Asia Production 250

Race 2 of the Asia Production 250cc class was a showcase performance between the two main actors of the 2016 season – incoming champion Apiwat Wongthananon and 2015 winner Takehiro Yamamoto. The two top riders quickly established themselves as the pace setters for the 10-lap Asia Production 250cc race. The two rivals worked together effectively and pulled away from the chasing group. Behind them, Malaysian rookie Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin, who started the race from the back of the grid due to a race-start infringement penalty, stole the limelight when he made up 26 spots within a lap to reach P3 at the end of Lap 1. As the race progressed, the Apiwat-Yamamoto collaboration had created a 3.7s gap at the front by Lap 4. Kasma was left fighting for third position against two other Yamaha Thailand Racing riders, Anupab Sarmoon and Peerapong Loiboonpeng. The jousting sticks came out for real at the final lap. Apiwat burst out of Yamamoto’s slipstream and dug deep for an extra burst of speed to the finish line. The Thai rider came near to scoring a perfect season as he took his ninth victory of 2016 with a time of 19’25.546s. Takehiro Yamamoto confirmed his position in second overall when he took second place with 19’26.248s. Behind the leading duo, Indonesian rider Imanuel Putra Pratna had a surprise in store when he out-sprinted Anupab and Kasma to finish third with a time of 19’26.062s. The outcome from the final race of the season saw Apiwat toting up 246 points this season. Yamamoto notched up 171 points while Anupab Sarmoon finished third overall with 166 points. Similarly, team Yamaha Thailand Racing took home the team award trophy with 279 points. Trickstar Racing was second overall with 177 points and AP Honda Thailand ended the season in third overall with 137 points.

In the Asia Production 250cc category, Yamaha Thailand Racing’s Anupab Sarmoon continued in the on-going trend of first-time winners during Race 1 for the final leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Often overshadowed by his more flamboyant team mate Apiwat Wongthananon, Anupab Sarmoon finally came into his own when he deftly sidestepped a big collision among the front runners to emerge winner of Race 1 with 19’38.679s. Anupab paced consistently within the front group in the Asia Production 250cc Race 1, even as Takehiro Yamamoto, Apiwat Wongthananon, and Malaysia’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin stole the limelight with their lead-swapping from one corner to another. The aggressive riding in the front group eventually saw a big crash two corners to the chequered flag involving Kasma, Yamamoto and Apiwat. Anupab brought the rest of the group to the finish line, trailed by team mate Peerapong Loiboonpeng and Yusuke Nakamura who finished second and third with race times of 19’38.897s and 19’39.440s respectively. “I think that I was really lucky to avoid the crash. I was at the right place, at the right time, to take full advantage of the situation,” said Anupab. The Thai rider’s first win of the season has propelled him to second overall in the riders’ standings with 153 points. 2015 champion Yamamoto dropped to third overall with 151 points.

There were no surprises in store for the Asia Production 250cc riders. Apiwat Wongthananon, clearly in a league of his own, qualified uncontested at the top of the timing sheets. The Yamaha Thailand Racing star rider went progressively faster throughout the qualifying session, ending the 30-minute session with 01’55.203s as the pole sitter for the final races of the 2016 season. A last-minute dash to the chequered flag saw Takehiro Yamamoto pip Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama to the finish line. Yamamoto will start the race from second on the grid with 01’55.427s, relegating Galang to third spot with 01’55.809s. “The grid was too crowded, that is why I couldn’t beat the time I set during the free practice. I had barely enough room to enter the corners. Everyone was crowding me,” said Apiwat. The Thai rider further explained that he is still working so hard because he wants to dedicate the double victory to Thailand’s new King On second row, Vorapong Malahuan will be facing competition from two strong Japanese riders. Ayumu Tanaka who was fifth fastest of the day would be eager to help his team mate retain his second overall position. Akeno Speed’s Soichiro Minamimoto, clocked sixth fastest with 01’56.008s.

2016 Asia Production 250cc Champion notwithstanding, Yamaha Thailand Racing’s Apiwat Wongthananon has entered the final leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship with guns blazing. Not one for resting on his laurels, Apiwat looks set to extend his winning margin when he posted the fastest lap time during the first day of free practice. At 01’53.920s, Apiwat’s best lap has placed him a hefty 1.674 seconds faster than the rest of the grid. Indonesia’s Galang Hendra Pratama, who finished the day as the second fastest rider of the intermediate class, posted only 01’55.594s. 2015 champion Takehiro Yamamoto crossed the finish line as the third fastest rider with 01’55.968s. However, the 22-year-old Apiwat has admitted that he is still in search of more speed. “We decided to use a new engine for the second practice. Getting the set up right was a bit of a challenge but it looks like we may have found the right combination for the track condition at this time of the year. I am very satisfied with our progress today and I’m looking forward to squeezing out an even faster time during the qualifying session,” said Apiwat. Behind the top three riders, AP Honda’s Sitthisak Onchawiang posted fourth fastest with 01’55.976s while Yamamoto’s team mate, Ayumu Tanaka, rounded up the top five with 01’56.059s.