Supersports 600

AkenoSpeed Yamaha’s wildcard rider, Soichiro Minamimoto, stole the glory from runaway championship leader, Peerapong Boonlert in free practice by clocking the fastest time of the day late in FP3 with a lap of 2’14.046, to lead by 0.061. Wildcards grabbed plenty of attention in the first session, occupying second to sixth places behind Yamaha Thailand’s Supersport star. As the ARRC regulars acclimatised to the challenges of Suzuka, Ramdan Rosli got closest to Peerapong, taking the top slot in FP2, before finishing the day third with 2’14.540. Another wildcard, Battle Factory’s Yuto Sano, was fourth overall from Hong Leong Yamaha’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin. Andi Farid Izdihar was the next best of the ARRC visitors on 2’15.068 just ahead of Azroy Hakeem Anuar, Rheza Danica Ahrens and Afif Amran, who was tenth. SIC Junior ZK Racing’s Adam Norrodin, on his first visit to Suzuka, spent the day finding his way around, recording his best time of 2’16.235 in FP3.

The Suzuka leg of the 2019 FIM Asia Ro­ad Racing Championship could potentially witness a new ARRC record in the making as 600cc supremo Peerapong Boonlert gears up to equal or break a 14-year-old record held by Toshiyuki Hamaguchi. The longest winning streak recorded in the ARRC was logged by Hamaguchi who picked up seven consecutive SuperSports 600cc wins in 2005. Since then, while hattricks have been relatively common, no other rider had been able to come close to the level of domination exhibited by Hamaguchi in the early days of the 600 class. No other rider, that is, until Peerapong Boonlert, 14 years later. As the ARRC heads to the Suzuka Circuit for the fourth leg of the season, the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider will get the chance to rewrite the history books. The odds are very much in favour for Peerapong as he embarks on his latest quest. Not only will he be buoyed by his winning momentum so far, Peerapong, a two-time Suzuka 4 Hour winner, is no stranger to the 5.8km Suzuka Circuit. While Peerapong forges ahead with a 79-point advantage, four other riders are scrambling to get ahead. Astra Honda Racing Team’s Andi Farid Izdihar has finished within the top five in four out of the previous six races. With two second-place podiums to his name, Andi is second overall with 71 points. Malaysians Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Adam Norrodin tie in third with 69 points apiece. Azroy has only finished on the podium once so far as opposed to Adam’s three. However, the SIC Junior ZK Racing rider lost out on points from Round 2 which clashed against his scheduled appearance in the CEV. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin is also still within reach of the title. The Malaysian maverick is fifth on the standings with 65 points.

It seems like there is no stopping Peerapong Boonlert in the SuperSports 600cc class! The Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider has picked up an unprecedented sixth consecutive victory as Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship drew to a close at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. A slow start from pole position was no hindrance for the determined Thai rider. Peerapong easily challenged Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin for the lead on the first lap and proceeded to ride imperious to the end of the 11-lap race. Most impressive was Peerapong’s consistently fast laps despite riding solo at the front of the pack. His latest win was clocked at 19’58.199s, a full 3.4 seconds ahead of the rest. Behind Peerapong, Adam Norrodin put in a solid performance to take his second podium of the weekend with 20’01.688s followed by Kasma Daniel in third with 20’05.379s At this point, it would be Peerapong’s championship to lose. He carries the maximum 150 points to the fourth leg at the Suzuka Circuit. The last time a rider had run riot over the 600cc class was in the early days of the category when Toshiyuki Hamaguchi used to dominate the racing. Andi Farid Izdihar from the Astra Honda Racing Team finished fifth in both races to rank second on the championship standings. Azroy Hakeem Anuar is third with 69 points and is tied with Adam Norrodin. Despite Adam’s strong performance in Buriram, his position on the standings had dropped due to his missing out on Round 2.

Peerapong Boonlert has finally ended his winning drought at the Chang International Circuit taking five wins out of five races to extend his romp at the front of the SuperSports 600cc. A great start from the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider from pole position gave him a gap of a few bike lengths ahead of Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin. With a long 12 more laps to go, Peerapong was clearly managing his tyres during the opening laps. This gave Kasma the opportunity to take Peerapong by surprise at the end of Lap 1. On Lap 3, Kasma pushed Peerapong wide, opening a big gap on the track for Mohd Ramdan Rosli to slip through. Lap 4 presented a 4-bike fight between Peerapong, Kasma, Ramdan, and Andi Farid Izdihar. It was the first time this season that Peerapong have had to really scramble for position in the 600cc class this season. The battle, however, did not last long. A light drizzle began to fall after the fourth lap, effectively changing the characteristics of the track. Here, Peerapong’s vast experience at the Chang International Circuit gave him a huge advantage. Kasma’s attack fizzled out after Lap 5 and Peerapong was able to consolidate his lead at the front again. By Lap 7, Peerapong was 0.3 seconds clear of Kasma while behind them, Andi, Ramdan and Adam fought a tight race for P3. On Lap 10, Kasma inexplicably ran wide at the infamous Turn 12, instantly giving a five second lead to Peerapong. The Malaysian rider’s incident dropped him back into the second group and he lost more ground when he had no response for the attacks by countrymen Adam Norrodin and Ramdan Rosli. Peerapong’s win was also podium number 34 for the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team, logged with a time of 20’48.186s. Adam took second place after a hard-fought battle with 20’55.344s and Ramdan was clearly satisfied in third place with 20’55.727s. Five out of five has given Peerapong the maximum 125 points on the standings while Andi Farid Izdihar is ranked second with 60 points.

Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s Peerapong Boonlert has lost none of his verve and flair despite the pressures of racing on home ground. At the Chang International Circuit for Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, Peerapong aced the first day free practice sessions with the quickest time of 1’40.212s, putting him on course to pick up a 33rd Buriram podium for Yamaha Thailand. Looking to stop Peerapong’s reign are Malaysian duo Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin and Adam Norrodin. Both Malaysian top guns have just returned from a stint in the CEV and are raring to halt their Thai rival’s unchallenged romp at the top of the 600cc standings. Kasma clocked second quickest with 1’40.345s while Adam posted 1’40.985s to lock down the provisional front row. AP Honda Racing Thailand’s Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi was the fourth fastest rider of the day with 1’41.158s followed by two other Honda riders – Andi Farid Izdihar and Azroy Hakeem Anuar respectively. Javier Orellana Malloy, the dark horse of the SuperSports 600cc class, is taking his time to get used to the Chang International Circuit. He posted 13th quickest for the free practice, but as seen in Australia, is capable of podium-worthy performances. Chinese wildcard Ma Sai was 3 seconds off the leader with 1’43.505s.

Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider Peerapong Boonlert will be a man on a mission at Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. Peerapong holds a 51-point advantage after taking four consecutive wins in the first two rounds. However, the Thai rider is not one to rest on his laurels. His mission at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit, apart from continuing his winning momentum, will be to claim his first podium on home ground. For all the prowess that Peerapong had shown in the SS600 this year, the Thai rider have yet to enjoy a podium finish at the Chang International Circuit. All his previous successes had been picked up overseas.   Kasma, Adam Norrodin back on the grid Malaysian riders Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin and Adam Norrodin will be looking to halt Peerapong’s rampage in the 600cc class. The two will be primed and ready for action after a stint in the CEV. Along with Astra Honda Racing Team’s Andi Farid Izdihar and Malaysian Honda riders Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Helmi Azman, the five riders could form a formidable wall around Peerapong’s ambitions.   The threat of Javier Orrellana Maloy Peerapong will also need to reckon with the potential threat posed by Javier Maloy. The Spaniard was a complete dark horse in Round 2. Absent for most of the practice session after crashing out and damaging his bike in the first practice, Javier stunned his rivals with a second place finish in Race 1. He was on course for a double podium in Race 2 but unfortunately crashed out of the competition.   Chinese wildcard – Ma Sai The Buriram round will also feature a Chinese wildcard – Ma Sai from the China Yamaha Maxpeedingrods Racing Team. The 29-year-old Chinese rider has been China’s ST600 champion for the past two years.

It may be early days yet in the 2019 season of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, but Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s Peerapong Boonlert has already scored a hattrick of wins in the SuperSports 600cc class.   Officially in his first full season in the intermediate class after spending a number of seasons in the AP250, Peerapong looked increasingly comfortable on board the Yamaha R6.   Despite losing the pole position to replacement rider Ibrahim Norrodin during the qualifying, Peerapong won a lights-to-flag race with a time of 19’39.440s, 3.913s ahead of the chasing group.   The bulk of the drama in the SuperSports 600cc Race 1 came from the battle for P2 between Ibrahim Norrodin, Helmi Azman, Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Javier Orellana.   Most impressive was Victor Racing Team’s Javier Orellana. The Spaniard had a bad crash early in the weekend and, as a result, missed out on much of the practice sessions. The lack of track time took nothing away from Javier’s competitiveness. Javier brought his Yamaha to second at the finish line with 19’43.353s.   Further down the results sheet, team Musashi Boon Siew Honda’s Azroy Hakeem Anuar took full advantage of poleman Ibrahim Norrodin’s lack of experience to score a third place finish with 19’43.926s.

Young Ibrahim Norrodin has turned out to be a fantastic replacement for elder brother Adam Norrodin at Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Australia this weekend. Racing in the SuperSports 600cc category for the first time, Ibrahim performed spectacularly when his best lap, 1’56.580s, not only netted him the pole position for the 600cc class but also set a new lap record at the 4.95km The Bend Motorsport Park circuit in South Australia.   The 19-year-old SIC Junior ZK Racing team rider upstaged championship leader Peerapong Boonlert who was second quickest with 1’56.904s. Ibrahim crashed out in the final minutes of the 600cc qualifier but was lucky that Peerapong had not had enough time to respond to the opportunity.   Fellow Malaysian Azroy Hakeem Anuar from the Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing Team also made it to the front row when he posted third with 1’57.391s.

Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider Peerapong Boonlert is clearly in a class of his own. Peerapong locked down the quickest time of the day in the SuperSports 600cc with 1’57.958s in his bid to extend his championship lead.   “It’s been a great first day back on track for me. I’m really happy with my results from the first two sessions. My condition is good, and my team has had my bike working perfectly. I hope we continue to stay in form as the weekend progresses,” said Peerapong.   Behind Peerapong, series newcomer Ibrahim Norrodin got his ARRC debut off to a great start when he clocked second fastest in class with 1’58.425s. Ibrahim is sitting in for elder brother Adam Norrodin.   Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing team mates Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Helmi Azman logged 1’58.482s and 1’58.687s each to land on provisional P3 and P4 on the combined timesheets.   2018 Asia Production 250cc champion Rheza Danica Ahrens displayed a big improvement as he gets settled on the CBR600. Rheza posted the fifth fastest time of the day with 1’59.609s.   Andi Farid Izdihar, Javier Malloy, Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi, Passawit Thitivararak and Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam made it into the top ten.   Finally, Underbone specialist Mohd Akid Aziz is still trying to adapt to the Yamaha R6. Akid is replacing Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin in the Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia team this weekend, and he ended the first day almost five seconds off the front runners.