Asia Production 250

AP Honda Racing Thailand rider Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi picked up where he left off from the free practice sessions to clinch his first Asia Production 250cc pole position.   Banking on homeground advantage and a wealth of data from the Chang International Circuit, Kritchaporn dominated the first day of free practice and proceeded to do the same with a new lap record 1’52.339s to take pole position in the Qualifying.   Anupab Sarmoon, fighting to stay in second overall position in the Asia Production 250cc, managed a last-gasp flying lap to join his compatriot on the front row with the second fastest time of 1’52.735s. Only three riders lapped below the 1’53s mark. Andy Muhammad Fadly from the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing team was the fastest Indonesian on the grid. He qualified third fastest with 1’52.787s.

The Thai riders on the Asia Production 250cc grid made full use of their homeground advantage to come up tops in the first day of free practices at the final round of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.   Racing at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit, AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi topped the timesheets for the first time as the quickest man of the day with 1’52.997s. The Honda rider broke the previous 1’53.064s lap record set by Anupab Sarmoon in Round 1.   Even though the Asia Production 250cc title is now safely in the hands of Rheza Danica Ahrens, the level of competition in the class had not abated. The top-10 riders of the day all managed to lap within a second of each other. Anupab Sarmoon from the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team was second quickest with 1’53.089s followed by Kawasaki’s Andy Muhammad Fadly in third with 1’53.339s.   Mario Suryo Aji, eager to redeem himself after a double crash weekend in the previous round in Indonesia, posted fourth fastest with 1’53.598s. Mario will need to repeat his double podium performance here at the Chang International Circuit to stand a chance of finishing the season in second overall.   Peerapong Boonlert clocked in fifth fastest with 1’53.643s while Round 1 winner Muklada Sarapuech was sixth.   Uncharacteristically, Rheza Danica Ahrens only logged the tenth fastest time of the day with 1’53.859s.

Now that Rheza Danica Ahrens and the Astra Honda Racing Team have got the Asia Production 250cc rider and team trophies in the bag, what’s left for the sophomore class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship as it heads to its final round in Buriram this coming December 1 and 2?   As it turns out, plenty! Only four points separate Anupab Sarmoon and Mario Suryo Aji in the fight for second overall position. Awhin Sanjaya, Rafid Topan Sucipto, and Andy Muhammad Fadly are also in the running to finish as the first runner up. Currently standing seventh overall in the rankings, Muklada Sarapuech, also has a shot at leapfrogging up the ladder.   Of the two main contenders Anupab and Mario, the Indonesian rookie has had the more consistent podium record (six podiums so far) while Anupab will be banking on the home ground advantage.

The Korea Motorcycle Federation (KMF) is forging ahead with preparations for the introduction of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam. Chief among them are the efforts to prepare South Korean riders to take their place among the best riders in Asia. As such, the KMF has entered a South Korean rider to wildcard in the Asia Production 250cc class at the season finale in Thailand this coming December 1 and 2, 2018. 33-year-old Kim Woo Jung is the reigning national champion in South Korea. The KMF has negotiated for a wildcard rider for Kim with the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing. This means that Kim will temporarily become team mates with Andi Muhammad Fadly.

The Astra Hondas were again untouchable in Race 2 at Sentul, as Rheza Danica Ahrens and Awhin Sanjaya steamed away from the rest of the field, initially with team-mate Mario Suryo Aji, who then fell out of the reckoning for the third race in succession. Awhin made another perfect start to lead off the line, followed by Andy Fadly, Mario, Anuparb Sarmoon and Rheza, who messed up his launch once again. By lap two it was an Astra Honda 1-2-3, with Fadly and Rafid Topan Sucipto making determined efforts to spoil the party. Anuparb fell back into the clutches of a chasing group of seven bikes led by Muklada Sarapuech. Just as it looked like an Astra Honda podium lockout, Mario crashed heavily at Turn 9 on lap eight of 12, leaving Fadly and Rafid to dispute third. On the last lap, assumptions of team orders that would see Awhin make way for Rheza to win were dismissed, as the team-mates swapped positions and snapped at each other. Awhin got the better of his team-mate on this occasion to take his first AP250 win. Rheza looked displeased on the slowing down lap, though a smile made it to his face as the fact he had won the title began to sink in. Fadly got the better of Rafid to join the podium, while Muklada again shrugged off her left wrist injury to win a hard fight for fifth from wildcard, Sigit Purno Harjono, Anuparb, Anggi Setiawan, Rey Ratukore, Yossie Legisadewo, M. Faerozi and Nico Julian, and Peerapong Boonlert who were all split by just 1.5 seconds on the line. With Rheza already declared champion with 193 points and Mario’s misfortunes, Anuparb moves into second place on 126 points, four ahead of Mario, while Awhin has 117, and Rafid 113.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The anticipated sixth consecutive win from Rheza Danica Ahrens did not materialize in Race 2 of the Asia Production 250cc category. The Astra Honda Racing Team’s rampage in the Asia Production 250cc class came to an abrupt end when both their top riders crashed out of Race 2 at the Madras Motor Race Track. The Astra Honda Racing Team’s winning streak was finally routed when two out of their three riders crashed out in Race 2. Rheza had a bad start from pole position, allowing Rey Ratukore to steal the holeshot. However, Rey was unable to fend off a revigorated Anupab Sarmoon who went out on Race 2 fitted with a brand new engine. Rheza began making progress as he fought to stay relevant in the front group. By Lap 3, he had gone up to third while behind him, his reliable team mate Mario Suryo Aji crashed out. A lap later, Rheza picked up another spot, overtaking Rafid Topan to get in behind the leading Anupab. Meanwhile, Andy Muhammad Fadly had gone from P13 to P4 within the space of five laps. As the race progressed, the front group became increasingly crowded instead of thinning out. On Lap 8, Rafid Topan, Anupab Sarmoon, Peerapong Boonlert, a very aggressive Andy Muhammad Fadly and Rey Ratukore began trading spots at each corner. Fadly ran wide on Lap 10, which momentarily pushed him down to P5. Up in front, Lap 11 became a Rafid-Anupab battleground as things got serious in the closing stages of the race. By the final lap, there was still no clear winner for the AP250 Race 2. Any one of the top five were capable of claiming the chequered flag. In the heat of the battle, Rheza low-sided out of the race while up in front, a daring Fadly took a bold outside racing line and almost caused a crash with Rafid Topan Sucipto as both determined riders bumped shoulders. However, Rafid Topan was able to hold on to his advantage to take the first AP250 win of his career. Andy Muhammad Fadly’s second place was also his best finishing in the class to date. Anupab Sarmoon, who was clearly gunning for the win, had to be contended with third place. The winning trio was followed by a mixed group of riders – Rey Ratukore in fourth followed by Peerapong Boonlert fifth. AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Tatchakorn Busari, replacement for the injured Muklada Sarapuech, finished a very impressive sixth while Awhin Sanjaya was the sole finisher for the Astra Honda Racing Team in seventh. Anggi Setiawan, Richard Taroreh and Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi completed the top 10. More progress was seen further down the grid as Vietnamese rider Cao Viet Nam inches closer to the top 10. He finished 11th ahead of Malaysian rookies Daniel Syahmi, Hafiza Rofa, and Mohd Khairul Ikhwan Ajis. Team One For All’s Takashi Suzuki picked up the final point from the race.