Asia Production 250

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.

Lucky Hendriansyah has proven that his top performance throughout the first round of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is more than just luck. The Astra Honda Racing Team rider started the Asia Production 250cc Race 1 from fifth on the grid, lining up on second row behind pole sitter Muklada Sarapuech, Irfan Ardiansyah, Andy Muhammad Fadly and Awhin Sanjaya. Lucky was the only rookie among the top five and within the space of a lap, began challenging Andy Muhammad Fadly for the lead. Lucky succeeded in taking control of the race on Lap 2 but found it hard to get away from Kawasaki’s Andy. The one-on-one battle went all the way to the chequered flag. The more experienced Andy almost lost control when he pushed beyond the limits to overtake Lucky at the final corner. While Andy struggled to tame his fidgety Kawasaki Ninja 250, Lucky raced to the finish line to stop the clock with 19’34.655s. A disappointed Andy had to settle for second place with 19’34.839s followed by Irfan Ardiansyah in third with 19’38.376s. Earlier in the race, pole sitter Muklada Sarapuech developed engine problems on Lap 3 and had to retire in tears. While the spotlight remained on the battle at the front, the most impressive performance of the day went to Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing’s Aiki Iyoshi who went from last on the 25-rider grid to fifth in the race.

Astra Honda Racing Team’s Lucky Hendriansyah has taken provisional command of the Asia Production 250cc class. The AP250 newcomer blasted his way to the top of the timing sheets in the first free practice session. Lucky’s time of 2’25.530s held firm throughout the whole day. Three other riders managed to lap within the same second. Andy Muhammad Fadly was second fastest with 2’25.617s. Lucky’s team mate Irfan Ardiansyah was third with 2’25.637s and Muklada Sarapuech from team A.P. Honda Racing Thailand fourth with 2’25.886s. Kawasaki rider Aiki Iyoshi led the second group with 2’26.321s. Iyoshi placed fifth fastest ahead of Awhin Sanjaya, Sethu Rajiv, Rey Ratukore, Mohd MuzakkirMohamed and Suttipat Patchaeetron. For Sethu Rajiv in particular, a seventh placing on the combined timesheets is a personal best, especially against a 25-rider grid.

Challenging itself to strive to develop world class iconic motorsport riders and team mechanics from India, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd has reinforced its commitment on its direction which is ‘To develop iconic Indian riders for National and International Championships’ with a more aggressive three-pronged approach. In 2019, team IDEMITSU Honda Racing India is aiming to emerge as a tough challenger in the Asia Production 250cc class. Leading the battle will be the experienced Rajiv Sethu for whom this will be his third consecutive season in the ARRC, Rajiv has shown consistent improvement sincehis ARRC debut in 2017. Backing up Rajiv as team mate is 17 year old Senthil Kumar. In 2018, Senthil showed promising results in his debut year the Thai Talent Cup.

A love for speed seems to be hereditary. Rider’s sons aspiring to become successful riders like famous fathers are nothing new in the motorsports industry. Therefore, it came as no surprise to former Malaysian GP rider Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini when young Shahrol Syazras Shahrol Yuzy decided to put on his racing boots to follow in the footsteps of his father. “When I was a kid, I would say I was rather indifferent to the sport. I knew what my father did for a living, but motorsports was something that was just there,” said 17-year-old Syazras. “It wasn’t until I started following my father to the PETRONAS Malaysian Cub Prix Championship races that I became intrigued. That was when I started pestering him for a bike of my own.” Lucky enough to have a father who runs his own national and Asian team, Syazras is racing in the Asia Production 250cc class of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. “I did nothing to encourage my son to race. He was just exposed to the racing environment. His interest in the sport developed naturally from there,” said Yuzy. During the pre-season test ahead of Round 1, Syazras was 18th fastest out of 26 bikes. His best time, 2’34.918s, was 9.184 seconds behind provisional class leader Andy Muhammad Fadly. However, the daunting prospect of starting the race from the lower end of the grid has not dampened Syazras’s enthusiasm. “My father is always telling me that I must improve on my rolling speed and to be more aggressive at the corners. We have not set any targets for 2019. This year’s objective is to learn.” Indeed, under his father’s tutelage, Syazras is on an accelerated learning curve. “The Asia Production 250 class is just as competitive as the Underbone 150. At 17, Syazras fits better into the age-median in the 250 class as opposed to the Underbone category. My one regret is that I did not allow him to start racing sooner. That was the reason we decided on the 250 category, to enable him to catch up despite a relatively late start into the sport.”

Asia Production 250cc champions, Astra Honda Racing Team, will be in the hunt for their third consecutive title in 2019 with a revamped team line-up.   2018 AP250 winner Rheza Danica Ahrens will take on a new challenge in the SuperSports 600cc, teaming up with Andi Farid Izdihar.   In the Asia Production 250cc, the Indonesian team will be banking on Awhin Sanjaya, Irfan Ardiansyah and Lucky Hendriansya to score a title hattrick.   Since 2017, the Astra Honda Racing Team has had tremendous success with the homegrown talents that begin their racing career in the Astra Honda Racing School.