Asia Superbike 1000

With ambient temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius and track temperature hitting the high 60s, Round 5 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Zhuhai International Circuit is looking to be a sizzling hot affair. As the ASB1000 riders hit the 4.3km Zhuhai track for the very first time, many of the riders have found the circuit to be highly challenging. Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA) laid down the first marker in the premiere class by clocking 1’34.482s at the top of the combined practice results. Zaqhwan is only 0.048s faster than championship leader, Broc Parkes. The Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN rider was second fastest in the practice sessions with 1’34.530s. The Aussie rider is joined by his team mate, Yuki Ito, who came in third fastest with 1’34.539s. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, now officially backed by BMW, was fourth fastest with 1’35.179s. Yamaha Man Lee Tat Racing Team’s wildcard, Li Zheng Peng, leads the Chinese charge in the ASB1000. He clocked fifth with 1’35.297s. Thitipong Warokorn, newly returning to the battle after recovering from a crash earlier this year, put up a commendable P6 finish with 1’35.297s.

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman’s impressive run at the top of the ASB1000 has brought home BMW Motorrad’s official support for the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team. This factory support is expected to elevate Azlan and team’s competitiveness as they head into the second half of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. “The support from BMW Motorrad is certainly good news for us. After running the first three rounds as a private team without factory support, we believe that this can only make us even more competitive,” said Azlan who is currently second overall in the ASB1000 class. “The start of the season was very tough for us. Our bikes had arrived in Malaysia just in time for the pre-season test at the Sepang Circuit, which preceded the season opener by only a few days. In spite of the short lead time we had for preparation, our engineers had been able to produce a race winning bike for me,” he elaborated. Azlan created history in Round 1 as the first winner of the ASB1000. Azlan’s results continued to stay consistent as the 2019 season unfolded. He picked up a double win in Round 3 at the Chang International Circuit. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team has been successfully competing against a number of factory outfits in the ASB1000 class of the ARRC. These include two Yamaha factory teams (Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN and Yamaha Thailand Racing Team); one official Honda entry (Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA); and one Kawasaki team (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team). Ducati’s presence is also maintained in the ASB1000 through the Access Plus Racing Ducati Philippines Essenza Team. The ASB1000 class has been steadily gaining momentum, generating immense interest from Asian teams and riders who compete for the limited wildcard slots at every stop.

Thai Superbike rider Thitipong Warokorn is finally back in action and is set to re-join the ASB1000 at Round 5 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Zhuhai, China. The Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team rider who started the inaugural ASB1000 campaign with a double podium at Round 1, had been out of commission for the better part of the year. Soon after the ARRC 2019 season opener in Sepang, Thitipong put in a wildcard stint at the Thai round of the WSBK. A high side crash resulted in back injuries. Thitipong was expected to be out for the rest of the season, but the Thai rider was determined to beat the odds. Months of intense physical therapy has Thitipong back in racing form again. He has missed three rounds of the ARRC this year, and has dropped to 10th overall in the rankings. As Thitipong resumes his partnership with Chaiwichit Nisakul, Australian rider Bryan Staring will not be heading to China for Round 5. Bryan has done a sterling job playing stopgap for Thitipong. Thanks to the Aussie’s efforts, the Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team is still in the running for the ASB1000 Team Awards, currently standings third overall with 120 points. Meanwhile, up at the top of the standings, four of the top ASB1000 contenders will be flying to China amped up after a stint in the iconic Suzuka 8 Hours. Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc Parkes, who also races for YART Yamaha in the World Endurance Championships, looks to be well on his way to becoming the first Australian rider to win the Asian title. Broc has netted 150 points after four rounds, and leads the ASB1000 by 27 points. Malaysian riders Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Zaqhwan Zaidi are second and third on the ladder with 123 points and 115 points respectively. The two Malaysians are expected to be strong contenders for the Zhuhai podium. Apiwat Wongthananon, fourth overall in the ASB1000, had also completed his first ride in the Suzuka 8 Hours. The Zhuhai leg of the season will have 19 bikes on the ASB1000 grid. Six wildcards have been confirmed including Canadian Robert Daniel Kruger with Titanic Kawasaki; Chinese riders Li Zheng Peng (Yamaha Man Lee Tat Racing Team), Huang Shi Zao (China Yamaha Maxpeedingrods Racing Team) and Chen Peng Yuan (DML 97 Racing Team); Japanese Masahiro Shinjo from Speedmaster Racing & RS-Itoh; as well as Australian Mark Aitchison from team YSS China.

On an afternoon interrupted by torrential rain, Shinichi Nakatomi, no stranger to ARRC and especially to Suzuka, scored a brilliant win in race two on a wet track. Nakatomi had been unable to find the right set-up for the dry race one on Saturday, but revelled in the conditions that Suzuka served up on Sunday. From the start Zaqhwan got away well, but was quickly passed by Yamaha Thailand’s Ratthapong Wilairot, then Nakatomi, who shot through after starting from ninth on the grid, Broc Parkes and Yuki Ito. Azlan Shah got a poor start, and finished lap one in eighth.  Apiwat Wongthananon, who had started from the outside of the front row, also fell back from the start. Ratthapong held the lead until lap three, when Nakatomi got through. Yuki Ito, riding with a strapped up broken ankle from a crash on Friday, displaced the Thai for third. At mid distance Broc was four bike lengths back in fourth, but gradually reeled in and passed Ratthapong. Meanwhile Nakatomi was passed briefly by Ito, but regained his place and stretched his lead by a few tenths a lap, displaying confidence in his bike and his tyres by sliding through some of the turns.  With two laps left, Broc closed on his injured team-mate, who resisted until turn 15 on final time around, when the Australian got good drive out of the spoon curve and went past. Ito stayed close, but was unable to stop Broc from taking second, two seconds behind a jubilant Nakatomi. Ratthapong came through in fourth, five seconds further back and with a similar margin between himself and fifth-placed Zaqhwan. Azlan got past Apiwat and Yudhistira to finish sixth. Apiwat won a four way battle for eighth ahead of Kazuma Tsuda, Chaiwichit Nisakul and Bryan Staring. With 45 points from his weekend’s work, Broc Parkes extends his points total to 150, now 27 clear of Azlan Shah, who earned himself 26 points in Suzuka. Zaqhwan lies third on 115.

Yamaha Racing ASEAN’s Broc Parkes had to overcome Suzuka Circuit as well as his rivals to win ASB 1000 race one today. The Australian had crashed at the long, left hand Spoon curve while on a fast qualifying lap, wrecking his R1 and leaving him fourth on the starting grid behind Zaqhwan Zaidi, Ratthapong Wilairot and Apiwat Wongthananon. The team got his bike ready minutes before pit lane opened for the sighting lap. Broc got away well for the 11 lap race from row two, slotting into second place behind Zaqhwan and just ahead of Apiwat and Azlan Shah, as Ratthapong slipped back from his front row starting position. As Apiwat moved up to challenge for second on lap three, Broc appeared to find a false neutral under braking the Spoon and ran wide to drop back, way behind Apiwat and Azlan. Zaqhwan, riding at his imperious best, initially withstood the pressure from Azlan and Apiwat, but as Broc Parkes clambered back up into contention, it was the Asia Dream Honda riders turn to make a mistake and dropped back to fourth, handing the lead to Azlan, whose BMW was beginning to slide on the soft compound Dunlops he had selected against the medium-hard consensus. In what was the move of the race, Broc followed Azlan through the final chicane, got the power down perfectly on the exit and went around the outside of the Malaysian as they came onto the home straight. After briefly regaining the lead, Azlan was passed once again by Broc, who this time put the hammer down with two fast laps to make his lead unassailable. Behind the front four, Suzuka first timer, Bryan Staring battled with Yuki Ito for fifth. Meanwhile, Zaqhwan made his own recovery to come back through to second, three seconds behind Broc at the end, from Azlan and Apiwat. Bryan kept himself just ahead of Ito to claim fifth, while Ratthapong was almost eight seconds further back in seventh in front of Bastien Mackels who, in eighth position, was the best of the wildcards. Broc’s win extends his championship points tally to 130, a lead of 17 over Azlan, who remains second ahead of Zaqhwan.

Honda Asia Dream’s Zaqhwan Zaidi was at his best for most of free practice, combining an apparently sweet machine set-up with his extensive experience of Suzuka to make getting around the circuits 5.8 kilometres of curves and contours look easy. His best time of 2’09.874 was two hundredths clear of Yamaha Thailand’s Apiwat Wongthananon, whose pace improved through the day and was good enough to top FP3. The Malaysian headed the first two sessions from Yamaha Racing ASEAN’s Yuki Ito, then crashed heavily, without injury, in FP3. Yuki himself had a hard crash in FP2, but managed to dust himself off and get the R1 straightened out in time for FP3. His best time in FP2 placed him third overall. Fourth was Ratthapong Wilairot, whose acclimatisation to the R1 is improving exponentially, while Broc Parkes, who is no stranger to Yamaha superbikes and Suzuka Circuit placed fifth on the day with a best lap of 2’10.299. Round three double race winner, Azlan Shah also improved through the day on the ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW. His best of 2’10.849 left him seventh, sandwiched between wildcards Koji Teramoto, and Shinichi Nakatomi. Australian Bryan Staring, making his third stand-in appearance for Kawasaki Thailand’s injured Thitipong Warakorn and his first ever appearance at Suzuka, wrecked his machine in FP1 and missed FP2 while it was being put back together. Nevertheless, his best time of 2’12.657 gave an indication that he’ll improve further in tomorrow morning’s qualifying session.

photo : ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team Round 4 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will mark the ASB1000 debut of Indonesian rider Ali Adriansyah. Backed by Pertamina Enduro, Ali Adrian will be racing astride the BMW SS1000 RR as part of the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team. The 26-year-old rider, who most recently in 2018 raced in the WSS 300, has set himself a new challenge of racing in the litre class for the very first time. “I’m looking forward to this challenge. Special thanks to PT Pertamina Lubricants, for the opportunity to race in four rounds of the ASB1000,” said Ali Adrian.   Ali Adrian’s profile in brief: 2009 to 2012 – Indonesian National Championship 2013 to 2017 – European Junior Cup; Bike Promotion 1st Serie; Bike Promotion 2nd Serie; WSSP300 2018 – 23rd overall, WSSP300, World Superbike Championship Serie

The battle for supremacy in the spanking new ASB1000 class heads to the 5.8km Suzuka Circuit in Japan for the fourth leg of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The two hugely experienced riders will be locked in a battle for control over the title chase. Only eight points separate the two with the more consistent Australian rider holding the advantage at the top of the standings. While Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc has picked up four podiums and one win on his Yamaha R1 to date, the more mercurial Azlan have been experiencing his typical roller-coaster of a season astride his BMW S1000RR. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team rider has clinched three wins to date, the highest number of wins in the season so far, yet trails Broc due to a costly DNF in Round 1.   Zaqhwan Zaidi Will Need To Amp Up To Stay In The Game Meanwhile, Honda’s sole representative in the ASB1000 will need to amp up his game if he hopes to stay in the title chase. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi won Race 2 in the season opener and logged a second place finish in Buriram. Apart from those high points, Zaqhwan had been consistently fourth in three out of the six races to date. Currently third in the standings, Zaqhwan trails championship leader Broc by 21 points, while he is only eight points ahead of Apiwat Wongthananon. At Suzuka, the home of Honda, the pressure mounts on Zaqhwan.   Homeground Advantage For Ito The threat posed by Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Yuki Ito cannot be taken lightly at this point. Yuki had time and again proven his ability to win races at the Suzuka circuit. Currently fifth overall in the standings, Yuki will need a good outing in Suzuka to improve his ranking in the ASB1000 class.   Nakatomi Could Be The Spoiler The addition of three wildcard riders will bring the Suzuka ASB1000 grid up to 16 bikes. The trio will be led by Shinichi Nakatomi. The last time the former WSBK rider entered as a wildcard in the ARRC, he scored a double-win in the SuperSports 600cc class and disrupted the title chase in the process. Given Nakatomi’s years of expertise at the Suzuka Circuit, adding to that his in-depth knowledge of the ASB1000 slicks as the test rider during the development of the rubbers, Nakatomi could be the spoiler at Broc and Azlan’s party yet again.

Malaysian rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman cemented his status as one of the potential title contenders in the ASB1000 with a phenomenal hard-won double win at Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit. After winning Race 1 on Saturday, Azlan again started Race 2 from pole position. A great start from the ONEXOX TKR SAG Team rider gave him a strong lead, but Azlan was initially unable to get away from the Yamaha contingent led by Broc Parkes and local hero Apiwat Wongthananon. Azlan lost the lead on Lap 2 to Broc. While racing wheel-to-wheel against his Australian rival, Azlan also had Apiwat to contend with. A daring pass by Azlan on Lap 10 came to nought when he ran wide on Turn 12 and found himself in the chase again. The Malaysian rider stuck to Broc and Apiwat for the two penultimate rounds of the 13-lap race before making his move on the final lap. Azlan went from 3rd to first within that same lap to take the double. The BMW rider’s gutsy move at the last corner clearly took Broc by surprise. Azlan out-braked Broc into Turn 12, locked out his front wheel, extricated himself from a potentially sticky situation and raced to the finish line with 20’59.735s. 0.135s behind, Broc claimed his fourth ARRC podium of the season while Apiwat Wongthanon had no choice but to settle for third. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi ended his campaign in fourth place but special mention has to be made about Ahmad Yudhistira who defied the odds and took his near-standard R1 to fifth place ahead of Yuki Ito. With this double win, Azlan closes in on Broc at the top of the standings. The Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN rider leads with 105 points. Azlan trails by 8 points with a total of 97 points. Zaqhwan Zaidi’s consistency kept him in third with 84 points. Thailand’s best performing rider in the ASB1000, Apiwat Wongthananon, stays in fourth with 69 points. The Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team’s replacement rider, Bryan Staring, survived a tough round in Buriram when he finished seventh in both Race 1 and Race 2. While Bryan stands sixth on the rider’s rankings, his points haul from Buriram, coupled with Chaiwichit Nisakul’s absence due to injury, was not enough to keep the team at the top of the team ladder. Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN now leads the team title chase with 110 points.