Asia Production 250

AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Muklada Sarapuech continues to make waves. The 2015 Asia Dream Cup Champion made history again in Round 1 of the 2018 Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand when she became the first female rider to win the Asia Production 250cc class. Muklada, who received two sanctions after Race 1, put in a clean and faultless performance in Race 2 as she weaved, dodged, feinted and parried against the rest of the boys. The AP Honda Thailand rider led the group across the start/finish line from Lap 2 to Lap 6. The pressure sent her off the track limits on Lap 7. But this time, Muklada was careful to rejoin without gaining any advantage. That single mistake had sent Muklada from third to eleventh. With only two laps to go, Muklada overtook three riders to reach P7 on the penultimate lap, and another five riders to take the win with 19’11.671s. Rafid Topan Sucipto crafted a great comeback by finishing second followed by Kanatat Jaiman in third. Peerapong Boonlert, the fastest rider in Race 2, ended the race in fourth. Race 1 winner Anupab Sarmoon crossed the finish line in fifth. As the season opener drew to a close, Anupab Sarmoon holds the championship lead with 36 points. Muklada is tied in second with Rafid Topan – each with 31 points apiece.   Asia Production 250cc Fastest Lap Summary FP Mario Suryo Aji 1’53.106 QP Anupab Sarmoon 1’53.064 R1 Mario Suryo Aji 1’53.603 R2 Peerapong Boonlert 1’53.356

Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s Anupab Sarmoon, a fourth-season contender in the Asia Production 250cc class, drew on every ounce of his experience to come up tops in the first race of the season. The Asia Production 250cc class had always been notorious for its no-holds-barred dogfight at the sharp end of the grid. With 13 riders battling for P1 in a 10-lap melee to the finish line, the polesitter found himself fending off attacks at every corner from the likes of Muklada Sarapuech, newcomer Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi, Indonesia’s Rheza Danica Ahrens, and Andy Muhammad Fadly. With no particular rider dominating the 10-lap race, the notorious last corner at the Chang International Circuit became the deciding factor of the race. Anupab nimbly avoided a particularly aggressive move from Muklada Sarapuech who had earlier succeeded in forcing Mario Suryo Aji off the racing line. The Yamaha rider then neatly held his lines to the finish line to pick up his first win of the season with 19’14.601s. Muklada was second across the chequered flag followed by MarioSuryo Aji. However, Muklada’s actions from Turn 9 to Turn 10 had prompted an immediate investigation into the results. Consequently, race officials penalized the AP Honda Thailand rider and she dropped five positions to P7. Muklada was further fined with a 3-point championship points deduction for unsporting behaviour. Mario was promoted to P2, followed by his team mate Rheza Danica Ahrens in third.

Just one day into the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, and Asia Production 250cc debutant Mario Suryo Aji has earned a new nickname from Asian racing fans – Super Mario. Officially the youngest rider to ever race in the Asia Production 250cc class, the Astra Honda Racing Team rookie pulled off a double-stunner during the free practice sessions. Not only did he post the fastest time in the intermediary class – 1’53.106s – but he also created a new circuit record in the process. This was the first time a debutant had entered the competitive race category and created such big waves. Anupab Sarmoon, heavily tipped as the hot favourite for the title this season, was second quickest with 1’53.250s. Former Moto2 rider Rafid Topan Sucipto was third fastest with 1’53.389s. Mario’s performance has again put much pressure on his senior team mate Rheza Danica Ahrens, viewed by many as the successor to Gerry Salim’s title. Rheza was fourth fastest at the end of the free practice sessions with 1’53.466s followed by Muklada Sarapuech fifth fastest. In fact, all the ten fastest riders in the class were only separated by a single second. Kanata Jaiman, Peerapong Boonlert, Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi, Andy Muhammad Fadly and AwhinSanjaya piled into the second half of the top ten.

With the top honours in the Asia Production 250cc category taken up by Astra Honda Racing Team’s Gerry Salim, former title contenders Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha Thailand Racing) and Tomoyoshi Koyama (RAMA Honda) were left squabbling for second overall position.   Race 2 of the Asia Production 250cc category flagged off without Race 1 winner Rheza Danica Ahrens. The Astra Honda Racing Team rider, team mate to Gerry Salim, crashed during the Sunday morning warmup. The resulting broken collarbone kept him off the racing track.   Without the pressure of the title chase on his shoulders, Gerry Salim looked supremely relaxed for the last race of the season. Meanwhile, Anupab and Koyama braced for a titanic battle in the race to finish second overall.   Anupab leapt into the holeshot but was unable to keep his advantage for more than a corner. Despite starting the race from second row, Koyama was able to challenge Anupab for the lead by the middle of the first lap. The two familiar rivals locked horns for the full 10 laps, racing side-by-side to the finish line. Koyama stormed into the win in first place with 19’09.799s, a mere 0.040 seconds ahead of Anupab.   Behind the two riders, AP Honda Racing Team’s Muklada Sarapuech gave her best ARRC performance to date. Muklada held her own in a 7-bike swarm consisting of Gerry Salim, Peerapong Luiboonpeng, Peerapong Boonlert, Vorapong Malahuan, Awhin Sanjaya, and Galang Hendra Pratama. Muklada would have scored her first Asia Production 250cc podium at Race 2 if not for a mistake that ran her wide on the final lap.   Gerry Salim capitalized on Muklada’s mistake and slipped into third place with 19’17.532s. Peerapong Luiboonpeng, Peerapong Boonlert, Vorapong Malahuan and Awhin Sanjaya finished fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Muklada dropped to eighth.   Gerry’s third place finish, his eighth podium of the season, solidified his status as 2017 Asia Production 250cc champion with 215 points. Koyama and Anupab tied with 188 points each but the Japanese rider won second overall position after having secured two wins ahead of Anupab’s one.   The Astra Honda Racing Team, 2017 Asia Production 250cc Team Champions, brought their points haul to a total of 257 points at the final count. Teams Rama Honda and Yamaha Thailand Racing were also tied with 188 points but the advantage went to the Honda outfit with more wins.

After a season’s worth of suspense and drama, young Indonesian rider Gerry Salim finally sealed the Asia Production 250cc title at the grand finale of the 2017 Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The Astra Honda Racing Team’s latest racing star finished fourth in Race 1 and picked up just enough points to end the title chase with one race to spare.   The 10-lap race started with Yamaha Racing Thailand’s polesitter and title contender Anupab Sarmoon looking strong as he led the 33-bike grid into Turn 1. However, Tomoyoshi Koyama of team RAMA Honda was not about to let Anupab run riot over the race.   While the two riders swapped leads at the front of the pack, Gerry was riding under the radar in sixth. On Lap 6, Gerry’s team mate, Rheza Danica Ahrens caught up with the leading duo and turned the fight for the podium into a 3-way battle. Racing against two aggressive rivals, Rheza made up for his lack of experience with a gritty display of talent. The 19-year-old truly earned his racing stripes when he out-raced Anupab to the finish line.   After winning three podium finishes in 2017 so far, Rheza finally won his first ARRC race with 19’07.754s. Anupab finished second with 19’07.965s and Koyama third with 19’08.111s.   Behind the three leaders, Gerry left it up to the final lap before he attempted to break out of the middle group. From sixth on Lap 9, Gerry blazed his way up to fourth at the chequered flag with 19’14.884s.   With that, Gerry became the first Indonesian to win an ARRC title outside of the Underbone class. The 199 points he has to his name has given him a 31-point margin ahead of Anupab. This will leave Anupab and Koyama scrabbling for second overall in Race 2. Anupab is second overall with 168 points. Koyama is third with 163 points.

The last qualifying session of the year for the Asia Production 250cc category also yielded one of the most dramatic results. The only thing that went according to script was Anupab Sarmoon’s ability to turn the home ground advantage to his benefit. Muklada Sarapuech pulled off a fast lap to qualify on front row for the first time in her ARRC career while championship leader Gerry Salim defied the odds to retain his front row start position.   The Thai riders had been a formidable force in the final round. Anupab lived up to expectations when he posted 1’53.522s during the Asia Production 250cc category.   AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Muklada Sarapuech managed a scintillating lap during the qualifier – 1’54.070s – and earned the right to park her bike second on the grid.   Gerry Salim highsided at Turn 1 during the opening laps of the qualifying practice. Some frantic work in the pit from the Astra Honda Racing Team engineers brought Gerry out on track in time to put in a couple of quick laps, fast enough to put him third on the grid with 1’54.200s.     Among the three title contenders, Anupab looks to have the bigger advantage, having consistently improved on his laptimes from the first free practice onwards. Tomoyoshi Koyama will start the race from sixth on the grid.    

AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Vorapong Malahuan took the first provisional pole of his ARRC career at the finale of the 2017 Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Racing on home ground had boosted Vorapong’s confidence level, resulting in the quickest laptime of the day, 1’54.097s.   The Thai rider had shown early indication that he would be a potential candidate for a podium finish this weekend when he was also second fastest during the first free practice session. Vorapong’s time was 0.353s quicker than the three championship leaders who paced in behind him.   Title contenders Gerry Salim, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Anupab Sarmoon were second, third and fourth fastest after clocking 1’54.450s, 1’54.557s and 1’54.726s respectively in the combined practice timesheets.   However, the Asia Production 250cc lap record at the Chang International Circuit, 1’53.464s currently held by Takehiro Yamamoto, remains unbroken.