Asia Superbike 1000

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.

The ASB1000 class looks to have come of age as the riders settle into the new race class. Uncertain weather conditions at the start of Race 1 during the third leg of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit, amped up the level of competition between the riders. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman lined up on pole after a strong showing in the morning’s qualifier. A great start pushed the BMW rider into the lead, but the Malaysian lost out to Thai contender Apiwat Wongthananon in the middle of the first lap. That marked the start of an on-going battle between the two riders while Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi, Yuki Ito and Broc Parkes fought a battle of their own for P3. The ASB1000 became a 5-man race on Lap 8. Apiwat had barely succeeded in taking over the lead, hotly chased by Azlan in second, Zaqhwan in third and Yuki Ito fourth. Even the Thai riders were not immune to the traps of the infamous Turn 12. Apiwat ran wide on Lap 10 and lost two spots as a consequence. As the chequered flag came down on Lap 13, Azlan stormed to the finish line with 21’07.540s followed by Zaqhwan Zaidi in second with 21’08.165s while Apiwat settled for third. Championship leader Broc Parkes finished fourth – enough to stay at the top of the standings with 85 points. Azlan Shah is now ranked second with 72 points, a single point ahead of Zaqhwan Zaidi.

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman is leading the ASB1000 after the first day of free practice at Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Buriram, Thailand. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team rider shaved a full second off his laptimes to take provisional pole with 1’35.518s. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi was second quickest after the first day with 1’36.274s. The Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa rider had been dominant in the first two practice sessions, but crashed on his out-lap in FP3. Luckily for Zaqhwan, the crash did not result in any serious injury although the damage to the bike was quite significant. Apiwat Wongthananon clocked 1’36.416s, third fastest of the day, followed by championship leader Broc Parkes in fourth with 1’36.553s. Bryan Staring, back again as Thitipong Warokorn’s replacement, was eighth with 1’37.004s.

Access Plus Racing – Ducati Philippines – Essenza is ready to take the next step forward as the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship heads to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram for Round 3. The new Manila-based racing outfit has gotten their ARRC debut off to a good start, especially with young TJ Alberto at the helm. Come Buriram, TJ and his team mate Jonathan Serrapica will be hoping to convert the team’s pace into strong finishes. Since the last race meet at The Bend Motorsport Park, the team has poured a lot of effort into the development of their Ducati Panigale V4R. Unlike the previous legs where the team was hampered by a lack of data, TJ have at least had some experience at the Chang International Circuit, especially during the winter test at the end of 2018. Overall, the team’s outlook is very positive following improvements gained in Australia. With TJ now ranked 10th in the Asian series, the team looks ready for their next step forward. TJ Alberto, #77 Ducati: “The past few rounds have helped us clearly understand what is needed from the bike, technicians and riders to perform at their best. We were on the opposite end of the spectrum during the first round in Sepang and we have been learning after each race.” Toti Alberto, Team Principal: We’ve made strides as a team over the last few months. We now better understand the new Panigale V4R which we just received from Ducati Corsa right before the season began in Malaysia. Our progress so far have already allowed TJ and Jonathan to challenge for points and we’re looking forward to further improve on our results in Thailand.”

Two rounds into the inaugural season of the ASB1000 class has yielded four winners on board four different makes in four separate races. Malaysians Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi fired the first salvo at the season opener in Sepang. Azlan piloted his brand new BMW to the win in Race 1 while Honda rider Zaqhwan stormed his way through a rain-drenched Sepang circuit to clinch the second win. In Australia, Kawasaki took their turn at the top of the podium through replacement rider Bryan Staring’s impeccable performance in Race 1. In Race 2, Broc Parkes lived up to his top billings when he took his Yamaha R1 to its first ARRC win. Broc, who is racing for the Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, leads the ASB1000 class as they head to Round 3 at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. The Yamaha stalwart holds a 21-point advantage over Zaqhwan Zaidi. Broc’s team mate, Yuki Ito has a strong track record at the Chang International Circuit and would be a threat to Zaqhwan’s position as he hunts for his first ASB1000 podium. After a strong start in Sepang, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman picked up two fifth places in Australia and has dropped down to fourth overall with 47 points. Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team’s replacement rider Bryan Staring came into the series with a bang. Bryan debut at fifth in the rankings with a win and a second place finish in Australia. The home team, Yamaha Thailand Racing Team, will be also be strategizing for a strong performance in Buriram. Over the past five years, the team had collected a whopping 32 podiums in Buriram. Apiwat Wongthananon and Ratthapong Wilairot will be under tremendous pressure to do well in front of their home fans. Amidst the big names, Ahmad Yudhistira has succeeded in bringing his near-standard Yamaha R1 to ninth overall in the standings while ARRC newcomer TJ Alberto from the Philippines maintained his position at tenth in the rankings.

Thanks to his incredible performance as a super-sub in the Australian round, Bryan Staring is back for another starring role in Buriram. With Thitipong Warokorn still in the recovery process to get back into racing form, it was only natural for the Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team to reach out to Bryan to fill the vacuum. The Australian rider won Race 1 at The Bend, and second in Race 2 – bringing home enough points to keep the Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team afloat at the top of the team standings.

Australian Broc Parkes ended his homecoming race at Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at The Bend Motorsport Park on a high note when he picked up his first ARRC win on the 4.95km circuit. Riding for the YAMAHA Racing Team ASEAN in the Asian series, the poleman went out on Race 2 with a different strategy after losing out to compatriot Bryan Staring in the previous race. A better start placed the R1 expert in the front group behind race leader Bryan and Apiwat Wongthananon. Broc passed Apiwat on Lap 5 and began to close in on the leading Kawasaki. The gap between the two Aussie riders continued to narrow until Broc, having had enough of following Bryan around the track, powered his way into the lead at Turn 17 on Lap 10. Broc kept his leading position to the chequered flag with a time of 22’54.902s. “Today, I decided not to punish my tyre too early. Even so, I had a couple of hairy moments in the last two laps. Nevertheless, I’m very pleased with my first win in the ARRC,” said Broc in a post-race interview. The weekend was also a tremendous success for second-placed Bryan Staring. The Kawasaki rider picked up four out of the five wins available at The Bend – one win in the ASB1000 Race 1 and all three race wins in the ASBK. Yuki Ito also closed a successful weekend with a double podium in third place. Broc Parkes has brought his points haul to 72 points. Malaysian Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi, who finished fourth in both races, is second overall with 51 points. While the Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN rider had taken control of the title chase, super-sub Bryan Staring had succeeded in his mission to keep Kawasaki Thailand Racing at the top of the team standings. The Thai outfit, led by the colourful Katsuaki Fujiwara, stands at the top of the team ladder with 85 points.

Bryan Staring succeeded in his mission to keep the points momentum going for the Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team. At The Bend Motorsport Park for Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, Bryan stamped his dominance on the ASB1000 class which he won by 2.117 seconds. Bryan started the race from second on the grid. A blazing start sent the Kawasaki sub into the lead at Turn 1 while poleman Broc Parkes dropped to fourth on the first lap. Broc made a successful bid for the lead on Lap 2 but could not sustain his momentum beyond Lap 8 when Bryan came riding past. The Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team super-sub finished the 12-lap ASB1000 Race 1 with 22’50.710s. Later in the day, Bryan followed up on his ASB1000 win with another win at the ASBK Race 1. Broc had to be content in second with 22’52.827s, which gave him enough points to take over the points-lead in the ASB1000 class. Behind the two Australians, Yuki Ito triumphed over Zaqhwan Zaidi to clinch the last spot on the podium with 22’58.793s.

Australian rider Broc Parkes claimed his first ARRC pole in his homecoming race at The Bend Motorsport Park. Following a mediocre outing at the opening round in Sepang last month, Broc returned to the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship with a vengeance.   Broc has been quick to take control of the 4.95km The Bend Motorsport Park circuit and is looking good ahead of the races on pole position with 1’52.581s.   The Yamaha Racing Team Asean rider will line up alongside fellow Australian rider Bryan Staring. Bryan had been pulling a double shift at the Australian round this weekend and is one of the few riders who is racing in both the ASBK and the ARRC. The experienced Kawasaki rider is replacing injured championship leader Thitipong Warokorn. He posted 1’53.223s, the second fastest time in the ASB1000.   Meanwhile, Malaysian Zaqhwan Zaidi ran into trouble when his fastest lap was excluded from the final results for exceeding the track limits. This promoted Apiwat Wongthananon to third on the grid with 1’53.546s.   Yuki Ito will line up fourth on the grid while Zaqhwan dropped to the middle of the third row with 1’54.340s, ahead of compatriot Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.   Ahmad Yudhistira brought his privateer Yamaha to seventh on the grid with 1’55.041s. Ratthapong Wilairot, Chaiwichit Nisakul and TJ Alberto made up the rest of the top-10.