the gap against Aiki but was forced to settle for second place with 19’20.826s, 1.191s behind her Kawasaki rival. Muklada’s team mate, Tatchakorn Buasri, presented a double podium to the AP Honda Racing Thailand team in third with 19’21.930s. Aiki is the new AP250 leader with 68 points while Andy Muhammad Fadly dropped to second overall. Muklada is third with 61 points followed by Lucky Hendriansya fourth with 44 points and Awhin Sanjaya fifth with 38 points. The 30-point gap between Aiki and Awhin means that Aiki will be the next rider to carry the 500-rpm cut in the AP250 class. This will certainly change the game in the following round in Muklada’s home track, the Chang International Circuit.

A year after taking his first AP250 podium at The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia, Indonesian rider Andy Muhammad Fadly once again made sweet memories when he notched his first AP250 win at the 4.95km circuit. Race 1 of the Asia Production 250cc was a 1-2 tango from the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing duo Fadly and Aiki Iyoshi. The two riders led the 9-lap race from start to finish until Fadly put the hammer down on the final lap to score his first win with 19’15.688s, 0.147s ahead of Aiki. Muklada Sarapuech was a big part of the battle for P1 but a mistake by the AP Honda Racing Thailand rider dropped her down to third with 19’15.920s. Tatchakorn Buasri and Rey Ratukore claimed the final two spots within the top-five. Piyawat Patoomyos, Irfan Ardiansyah, Muzakkir Mohamed and Nazirul Izzat completed the race in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. In tenth position, Indian rider Sethu Rajiv did well by completing the race with 19’40.936s. Fadly has extended his lead at the top of the 250 championship ladder. He now leads with a total points haul of 65 points. Aiki Iyoshi has jumped up to second with 43 points and Muklada Sarapuech third with 41 points. Fadly, who now leads fifth placed Awhin Sanjaya by 36 points, will be riding with a 500rpm handicap in Race 2.

The top two positions on the Asia Production 250cc grid had been locked down by Kawasaki team mates Andy Muhammad Fadly and Aiki Iyoshi ahead of Round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park. Fadly, who had been strong on the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing bike all weekend, stopped the clock at 2’08.626s to earn the right to park his bike on the coveted pole position. Fadly’s Japanese team mate, Aiki Iyoshi, kept the team momentum up when he clocked second fastest with 2’08.929s. The two Kawasaki riders were the only ones posting with 2’08s during the AP250 qualifier. They will be joined on front row by Muklada Sarapuech from the A.P Honda Racing Thailand outfit. Muklada, winner from Race 2 in Round 1, was third quickest with 2’09.238s. The Astra Honda Racing Team’s Awhin Sanjaya will lead the second row which comprises of Rey Ratukore from ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team and AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Rey Ratukore in sixth.

Championship leader Andy Muhammad Fadly has set the early pace for the Asia Production 250cc class as Round 2 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship commenced at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.   The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider topped the timesheets in both free practice sessions. Fadly’s time of 2’07.557s has placed the Indonesian as the fastest man on the AP250 grid. However, Fadly’s time is still 0.2 seconds shy of breaking the 2018 lap record set by Mario Suryo Aji.   “Breaking Mario’s 2018 record was my target for today. So while I’m happy to be at the top of the timesheets, I’m just slightly disappointed that I have not been able to create a new laprecord here. That will be the target for tomorrow during the third practice and the qualifying,” said Fadly.   Fadly’s position on the grid looks strong, with second fastest Muklada Sarapuech a second adrift with 2’08.522s. Muklada’s AP Honda Racing Thailand team mates Tatchakorn Buasri and Piyawat Patoomyos clocked third and fourth fastest with 2’09.860s and 2’09.957s respectively.   From the first day of free practice, the tussle for domination in the AP250 class looks to be that of a straight-up battle between Manual Tech and AP Honda. Fadly’s Manual Tech team mate, Aiki Iyoshi rounded up the top five with 2’10.069s.   Yamaha Racing Indonesia’s Muhammad Faerozi Toreqottullah paced in at sixth fastest with 2’10.554s. Irfan Ardiansyah from the Astra Honda Racing Team was seventh with 2’10.703s.   The fastest Malaysian from the first day was Mohd Muzakkir Mohamed. Racing in the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team livery, Muzakkir was eighth fastest in the combined timesheets with 2’11.130s.   AHRT duo Lucky Hendriansya and Awhin Sanjaya who had a strong start at the season opener in Sepang, wrapped up Day 1 in the top 10 with 2’11.201s and 2’11.211s each.

It may be early days yet in the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, but Kawasaki rider Andy Muhammad Fadly is beginning to look dominant in the Asia Production 250cc class. After scoring a double podium at the season opener in Sepang, Fadly will lead the 25-rider AP250 grid into Round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia this April 27 and 28. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider holds a 10-point lead at the front of an all-Indonesian top-three. Two consecutive second placings at Round 1 has given Fadly a 40-points head start as he embarks on his fourth campaign in the AP250. Fadly is one of the pioneer riders in the ARRC intermediary class. He finished 15th overall when the class was first introduced in 2015, then spent a year in the 600cc in 2016. He returned to the class in 2017 and has been showing consistent growth since. He placed 12th and then jumped up the rankings to 5th overall last year. The Indonesian rider has a strong record at the The Bend Motorsport Park. He picked up a third and fifth place finish at the 4.95km circuit last year. The 19-year-old will be looking to extend his lead as he attempts to break the Astra Honda Racing Team’s domination in recent years.

Muklada Sarapuech celebrated International Women’s Day in a big way last weekend with a comeback victory in Race 2 for Round 1 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The Asia Production 250cc Race 1 had been a disappointment for Muklada when mechanical gremlins haunted her back into the pits but a better outing in Race 2 more than made up for the setbacks from the earlier race. The polesitter got off to a strong start but lost the early lead to Lucky Hendriansya who was in the hunt for his double win of the weekend. Lucky led Muklada and Andy Muhammad Fadly at the front while the rest of the 25-bike grid strung out behind them. By Lap 3, the front runners had pulled a 1-second gap ahead of Awhin Sanjaya who was struggling to maintain a strong pace despite an injured shoulder. Lucky began to show signs of trouble on Lap 5. The Astra Honda Racing Team rider ran wide several times while Muklada continued to put on a silky smooth performance around the 5.5km Sepang Circuit. Andy Muhammad Fadly also almost lost touch with the group several times, but was always able to make up for lost ground. The 44.541km race came to a dramatic climax when Lucky ran wide again at Turn 14 of the final lap. Muklada and Andy dove past the Astra Honda rider and ran shoulder-to-shoulder down the back straight with Muklada in the front. Fadly broke out of the slipstream and led into the final T15 hairpin but Muklada piled on the power at the exit, sprinted past a hapless Fadly to win the chequered flag with 19’36.510s. Andy won a double podium in second place with 19’36.578s. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider leads the Asia Production 250cc class with 40 points. Lucky Hendriansya was not so lucky in Race 2. His bike stalled at the last corner. After a battle well fought, Lucky was denied a second podium for the weekend. His team mate Awhin Sanjaya took P3 with 19’44.845s.