Asia Superbike 1000

The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship officially launched its latest offering – the ASB1000 – at the Suzuka Circuit last weekend, host to Round 3 of the 2018 season.   Slated to rev off in 2019, the ASB1000 is seen as a move to ‘complete’ the Asian series which had been instrumental in the growth and development of motorcycle racing in Asia.   Quote from Ron Hogg, Director, Two Wheels Motor Racing: “We are extremely gratified that the Asia Road Racing Championship has finally reached a point where the ASB1000 class has actually become a necessity. When the series was first introduced in 1996, our mission was always to promote and develop the sport of motorcycle racing within the region. Over the decades, we have always held firm to that vision.   The ASB1000 class, as the highest level of production bike racing in the world, will complete the Asia Road Racing Championship. It will offer a single regional platform where champions graduating from their respective superbike national championships can compete.   The class will run largely on the FIM Superstock regulations. The tyres will be supported by Dunlop.   Quote from Sadahiko Matsumura, Dunlop: Dunlop is fully committed to the ASB1000 class, just as our company had been supportive of the ARRC since 1996. For the ASB1000, Dunlop will be providing 8 sets of tyres per race weekend with 2 option compounds.   The plan is to eventually offer more options to meet the needs of the various teams. Should the championship decide to implement the SuperPole, Dunlop will likewise prepare qualifying tyres for the class.   Quotation from Kendy Chan, FIM Asia: The FIM Asia is fully supportive of this move to the 1000cc class. This will inject fresh interest and growth into the Asian motorsports scene and will certainly be good from a rider development perspective.