Asia Superbike 1000

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.

Much as he did at the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship curtain raiser at Sepang, Yamaha Racing Team Asean’s Broc Parkes is off to yet another sizzling start in Round 2. The second leg of the Asian series is a homecoming race of sorts for the seasoned Australian rider. Though racing for the first time at The Bend Motorsports Park, Broc has been the quickest to get on pace. He set the benchmark for the ASB1000 with 1’53.855s.   Fellow Aussie rider Bryan Staring has shown himself to be a competitive replacement for championship leader Thitipong Warokorn. The Kawasaki rider clocked a very close second with 1’53.859s.   Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi was third in the combined results with 1’54.315s followed by Ahmad Yudhistira fourth with 1’55.823s.   Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman is fighting off an injury this weekend. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team rider suffered a broken rib from his previous engagement in the CEV. Azlan logged sixth fastest in the first day of practice with 1’56.072s.   Thai riders Apiwat Wongthananon, Ratthapong Wilairot and Chaiwichit Nisakul have placed themselves provisionally on Row 3 as they completed Day 1 in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. Finally, wildcard Stephanie Redman, the sole female rider on the ASB1000 grid, put in an impressive first day in 10th place with 1’58.510s.

Round 1 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship drew to a dramatic end at the Sepang International Circuit. The weather, that had been sunny and dry all week long, took a turn for the worse just as the pit lane was about to open for the ASB1000 show closer. The rain made for an even more challenging race as none of the riders have had the opportunity to ride on the wet tyres at the Sepang Circuit. This was made even worse by the uneven rainfall around the 5.5km track. There was torrential downpour on the North Track while the South Track remained relatively dry. It was a tentative first lap as the more seasoned riders took their time gaining a better feel for the track conditions. Farid Badrul Hisham from the ONEXOX TKKR SAGRacing Team, on the other hand, had nothing to lose. Farid, who is riding as a replacement for injured Hafiq Azmi that weekend, finished sixth in Race 1. While the rest of the grid felt their way gingerly around the first two laps, Farid had pulled an 8 seconds lap at the front of the group. However, all that reckless riding around the drier parts of the track took a toll on his performance. Farid aquaplaned out of Lap 4 on Turn 4, followed soon by Ahmad Yudhistira. Farid’s crash left Yuki Ito in charge of the ASB1000 lead but he too had his fair share of problems. A broken shifter around Lap 7 adversely affected Ito’s race pace. As Ito’s focus shifted from winning the race to just finishing the race, Honda Asia Dream Racing With Showa’s Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi came riding past. Zaqhwan quickly pulled a lead at the front and took the win with 27’20.147s. 2019 championship leader Thitipong Warokorn netted the highest points haul from the weekend when he finished second with 27’23.706s while Yuki Ito settled for third place with 27’27.360s.

Malaysian rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made history when he became the first winner of the inaugural ASB1000 class in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. It was also the 35-year-old’s first outing with new team ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team. Last season, Azlan was racing in the 600cc class with Kawasaki. TheMalaysian rider started the race from second on the grid, sandwiched between pole sitter Thitipong Warokorn and fellow Malaysian Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi in third. Australian Broc Parkes, who had been a formidable competitor all week long, crashed out during the morning qualifying practice. His best qualifying time of 2’06.808s placed him sixth on the grid behind Indonesian Ahmad Yudhistira and Chaiwichit Nisakul. A flying start from Thitipong gave him the holeshot. The Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team rider was able to quickly gain some distance on the chasing Azlan. Behind him, Broc Parkes made a mistake at Turn 1 and dropped further down the group to eighth. The gap between Thitipong and Azlan began to narrow on Lap 7, while at the same time Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc Parkes had clawed his way up to third. By then, Broc was 2.7 seconds adrift of the leaders and the remaining four laps looked to be a two-rider race. Thitipong tried to respond to Azlan’s pressure on Lap 9 but seemed to have over-cooked his tyres. Azlan took the lead at the entry of the last corner and immediately opened up a gap on Lap 10. As the chequered flag came down on Lap 11, Azlan became the first official winner of the ASB1000 class with 23’21.172s. Thitipong and Broc maintained their respective positions to join Azlan on the podium. “I tried to overtake Thitipong at the start of the race, but he was racing very hard. So I decided to settle down and wait for the closing laps while keeping my tyres fresh. I knew my chance would come soon when I saw Thitipong sliding all over the place on Lap 5,” said Azlan who dedicated this win to his new team, the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team. Azlan’s Race 1 win could not have come at a better time. All day long throughout the season opener of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, the Malaysian riders had missed out on the chance to stand on the top step of the podium in the Underbone 150cc, Asia Production 250cc and SuperSports 600cc categories. The riders will meet again for Race 2 at 1.00pm on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Entry to the Sepang Circuit grandstands are free for the public.

Australian Broc Parkes seems to be settling in and getting comfortable in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship environment. The 38-year-old from the Hunter Region in New South Wales Australia, is doing double-duty this year, racing in both the EWC with YART and the Asia Road Racing Championship with Yamaha Racing Team Asean. We stole five minutes of his time for a quick update: New Circuits to Conquer “Aside from Suzuka and Sepang, the rest of the circuits are unfamiliar to me. This will be a brand new challenge.” The Bike and Preprations for Round 1 “I’m happy with the preparations so far. The team had had the opportunity to do some private testing at Sepang a few weeks ago. During the 2-day pre-season test, we were able to lay a good foundation for the first round.” “The spec of the bike is stock while I’m more used to bikes with more race specs. In a way, it feels closer to riding a 600cc (as opposed to a fully kitted out Superbike) Dunlop Tyres “I have not raced on Dunlop tyres for many years. But I have been able to understand the tyres very quickly. I find it to be very consistent.” First Full Asian Season “I have had spot entries in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in the past. I joined the series for the Qatar round in 2013 where I finished 4th in Race 1 and 2ndin Race 2. I repeated the stint in 2015 but unfortunately, was unable to start the race due to engine troubles.