Asia Superbike 1000

ASB1000 defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman is under no illusion about just how challenging the year ahead is going to be. The Malaysian rider who entered the history books as the first ASB1000 champion in 2019, has renewed his partnership with the ONEXOX BMW TKKR SAG Team for the 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Even as Azlan prepares to don the green-and-black of TKKR for one more season, there had been many changes within the team’s structure and also in the ASB1000 class itself. Azlan’s success in 2019 had brought BMW factory support to the ONEXOX BMW TKKR SAG Team. Along with the factory support comes a team mate, WSBK rider Markus Reiterberger who will certainly be arriving with his eyes on the main prize. “I’m very sure the 2020 season will be a fight from start to finish. Look at the quality of bikes and riders listed in the Entry List. We have WSBK riders like Markus and Lorenzo Zanetti entering the Asian race. Domestically, my compatriot Zaqhwan Zaidi will be competing astride the latest Honda CBR1000RR R Fireblade,” said Azlan. In fact, nearly half the 15-rider ASB1000 grid will be competing on the latest bike models. Zaqhwan’s team mate Gerry Salim will also be similarly equipped. Riders from the factory Yamahas – Broc Parkes, Yuki Ito, Apiwat Wongthananon and Anupab Sarmoon will take to the tarmac with the 2020 Yamaha YZF-R1M. For Team BMW, Azlan and his team mate Markus will be competing on the 2020 BMW S1000 RR. Azlan will need to bank on his strong track record at the 5.5km Sepang International Circuit to keep his winning edge. The BMW rider had won three out of four ASB1000 races held in Sepang to date.

Access Plus Racing-Okada Manila has confirmed that Lorenzo Zanetti will join their ASB1000 lineup this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The Ducati test rider was called as a stand in for Federico Sandi who’ll be unavailable during the Asia Road Racing Championship’s (ARRC) season opener on March 6 to 8. The Italian is a test rider for Ducati and contributed to the development of Panigale V4R for competition, thus making him a fitting substitute for Sandi. He brings with him over two decades’ worth of experience, with six seasons in the 125GP World Championship and nine in the Superbike World Championship where he landed 16 career podium finishes. With his vast knowledge on the Panigale V4R, Zanetti aims to provide reliable feedback to the team’s technicians. He also looks forward to bring the fight to the front on his ARRC debut with teammate Timothy Joseph “TJ” Alberto. The Asia Road Racing Championship’s 2020 calendar kicks off with a Pre-Season Test from March 2 to 4 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The first of seven rounds then follows from March 6 to 8 on the same venue. Lorenzo Zanetti: “It’s a pleasure to join the first round of ARRC this 2020 with Access Plus Racing. When the team and Ducati offered me this opportunity, I immediately accepted the offer. Although it’s not easy to come to the series just for one race, I believe that it’s possible to fight for a good position with help from Ducati. Thank you to the team for allowing me to race with them in Malaysia.” Access Plus Racing-Okada Manila is sponsored by Okada Manila, Essenza, Macbeth, Öhlins Philippines, AELLA, Lv8, and Standard Insurance, with Ducati Philippines for the team’s entry in ASB1000. For more info and the latest updates about the team, follow www.facebook.com/AccessPlusRacingPH/ on Facebook and riders www.facebook.com/TjAlberto7, www.facebook.com/Fedesandi23, and https://www.facebook.com/lorenzozanettiofficial/. [Photo courtesy of Ducati]

He began the season as the first rider to win the ASB1000 race in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. At the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, for the 2019 finale, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) closed the year on a high note with an imperious win to enter the history books as the first Asian Superbike Champion.   The ASB1000 action closed with an explosive final showdown with three riders still in the running at the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship finale in Thailand.   Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA), who still had an outside chance of creating a monumental upset, led the 12-rider grid on pole position. The Malaysian claimed his third of the season in Race 1 and still had a mathematical chance of creating an upset provided that both the main title contenders (Azlan and Broc) failed to collect any points from the second race.   Beside Zaqhwan, the man with the best chance for the title, Azlan Shah lined up on P2 while Broc Parkes (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN), still the championship leader after a disastrous Saturday, was a menacing presence on the second row.   Since the start of the ASB1000 class this season, the Chang International Circuit has turned out to be a happy hunting ground for the BMW. A confident Azlan darted into the lead at the start of the 13-lap race. Azlan was stalked by Zaqhwan in the first lap but a series of quick laps saw Azlan pulling ahead by 3.9 seconds by Lap 5. The Malaysian rider then produced a slew of inch-perfect defensive laps to keep his position at the front.   Behind Azlan, a bad start by Broc put his final campaign for the title on the back foot. On Lap 6, Broc was fifth on the track, trailing Azlan by a hefty 5.7 seconds, and it was becoming increasingly clear that Broc’s title hopes had evaporated.   Up in front, Azlan was in no mood to mess around. The BMW rider continued to plough through the remaining laps in perfect form until he stormed to his sixth win of the season with 20’57.034s. Zaqhwan was second across the line, five seconds behind Azlan followed by Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) in third.   In the final points tally, Azlan picked up his third Asian title with 238 points. Azlan was the 2013 and 2017 SuperSports 600cc champion. Broc ended the season in second with 225 points and Zaqhwan third with 211 points.   However, Broc’s determined racing had done enough to put Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN at the top of the team standings with 244 points. The nine points Broc collected allowed the Japanese team to deny the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team from taking yet another team title by three points.

The race to become the first FIM Asian ASB1000 champion has effectively narrowed to a shoot-out between Broc Parkes (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN) and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team).   The drama in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship’s premiere class took an unprecedented turn when neither championship leader gained the psychological advantage of a pole position start. Instead, the coveted pole fell into the hands of Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA).   A solid start by Zaqhwan placed him nominally in control but Zaqhwan lost position to a rapidly charging Apiwat Wongthananon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) at the end of the first lap. The two riders swapped places at the front until Zaqhwan was able to gain full control on Lap 5.   On the same lap, the title chase was turned on its head when Broc Parkes crashed out at the infamous Buriram last corner. The Australian rider rejoined the race in last place, a minute down from the rest of the group.   By Lap 7, Azlan had muscled his way past Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) and tucked into P3 behind Apiwat.   While Broc gamely tried to make up for lost ground, Zaqhwan was riding smooth and steady at the front of the group. The riders looked to be locked in position with Zaqhwan leading Apiwat and Azlan until the last lap when Apiwat crashed out of P2.   Zaqhwan went on to win the race with 20’56.778s. Azlan in second and Thitipong third made it a Honda-BMW-Kawasaki podium in Race 1.   Further down the group, Broc kept his title hopes alive when he picked up four points from P12.   With the gap between Broc and Azlan now narrowed to only three points, the stage is set for a showdown in the final race on Sunday.

Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA) is pulling out all the stops in his bid to defy the odds that are stacked against him in the ASB1000 title hunt. Zaqhwan, who still has an outside chance of becoming the first FIM Asian ASB1000 champion, has been working hard all weekend at the season finale to give himself every opportunity to turn the tables on championship leaders Broc Parkes (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN) and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team).   Zaqhwan was easily the most hard working rider in the ASB1000 qualifier. The Honda rider was out on track for most of the qualifying session and got onto the top of the leader board after 20 minutes. He became the first ASB1000 rider this weekend to lap below 1’36 when he posted 1’35.954s.   The final six minutes of the qualifier was where all the action happened. With four minutes left on the board, Zaqhwan posted another flying lap to take pole with 1’35.714s.   Azlan muscled his way up to P2 with 1’35.960s while Apiwat Wongthananon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) who had been consistent all weekend qualified for P3 with 1’36.132s. Championship leader Broc will head up the second row.

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) is taking no prisoners at the final round of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand as he tops the times with 1’36.123s. As Azlan prepares to engage in the final battle for the first ASB1000 title, this has given the Malaysian a 0.310s advantage over second place Broc Parkes (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN).   The fact that the Chang International Circuit was to be the host for the season finale has tipped the odds in Azlan’s favour. The Malaysian was virtually unchallenged at this 4.554km circuit at the previous meet in Round 3 when he converted pole position to a strong double win.   Azlan and Thai rider Apiwat Wongthananon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) were the first two to get up to speed, displacing each other at the top. Broc, as usual, was marching to the rhythm of his own drums, not feeling the need to get involved in the early rush.   With 8 minutes of FP3 to go, Azlan logged his best time, 1’36.123s, and promptly dove into the pits for a conference with his BMW engineers. Sensing the opportunity, Broc put in a series of quick laps and managed to push Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA) down to P3.   The three title contenders, Azlan, Broc and Zaqhwan, have locked out the provisional front row. Apiwat Wongthananon dropped to fourth with 1’36.597s. In P5, Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) poses as a substantial threat. Thai fans can expect to see Thitipong go all out for the win on his homeground. The Thai rider had missed Round 3 while he recovered from a back injury sustained as a wildcard during the World SSP.

A recent run-in with a careless driver will not stop Federico Sandi from making his second ARRC wildcard appearance in the final leg of the season at the Chang International Circuit.  Federico’s plans to continue his role as developmental rider for the Access Plus Racing DUCATI Philippines Essenza Team was almost derailed earlier this week. The massively talented and experienced Italian rider was out jogging around his local neighbourhood when he was hit by a car. Thankfully, further checks had found nothing broken although he will be slightly handicapped by a couple of stretched ligaments Federico came onto the ASian scene in the penultimate round at the Sepang International Circuit as part of the team’s on-going process to get the Ducati Panigale V4 R into podium shape. With his level of experience, the Italian was able to deliver the best result for the team so far, many times coming close to disrupting the title chase between the main protagonists of the 2019 season, Broc Parkes and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.

The season finale of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit this November 29 to December 1 will witness the final battle between Broc Parkes and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman to become the first Asian Superbike champion. The two riders have been locked in a tussle over the course of the past 12 races, with Broc’s consistent approach to winning a championship keeping him in the driving seat for most of the season. Both rivals representing the Yamaha and BMW camps respectively have scooped up seven podiums each. Broc has picked up three wins from Australia, Japan and China. He has also consistently finished within the top five in every race. The mercurial and unpredictable Azlan, on the other hand, holds five wins out of seven podiums but is handicapped by two DNF results from Round 1 and Round 5. In all this, Honda’s Zaqhwan Zaidi cannot be discounted yet. Trailing Broc by 46 points, the Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA rider still has an outside chance of creating an upset in Buriram. The final battle at the  4.554km Chang International Circuit may be tilted in Azlan’s favour. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team rider converted pole to double win during the previous race in Round 3. If Azlan were to repeat his double-victory feat, Broc must finish at least third in both races to win the title by a single point. Should he succeed, Broc will become the first Australian to win the Asian title. Spoilers who could potentially derail the title chase include Thai riders Thitipong Warokorn, Apiwat Wongthananon, and returning WSBK wildcard, Federico Sandi.