Asia Superbike 1000

Come the ARRC Official Tyre Test on December 4, the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team will be putting newly crowned SuperSports 600cc Champion Ratthapong Wilairot and Anupab Sarmoon through their paces astride the Yamaha R1. It will be a brand new challenge for Ratthapong Wilairot, coming straight on the heels of his SuperSports 600cc triumph at the same circuit. Wilairot has shown dramatic improvement since he donned the Yamaha blue early this year. By 2019, Ratthapong will be 27 years old while Anupab will turn 26. With the new age limit imposed, both riders are no longer eligible for the SuperSports 600cc.

Thai ace rider Thitipong Warokorn is preparing for a full ARRC comeback with the start of the ASB1000 class in 2019. Warokorn, a protégé of the ARRC, had left the championship a few seasons ago when he raced full season in the Moto2 class of the MotoGP in 2014 and 2015. Since his return to Asia, Warokorn had moved from Honda to Kawasaki. Apart from a few wildcard entries when the ARRC lands at the Chang International Circuit, Warokorn had concentrated his efforts on the national racing scene and had dominated the Buriram Superbike Championship and Thailand Championship for two consecutive years (2017 and 2018). When met at the Chang International Circuit a day prior to the Official Tyre Test, Thitipong said that he was looking forward to making a full comeback. “2019 will be a brand new year in more ways than one. A new crew, new bike, and new race class to look forward to.”

As far as the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is concerned, the 2019 season has already begun. A day after the close of the 2018 season finale, many of the teams and riders are still at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand for the official tyre test. The test, conducted by long-time ARRC sponsor Dunlop, will involve the Asia Production 250cc, the SuperSports 600cc and the new ASB1000. The preliminary entry list (in no particular order and subject to further confirmation) of the teams involved in the test are: Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha Racing Indonesia AP Honda Racing Thailand ONEXOX TKKR Racing Idemitsu Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10 Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia Astra Honda Racing Team Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda Dream Asia Kawasaki Thailand Ducati Philippines Next Gen Motorsports

Top Malaysian rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman will be teaming up with the ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team as they forge ahead with preparations for the incoming ASB1000 class in the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The 34-year-old rider will lead the team’s assault astride the BMW S1000 RR. “Azlan is one of the best riders we’ve got in Malaysia right now. It was amazing to me that he had not been snapped up by any of the factory teams yet, so we jumped on the chance to have such a high-calibre rider in our team,” said Bobie Farid, Team Principal of the ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team. “No other rider can equal the depth of experience that Azlan will be bringing with him” said Bobie, referring to Azlan’s long and successful racing career that had taken him from the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship to the top of the Asia Road Racing Championship and subsequently to the Moto2 class of the MotoGP. For his part, Azlan will be joining a burgeoning team that had been on a rapid expansion path. By 2019, the ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team will field bikes in every class of the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship and the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The team is also considering making their debut in the Spanish National Championship (CEV).

Australian team Nextgen Motorsports, along with 3-times ASBK Champion Glenn Allerton have arrived at the Chang International Circuit to start preparations for their assault on the newly formed ASB1000 (Asian Superbike class).   Wayne Hepburn, NextGen Motorsports Team Manager:   It is NGM’s intention to form new partnerships with vested local business and be a front runner in the exciting new class . We have flown a full race set up to Thailand with our current model bikes to acquaint Glenn and the Team to the Circuit.   As we will be competing on Dunlop Control Tyres in the ARRC, it’s a must to start now and the 2 day tyre test after the final ARRC round is a perfect opportunity.   We know how important this test is, as NGM is unknown in Asia which is making building partnerships very difficult.   NGM is a group of passionate bike racing fanatics that do whatever we can within our means to race at the highest level it can. Part of our struggle is we are very good at the racing side of running a race team but very poor at finding external funding to help us be even better.   In saying that as a team we have done more than a lot of the manufacturer-based teams in Australia, all funded with passion . We want to be here with a signed 3 year contract and look forward to being the best Superbike team in the ARRC . We have plans to field smaller capacity machines and riders with the possibility of having a seat for a competitive local rider.   In Australia we are the only team to give fully funded rides to up and coming racers . The norm would be that rider would have to pay for the seat. This is why we struggle because we put the racing and riders before the business. It may not be the smartest course but we try to give opportunities to riders that they otherwise couldn’t afford.   We are very confident in our bike, the BMW S1000RR, our team members and especially our rider Glenn. We wouldn’t be taking on this huge commitment if we didn’t think we would win . BMW has a new S1000RR just launched and all the information we have so far is that it will be an incredible machine and we eagerly await its arrival . We will start the season on the current model which is still very capable of winning.   All I can say is we are very excited and hopefully our on track performance does the talking for us.