Asia Production 250

If he wasn’t already a force to be reckoned with, expect Thai ace Apiwat Wongthananon to be even more formidable in the Indian round of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Apiwat’s noteworthy performance in the Asia Production 250cc class this season has prompted Yamaha to send him for the second edition of the Yamaha-VR46 Master Camp. 22 year old Apiwat missed out on the first training camp due to the imposed age limit for the participants of the camp. However, the Yamaha motorsports management team had obviously taken note of Apiwat’s results this season. To his delight, Apiwat joined Peerapong Loiboonpeng, Galang Hendra Pratama, Imanuel Putra Pratna, Soichiro Minamimoto and Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin for the second Yamaha-VR46 Master Camp held in Tavullia, Italy from September 15 to 19, 2016. “For me, it was the first time to come here and experience the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp. I felt I was increasing my level and doing better day by day. I will go back to Thailand to develop myself there and benefit from everything I learned. I want to thank Yamaha and VR46 for this incredible opportunity of coming here. Today I felt that I was able to take the next step and I want to thank everyone who helped me do so.

Overview: Thai ace Apiwat Wongthananon was made to work hard for his victory in Round 2 of the Asia Production 250cc. However, the Yamaha Racing Thailand rider was made to work hard for his sixth win of the season, having to overcome strong opposition from his Japanese and Indonesian rivals. The drama in the Asia Production 250cc Race 2 began even before the race start when Galang Hendra Pratama was seen to pit-in at the end of the sighting lap. Luckily for the Yamaha Racing Indonesia rider, he was able to re-enter the track before the pit lane was closed, and managed to return to his spot in the middle of the front row. Race Start: Galang got off to a great start when he led the group into Turn 1 but Apiwat managed to muscle past. Lap 1: Galang, Apiwat and Vorapong Malahuan were the early leaders in the race. Gupita Kresna Wardhana of Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing suffered an engine failure and was forced to return to the pit. Ayumu Tanaka lost control and slipped out of the race. The TRICKSTAR Racing rider was able to get back on board, but was left far behind by the group. Lap 2 and Lap 3: Galang retains his lead position across the finish line. After all, this was the circuit where Galang learnt to race. Imanuel Putra Pratna, Apiwat Wongthananon, Takehiro Yamamoto and Anupab Sarmoon made up the rest of the leading group were in hot pursuit. Yamamoto managed to squeeze his way into the lead, taking Anupab with him. Galang lost his position even as the action hots up when Imanuel sprinted past Anupab while Apiwat also injects himself into the mayhem. Lap 4: Yamamoto gained a small advantage as he led the group at the end of Lap 4. But Apiwat soon begins to apply pressure on his Japanese rival, eventually taking over the lead for a few corners. Lap 5: After a strong start, Galang had disappeared from the radar but another Indonesian rider, Imanuel Putra Pratna, stepped up to the plate. Imanuel led Apiwat, Yamamoto, Vorapong and Yusuke Nakamura across the finish line. At Turn 1, Nakamura edged into second place but was unable to retaliate when Apiwat took back the position and made it stick. Lap 6: Still trying hard, Nakamura broke out of the slip stream and dived for the lead at Turn 1, carrying Yamamoto in his slipstream. At Turn 2, Yamamoto who was racing in a very pro-active manner, pushed past Nakamura. By now, the riders at the front end of the battle had undergone a complete change. Galang Hendra Pratana showed up at the front for a few brief moments but it is now the Japanese riders who are dominant on the Sentul track. Lap 7: With a mere 0.355s lead, Yamamoto was having a hard time keeping his Yamaha rivals at bay. Lap 7 saw Imanuel and Apiwat taking over the front end. Lap 8: The battle for P1 was fought out among 12 riders. Yamamoto responded to the Yamaha charge but had a hard time running away from Apiwat and Imanuel. Lap 9 to 11: The race finally settled into a familiar formation with Yamamoto and Apiwat once again duking it out for the win while Imanuel Putra Pratna and Yusuke Nakamura hovered in the background hoping to take advantage of any opening in either lead rider’s racing line. At the last lap, Apiwat braked hard into the chicane, arguably the hardest part of the course. Yamamoto had no response for that daring move. Lap 12: After shaking Yamamoto loose, Apiwat sprinted to the finish line in first place with 21’51.097s, only 0.098s ahead of second-placed Yamamoto. In third place, Nakamura outwitted Imanuel Putra Pratna for the final spot on the podium. Championship Standings: Apiwat is now a full 36 points ahead in the Asia Production 250cc standings. The Yamaha Thailand Racing rider holds 171 points to Yamamoto’s 135 points. Peerapong Loiboonpeng is third overall with 104 points. Riders Quote: Apiwat Wongthananon, Yamaha Thailand Racing, Winner: I am very happy I was able to make a comeback after yesterday’s engine failure. Everything went perfectly to script today and I want to thank everyone for their support. Takehiro Yamamoto, TRICKSTAR Racing, 2nd place: All throughout the race, Apiwat was braking very hard. He was also shadowing me everywhere. I tried to out-brake him, but at the final lap, I didn’t have enough time to respond. Yusuke Nakamura, Akeno Speed WJR Racing, 3rd place: My first podium of the season! This had been a tough but satisfactory race for me.

TRICKSTAR Racing’s Takehiro Yamamoto got in touch with his aggressive side and pulled off a stunning win during Race 1 for the Asia Production 250cc class in Sentul, Indonesia. Starting the race from pole position, Yamamoto was unable to retain his lead against strong competition from Vorapong Malahuan, Imanuel Putra and Galang Hendra Pratama. The Japanese rider hunkered down into the leading group as one by one, riders dropped out in the heat of the race. Five laps in, Galang Hendra Pratama who stunned the grid with his blazing fast pace during the first day of practice retired on Lap 5 due to engine failure. Championship leader Apiwat Wongthananon who was challenging for the lead in the early stages of the race lost pace during the last few laps. With 5 laps remaining on the pit wall, Yamamoto emerged from the group to mount a campaign for the win. The position-swapping among the 6-rider lead group continued right up to the final lap. With one last burst of speed, Yamamoto managed to break out of the slipstream and sprinted to the finish line to steal his second win of the season with a time of 21’21.719s. In his wake, Thai team mates Vorapong Malahuan and Somkiat Chantra from AP Honda Racing Thailand finished second and third respectively. Apiwat Wongthananon is still in the lead with 146 points when he finished sixth in the race. Yamamoto also stays in second overall with 115 points followed by Peerapong Loiboonpeng third overall with 93 points.

For the first time this season, Indonesian rider Galang Hendra Pratama topped the Asia Production 250cc timesheets. To sweeten the deal, the Yamaha Racing Indonesia rider also created a new lap record at the 3.964km Sentul Circuit where Round 4 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is taking place. Having been outshone by high profile rivals Takehiro Yamamoto and Apiwat Wongthananon for the first half of the season, Galang rocketed into the lead when he clocked 1’44.229s during the second practice session and effectively erased Yamamoto’s lap record by almost a full second. “We had an engine problem during the first practice. We’re still not sure what the problem is, so the team decided to change the engine entirely rather than waste more time on diagnosis. It proved to be the right decision as the bike performed perfectly in the second session. This has boost my confidence level and I hope to continue this momentum into the qualifying session and the two races,” said Galang. Defending champion Yamamoto ended the day as the second fastest rider with 1’44.822s while the championship leader Apiwat Wongthananon was third fastest with 1’45.204s. Galang’s team mate Rey Ratukore also made it into the top five when he posted the fourth fastest time of 1’45.634s. Thailand’s Anupab Sarmoon was fifth fastest.

Yamaha Thailand Racing’s golden rider, Apiwat Wongthananon, scored his second double-win of the season at the Suzuka Circuit, host to Round 3 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Race 2 in the Asia Production 250cc category unfolded according to script for the Thai rider when a good start placed him at the front of the group with Takehiro Yamamoto and Ayumu Tanaka. The remainder of the 8-lap race progressed in a similar pattern to Race 1 with Apiwat cooly dealing with pressure from the two Japanese aces. The race was again won at the last chicane when Apiwat slipped past Yamamoto and sprinted to the finish line with a time of 20’07.079ss. The frustrated team mates Yamamoto and Tanaka were again forced to accept their second and third place positions with times of 20’07.495s and 20’07.692s respectively. “Race 2 was a little easier because Takahashi Yasuda never made it to the front group. In Race 1, I had to deal with a 3-on-1 situation but today, it was just two against one. My race strategy was set very early in the race when I saw that Yamamoto had not learnt his lessons from Race 1. He was still displaying the same weakness at the chicane. I knew then that if I kept up the pressure, he would run wide at the last lap,” said Apiwat. This latest victory is Apiwat’s fifth win in the 2016 season so far. The Thai rider has collected 136 points after three rounds and is sitting pretty at the top with a 46-point margin ahead of Yamamoto.

Thai rider Apiwat Wongthananon has earned a reputation as a highly aggressive competitor in 2016. Over the first two legs of the season, Apiwat’s hard-charging racing style had often seen the 22-year-old skating dangerously close to sanctioning. However, in the Asia Production 250cc Race 1 at the Suzuka leg (Round 3) of the season, Apiwat proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was able to take as good as he gives when it comes to absorbing pressure from his rivals. Rival team Trickstar Racing approached their home ground race with full intention of turning the tables on the Thai riders. The Japanese team placed three riders on the Asia Production 250cc grid and throughout the first day of practice, team strategy was visibly in play. Defending champion Takehiro Yamamoto earned the right to park his bike on pole position, alongside team mate Ayumu Tanaka and Indonesia’s Imanuel Putra Pratna on the front row. Apiwat was relegated to the second row with Reynaldo Ratukore and wildcard rider Toshihiro Nakazawa. The Thai rider quickly made up for lost ground at the start of the race and waded into the front pack that was being dominated by the three Kawasaki Trickstar riders. He patiently bided his time until Yamamoto made a critical mistake at the final chicane and barrelled past the defending champion to win the 8-lap race with a time of 20’08.466s. Trickstar team mates Takehiro Yamamoto and Takashi Yasuda had to be content with second and third positions respectively. “This is my first win in Suzuka and needless to say I am really happy about my results today. It was obvious that the Trickstar riders were out to edge me out of the podium but I tried to keep my calm and plan my race accordingly,” said Apiwat. Apiwat’s position at the top of the 250cc rankings is further cemented as he now leads with 111 points. Peerapong Loiboonpeng maintained his second overall position with 85 points while Yamamoto climbed up two notches to third overall with 70 points.

Relieved to be back on homeground after two tough races in Malaysia and Thailand, Trickstar Racing duo Takehiro Yamamoto and Ayumu Tanaka dominated the first day of Asia Production 250cc practices at the Suzuka leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The two Kawasaki riders consistently snared the 1-2 positions in all three free practice sessions. Defending champion Yamamoto was the fastest rider of the day with 2’30.451s followed by Tanaka second fastest with 2’31.034s. The mercurial Apiwat Wongthananon was third fastest with 2’31.130s and will provisionally join his Japanese rivals on the front row. Apiwat’s team mate Anupab Sarmoon logged 2’32.217s as the fourth fastest rider in the 29-rider grid followed by local wildcards Takashi Yasuda fifth fastest with 2’32.558s and Toshihiro Nakazawa sixth fastest with 2’32.593s. Indonesia’s Rey Ratukore, Thailand’s Peerapong Loiboonpeng and Vorapong Malahuan, as well as Galang Hendra Pratama completed the top-10 in the combined practice results.

Official Statement FIM Asia Road Racing Championship On Sunday May 8, 2016 during Race 2 of the Asia Production 250cc, the Race Direction received an official protest from Yamaha Finson Racing team manager that Rider #24 Apiwat Wongthananon produced unsporting behavior towards Rider #127 Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin. A Race Direction hearing was convened with the rider #24 and the team manager in attendance. The Race Direction, after deliberation, sanctioned Rider number #24 of the Asia Production 250cc with the deduction of 5 Championship points and the race position will remain. Within 30 minutes rider #24 and his team manager made an official appeal to the Jury panel. The Jury panel consisting of Mr. Onny Padmo (Jury President), Mr. Amit Arora (Jury member) and Mr. Barry Russell (FMNR Jury member) then held a hearing with the attendance of rider #24 and team manager. After the hearing, the Jury panel’s decision was to cancel Race Direction’s decision and reinstate the 5 championship points to rider #24 as a race incident with no intention. The Race Direction has 5 days from 8th of May to appeal to FIM Asia Disciplinary Board on the decision of the Jury Panel.