Supersports 600

The first Australian race for the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will flag off without its most high-profile Australian rider – Anthony West.   The 37-year-old MotoGP and WSSP rider will skip the opportunity to race in front of his home fans as he heads to Aragon in order to fulfill previous contractual obligations in the World SuperSports series.   West runs his own team in the World SSP, team EAB AntWest Racing. He is currently 10thon the standings.

The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship’s second round at The Bend Motorsport Park will be Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman’s best chance to gain the SuperSports 600cc title lead.   The newly-opened 4.9km circuit in South Australia represents a level playing field for teams and riders alike. The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, together with the Australian Superbike Championship, will be the first major motorcycle race events to take place at The Bend.   The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider, who is also the defending champion of the premiere class, scored two third place finishes in Round 1 at the Chang International Circuit and is presently second on the championship ladder behind Anthony West.   However, the top-end of the SuperSports 600cc grid in Australia will see a number of absentees. Notably, championship leader Anthony West who has World SSP duties and Zaqhwan Zaidi whose focus this year would be the All Japan JSB1000 in preparation for the eventual introduction of the ASB1000 class in 2019.   “Rider adaptability and ability to give accurate data and feedback to their respective team engineers will be the key to winning this race. In that sense, the senior riders would probably have a slight advantage over the younger set,” said Azlan.   The Malaysian’s key competitors are expected to be Thailand’s Decha Kraisart, and Japanese duo Tomoyoshi Koyama as well as Yuki Ito.

The 2018 season of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship opened to a spectacular six winners in six races at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. In the super-charged competitive environment that is the Asian road racing industry, the results from Round 1 promises an exciting season ahead. The 4.554km Chang International Circuit had always brought out the best from Anthony West. This latest outing had been no different. After taking second place in Race 1, West capped off a successful weekend with a convincing victory in 29’59.201s in Race 2. The Australian was initially caught up in a 6-man pack at the front of the group. But when Azlan ran wide on Lap 15, the Malaysian’s subsequent efforts to make up for lost ground gave West the chance to shake off the group. Racing astride the new Yamaha R6, West crossed the finish line with a 1.9-second margin. Decha Kraisart took second place while Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman managed to make the cut for the podium when Zaqhwan Zaidi and Ratthapong Wilairot crashed out at the last corner. Ironically, as the ARRC heads down under to The Bend Motorsports Park in Australia for the very first time, West, the championship leader will be missing from the grid due to a long-standing commitment in the WSSP. Nevertheless, West leads the 600cc title hunt with 45 points. Azlan is second overall with 32 points and Thitipong Warokorn third with 25 points. SUPERSPORTS 600cc TYRE CHOICE There were three compounds to choose from in the premiere class. But with air temperature up to 36 degrees Celsius and ground temperature measured at 60 degrees Celsius, the hard compound seemed to be the only viable solution. SS600 Tyre Choice Comp Rider Team Make Race 1 Race 2 Front Rear Front Rear 13 Anthony West Webike IKAZUCHI Racing Yamaha H H H H 16 Irfan Ardiansyah Astra Honda Racing Team Honda H H H H 20 Azroy Hakeem Anuar MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda H H H H 21 Zaqhwan Zaidi MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda H H H H 23 Taiga Hada Idemitsu Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10 Honda H H H H 24 Decha Kraisart Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha H H H H 25 Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki H H H H 27 Andi Farid Izdihar Astra Honda Racing Team Honda H H H H 29 Patrick Li Webike IKAZUCHI Racing Yamaha M M M M 32 Ramdan Rosli Hong Leong YAMAHA Malaysia Yamaha H H H H 33 Ahmad Yudhistira Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki H H H H 56 Ratthapong Wilairot Yamaha Thailand Racing Team Yamaha H H H H 64 Keminth Kubo Yamaha Racing Asean Yamaha H H H H 66 Ibrahim Norrodin SIC ZK Racing Kawasaki Kawasaki H H H M 634 Tomoyoshi Koyama MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Honda H H H H 76 Yuki Ito Yamaha Racing Asean Yamaha H H H H 80 Amirul Hafiq Azmi ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team Yamaha H H H H 88 Keisuke Kurihara AP Honda Racing Thailand Honda H H H H 92 Muzakkir Mohd ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team Yamaha H H H H 100 Thitipong Warokorn Core Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team Kawasaki H H H H 123 Passawit Thitivararak AP Honda Racing Thailand Honda H H H H 127 Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin Hong Leong YAMAHA Malaysia Yamaha H H H H SuperSports 600cc Fastest Lap Summary FP Keminth Kubo 1’38.902 QP Zaqhwan Zaidi 1’38.469 R1 Thitipong Warokorn 1’39.283 R2 Zaqhwan Zaidi 1’39.213

Wildcard rider Thitipong ‘Tingnote’ Warokorn ended a 3-year winning drought for the Kawasaki camp when he took Race 1 by storm. The last time a Kawasaki had won at the 4.554km Chang International Circuit, was Katsuaki Fujiwara who netted the first SuperSports 600cc win at the ARRC’s inaugural race inBuriram, Thailand. Thitipong, racing for the Core Kawasaki Racing Team, started the race from P6 but began breaking away when he took the lead on Lap 4. Though still hampered by injuries sustained in a separate training incident, Thitipong set a punishing pace at the front of the group, effectively leaving Australian rider Anthony West and defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman scrambling for the remaining two spots on the podium. By Lap 14, Thitipong had stretched the lead to 3.9 seconds. As the chequered flag came down on Lap 18, Thitipong crossed the finish line in 29’59.235s. 4.274s behind the wildcard, Ant West pipped Azlan to second place. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi finished fourth while Ahmad Yudhistira ended his race in fifth. Further down the finishing order, Ratthapong Wilairot, Tomoyoshi Koyama, Taiga Hada, Keminth Kubo and Andi Farid Izdihar rounded out the top-10. Also finishing within the points, were debutant Azroy Hakeem Anuar, Yuki Ito, Irfan Ardiansyah, Ramdan Rosli and Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin. A strong performance was expected from the vastly experienced Decha Kraisart. However, the long-time Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider crashed out on Lap 7.

Now racing in his second full season of the SuperSports 600cc category, a more matured and experienced Keminth Kubo has gotten off to a flying start at Round 1 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The Yamaha Racing ASEAN rider had previously shown glimmers of his potential in the 2017 season, particularly at the Indian leg of the season. As the season opener got underway at the Chang International Circuit, Keminth is out to prove his worth on the Asian stage. Equipped with a brand new Yamaha R6, the Thai rider aced the first day of free practice session with a best time of 1’38.902s. Keminth’s best time was posted from the third free practice session. Most of the riders were unable to post quick times during the morning practice. A heavy rainfall the previous night had resulted in a slippery track surface that left most of the competitors fighting for grip. Seasoned campaigners Decha Kraisart and Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi were second and third fastest respectively – 1’38.933s and 1’38.934s. Ratthapong Wilairot also demonstrated his flair for the R6 when he posted fourth fastest with 1’38.944s. Defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and his team mate Ahmad Yudhistira opted for consistency over speed and were fifth and sixth fastest respectively. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Yuki Ito, Anthony West, and Thitipong Warokorn completed the top 10 after a long hot day of free practice.