Supersports 600

The SuperSports 600cc title is still wide open with six riders in contention as the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship heads to its season finale at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand this weekend.   Team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing’s Anthony West had been unbeatable in the first half of the season. He has picked up 136 points so far.   Defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman has had an erratic season. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki rider is second on the standings with 102 points. Azlan will face a strong contender in the form of Randy Krummenacher who is set to replace West in the final round. To close the 34-point gap, Azlan must finish second in both Race 1 and Race 2.   Also in the running are Andi Farid Izdihar (Astra Honda Racing Team) and Ahmad Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki). Both Indonesian riders are tied in third place with 99 points each. For either one to win the title, they must finish at least second in both Race 1 and Race 2, and they must also finish ahead of Azlan.   2014 and 2016 600cc Champion Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi also has a shot of winning his third Asian title. However, currently standing fifth with 94 points, Zaqhwan will need a double win from the Buriram weekend to leapfrog his way up the ladder.   The same goes for Ratthapong Wilairot who is racing under the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team colours this season. The Thai rider is sixth on the standings with 91 points. If Ratthapong can pull off a double win on his home track, he stands a chance of becoming the third Thai rider to win the 600cc crown.

Team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing, the present leader in the SuperSports 600cc category, will be relying on Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher to be their knight in shining armour.   The Singapore-based outfit roped in Liam Taylor MacDonald and Sheridan Morais for the previous round in Indonesia. For the final round, the team has decided that Krummenacher, with his experience in the MotoGP as well as his recent win at the Chang International Circuit in the World SSP, would be the ideal rider to bring home the top prize for them.   Team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing has amassed 149 points at the top of the 600cc team standings. Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing, which fields Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Ahmad Yudhistira, trails by only 19 points.   Should the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing duo dominate the race proceedings in Buriram this weekend, Krummenacher will need to finish third in both races to win the team title by a single point.

Fans of 2017 Asia Production 250cc Champion Gerry Salim will get to see him in action on the Asian stage this weekend at the Chang International Circuit.   As the clock ticks down to the final race of the season, Gerry has been tapped in to replace injured Irfan Ardiansyah in the SuperSports 600cc class. The Astra Honda Racing Team rider was recently injured in a training session.   Gerry Salim has spent the bulk of 2018 in Europe, particularly in the Moto3 class of the CEV. The talented Indonesian rider is no stranger to the 600cc class. Prior to taking the AP250 category by storm in 2017, Gerry was already making fans take notice when he raced in the SuperSports 600cc class in 2016.

Astra Honda’s Andi Farid Izdihar completed a statistically perfect weekend by adding a Supersport 600 Race 2 win to the pole position and Race 1 he achieved on Saturday in ARRC Round 5 at Sentul International Circuit, Indonesia. The first half of the race looked much like the previous day’s, as Ahmad Yudhistira rocketed away from the middle of the front row to take the lead. Farid struggled to get away cleanly and Zaqwan Zaidi and Ratthapong Wilairot pushed him back to fourth. By the end of the first lap, the red and white Honda was through to second and began pushing his compatriot’s Kawasaki for the lead, while Zaqwan tagged on, looking intent on making the most of the absence of championship rivals, Anthony West and Yuki Ito. Ratthapong Wilairot tried to stay with the leaders, but was two tenths of a second a lap off their pace and slowly drifted back, while Farid’s team-mate, Irfan Adiyansyah, contested fifth place with Decha Kraisart, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, and Tomoyoshi Koyama  in a group behind. The pattern of the race began to change from lap nine of 16, as tyre wear became an increasing factor and Zaqwan lost touch with the fight at the front. After a few rehearsals, Farid got past Yudhistira, who, after an initial attempt to fight back, slipped out of reach of the leader. Meanwhile, Yamaha Thailand’s Rattaphong got the better of Zaqwan and moved away to make a Honda-Kawasaki-Yamaha podium look likely. Further back, Azlan Shah was not having an easy time in the dispute over fifth, which was being led by Irfan. Farid’s lead increased in the last few laps, as Yudhistira struggled on the Manual Tech KTY Kawasaki’s worn Dunlops and he took his second win of the weekend by more than three seconds. Ratthapong was another two seconds behind, resisting a last lap charge by Zaqwan, who was fourth. Irfan took fifth as he, Decha, Azlan and Koyama all crossed the line within four tenths of a second. Keminth Kubo and Taiga Hada were ninth and tenth, while Ramdan Rosli, Sheridan Morais, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, Zulfahmi Kairudin Amirul Hafiq Azmi took the remaining point scoring positions. While it is still unknown whether West will race in the final round at Buriram, he leads the championship by 34 points from Azlan, who added just 17 at Sentul. Three points behind Azlan, Farid and Yudhistira are tied on 99, while Zaqwan has 94 and Koyama 91. With 50 points on the board, all five riders have a chance of winning the title.

Andi Farid Izdihar broke new ground for himself and Astra Honda by delivering the team’s first Supersports pole position and first win and podium finish of the season after 16-lap battle with Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Ahmad Yudhistira. Starting from the middle of the front row, Yudhistira got the holeshot from Farid and rode a confident race in the lead as the 20-year-old pressed him relentlessly. Behind them, MUSASHI Boon Siew Honda’s Zaqwan slotted into an increasingly distant third place, before being passed by a plucky Ratthapong Wilairot, who was riding impressively after dislocating his shoulder in a fast crash at Turn 2 on Friday. The Yamaha Thailand rider looked to have made third place his own, but a problem with his R6’s gear lever forced him to run wide, which let Zaqwan back through. Farid’s team-mate, Irfan Irdiyansyah, made a poor start before making his way back up into contention and eventually past Ratthapong. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, who started hoping to close the championship gap on the absent Anthony West, found his Kawasaki unable to rev into the power band and struggled as Taiga Hada and Tomoyoshi Koyama pushed him down the order. Late in the race, as the front two moved further ahead, Farid converted pressure into a pass on Yudhistira, who snatched back the lead a few corners later. With tyre wear playing an increasing part in proceedings, Farid kept pushing on the last lap, slithering in front under braking for Turn 10 and holding on as the Kawasaki powered back at him on the run to the line to get within three hundredths of a second. More than eight seconds back, Zaqwan fought off a late charge by Irfan to claim third, another four seconds clear of Ratthapong. Hada and Koyama were another two seconds back in sixth and seventh, while the ailing Azlan was eighth in front of Azroy Anuar, Keisuke Kurihara and Thai duo, Passawit Thitiwararak and Decha Kraisart. Zulfahmi Kharudin, in as a replacement rider for his own team, was 13th, 38 seconds adrift of Farid. Webike IKAZUCHI replacement riders, New Zealander, Liam Taylor MacDonald and Sheridan Morais finished 14thand 17th respectively.

Friday’s free practice at Sentul International Circuit initially went as expected, as Astra Honda’s Andi Farid Izdihar and Irfan Ardiansyah, together with Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Ahmad Yudhistira, locked out the top three slots on the timing screens in the first two sessions. Then MUSASHI Boon Siew Honda’s Zaqwan Zaidi spoiled the neighbourhood party by barging his way past first past Yudhistira, then Andi Farid, with a lap of 1:30.424 to end Free Practice 3 almost two tenths ahead of the Astra Honda man. Looking at combined times, Yudhistira was next on 1:30.682. The next four fastest all clocked their best times in the second session. Irfan was fourth for the day with a 1:31.029, from Yuki Ito, Taiga Hada and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, whose best round was 1:31.422. Behind Azlan were another five riders in the 1:31s: Keminth Kubo, Decha Kraisart, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Ratthapong Wilairot, who did his best time of 1:31.704 in session 3. The Yamaha Thailand rider had been running close to the top in the first session, before destroying his YZF-R6 and dislocating his shoulder in crash at the fearsomely fast Turn 2. He sat out the lunchtime session in the Medical Centre while his bike was being rebuilt before coming back with a strong run in Free Practice 3. All the above-named riders can be expected to improve their times by around half a second in Saturday morning’s qualifying session as they target Zaqwan’s 2017 pole winning 1:29.628. With championship leader, Anthony West, sidelined by his provisional doping test suspension, and Joe Francis absent and Patrick Li absent, Webike IKAZUCHI have drafted in South African World Supersport winner, Sheridan Morais, and New Zealander, Liam Taylor MacDonald. Morais was the quicker on day one, getting round in 1:33.327, as he found his way with the bike and the unique challenges of Sentul’s track surface.

Anthony West is on course to become the first Australian rider to lift the Asian crown. Four wins and a string of podium finishes had given him a 51-point advantage at the top of the SuperSports 600cc championship ladder. However, West’s 2018 Asian campaign took an unexpected turn when an FIM announcement in mid-September provisionally suspended him for possible doping violation. According to the announcement, the 37-year-old failed an in-competition drug test administered during the Misano round of the World Supersport championship in July. The FIM statement explained that “an Adverse Analytical Finding of a non-specified substance under Section 6 (Stimulants) of the 2018 FIM Prohibited List” was found in West’s urine sample. The statement further explained that the rider, who is “barred from participating in any motorcycling competition or activity until further notice”, can request the analysis of a B sample. While West sorts out his mess, team Webike IKAZUCHI Racing has provisionally named a new line-up for the Indonesian round – New Zealand rider Liam Taylor MacDonald and Sheridan Morais from South Africa.

Team WeBike Ikazuchi Racing will be leaving the Madras Motor Race Track on a winning high after a successful weekend by their star rider, Anthony West. The undulating 3.74km circuit has been particularly kind to West who picked up his first double win of the season by taking Race 2 with a time of 27’10.157s.   Race 2 revved off with West on pole position, and team mates Tomoyoshi Koyama and Zaqhwan Zaidi joining him on the front row. West reversed his race strategy for Race 2, opting to push ahead early in the race rather than sitting back and waiting for the second half of the race.   Racing with a clear piece of track ahead of him, the Australian rider was able to carve out 7 seconds worth of daylight between him and the chasing group comprised of Tomoyoshi Koyama, Taiga Hada and Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi. The three Honda riders were caught up with battling each other for P2. Their 16-lap scuffle ended with the two Japanese riders on the podium. Koyama finished second with 27’17.240s while Hada was third.   Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi missed out on the podium and was forced to settle for fourth. Behind him, defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made up for his crash in Race 1 by completing the second race in fifth place. Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin was the most impressive rider of the day. The Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia rider started the race from 17th on the grid and made up 10 places to finish 6th.   However, the most heart breaking moment of the day was served up by Yuki Ito. In line for a potential podium finish, Ito high-sided at the last corner of the final lap. Even though the top honours were lost, Ito was hell bent on finishing his race. The Japanese Yamaha rider picked up his bike and pushed the broken machine to the finish line as the crowded grandstand cheered him on.   The outcome from Round 4 has given West a huge lead on the championship standings. He is well on his way to becoming the first Australian champion of the ARRC with 136 points. Azlan Shah trails by 51 points.

SuperSports 600cc championship leader Anthony West is one step closer to lifting the 2018 Asian crown as he took a win on his first outing at the Madras Motor Race Track.   The Webike IKAZUCHI Racing rider started the 16-lap race from pole position after posting a new lap record with 1’40.585s. West was noticeably nervous at the start of the race as the rain clouds began forming in the skies above Chennai. The expected torrential downpour held off although a brief shower left the 600cc riders with tricky racing conditions.   As was his norm, West started the race conservatively, content to keep pace in third place behind a fast-charging Taiga Hada and Tomoyoshi Koyama. The Yamaha rider made an early bid for the lead on Lap 7, but lost two spots on Lap 9 when he lost traction from his rear tyre.   However, West was able to craft a comeback in the remaining rounds. By Lap 14, the former World Superbike and GP rider had the lead firmly in his grasp. West logged his third win of the season with 27’35.304s and effectively extends his lead margin to 35 points.   West’s path to the Asian title was made easier when his main contenders suffered a bad outing at the Madras Motor Race Track. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman crashed out on Lap 7, taking with him, Thai rider Decha Kraisart. Yuki Ito, another title contender, finished eighth.   Meanwhile, the two riders who escorted West up the podium, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi who finished second and Taiga Hada who was third, are not on the short list for the top honours this year. Nevertheless, Hada’s achievement brought plenty to celebrate for team Idemitsu Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10. The Chennai race was considered as the home race for the team.   Astra Honda Racing Team’s Andi Farid Izdihar and Tomoyoshi Koyama rounded up the top 5. Rookies Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin were equally impressive as they finished sixth and seventh respectively.

As is often the case, there were clues in the Supersport 600 warm-up about how the final results would turn out. Lap times aside, Webike IKAZUCHI’s Anthony West could be seen harassing first Ratthapong Wilairot, then Yuki Ito, making close moves on them under braking, while Keminth Kubo was quick and aggressive. Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s first and second place finishers from Race 1, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Ahmad Yudhistira, looked fast and relaxed. Azlan Shah catapulted away from the start ahead of Ratthapong, Ito and Keminth, only to be shown the red flag at the start of Lap 2 following a crash by Patrick Li. The remaining 22 bikes returned to pit lane while the wrecked Webike IKAZUCHI R6 was recovered and returned to the team. Azlan proved that his previous getaway had been no fluke, by repeating it when the race got underway again, for a reduced distance of 10 laps​. He built a gap back to Ratthapong, Ito, and the others as he flowed through the left and right turns of the first sector. His advantage disappeared predictably enough on the 900 metre overpass section as the Yamaha Thailand man pulled the pack up to the rear of Kawasaki. Ito squirmed past Ratthapong through the last chicane and onto Azlan’s tail they began lap 2, as Zaqwan, West, Keminth and Yudhistira bunched up behind, a few bike lengths ahead of Tomoyoshi Koyama. Ito ended the second lap as he had some two minutes earlier, this time by squeezing past Azlan and into the lead. As Ito held the lead on Lap 3, West and then Yudhistira went past Ratthapong and ​closed down Azlan, while Keminth kept station just behind them. One lap later, West went past Azlan at the hairpin, leaving the previous day’s winner to deal with the attentions of his Manual Tech team mate. West took the lead from Ito at Degner from Ito on Lap 5, only for the Japanese to snatch it back at the end of the lap, while Yudhistira passed Azlan for third at the hairpin. Keminth relegated Azlan to fifth, but there was nothing between these five as they swapped positions and rehearsed their lines for the last lap. Keminth took a turn at the front from Ito, the Thai teenager riding with a maturity beyond his years and with the self belief of a race winner. Behind the leading five, Andi Farid Izdihar, showing no ill effects from his highside of the day before, took sixth place from Ratthapong. A gritty Decha Kraisart who was managing to dismiss the pain and muscle weakness from his healing right wrist injury, was looking surprisingly solid in 8th place. ​Last time around, ​Keminth led the leading group of five into the final chicane, but got out-braked by West, who shoved himself in front and held the lead to cross the line three tenths of a second ahead of the 19-year-old, who won a photo finish for second from ​Yudhistira, Ito and Azlan. West was delighted, having finished on the podium four times from four starts in the 2018 championship to give himself 86 points and a lead in standings ​of​ 14 points from Azlan and by 17 from Ito​ in third​. Keminth’s 20 point boost moves up into fourth with 57 points, five more than Yudhistira.