Supersports 600

As the curtains come down on the 2017 season of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman triumphed over a season of blood, sweat and tears to lift the second SuperSports 600cc title of his career.   The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider overcame the disadvantage of multiple crashes, and rode through the pain to craft a final magnificent comeback. He was 10 points adrift of championship leader Zaqhwan Zaidi at the start of the season finale but boosted his chances with a fifth place finish in Race 1.   As the riders lined up for Race 2, the final race of the 2017 season, Azlan had cut the margin to half, trailing Zaqhwan by only five points.   Polesitter Apiwat Wongthananon of team Yamaha Thailand Racing improved on his race start and quickly established a lead at the front of the pack. With Apiwat racing like a blue streak at the front of the group, Azlan was left fighting for third place against Chalermpol Polamai, Anthony West and Thitipong Warokorn. He maintained a third place position for the majority of the race but dropped to fourth when he was overtaken by Chalermpol on Lap 14.   But the cohesiveness of the Kawasaki strategy came together in a big way for Azlan. While Ahmad Yudhistira worked to hassle Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi in midfield, marquee-mate Thitipong Warokorn acted as an able rear guard for Azlan in the second pack.   A last lap push brought Azlan flying past Chalermpol at the closing minutes of the final race and he succeeded in claiming the third spot on the podium in 29’59.060s. Azlan was 5.9 seconds adrift of Apiwat who clinched the double victory in 29’53.158s. Anthony West finished second in the race.   “Our team worked really through the night to prepare a third engine for me. My thanks to them for not giving up. It was really a tough situation to overcome. I just knew that I had to finish as high as possible. At the same time, I had to save my tyres for the end of the race. Luckily, the strategy worked and I was able to overtake Chalermpol at the final lap,” said Azlan who shed tears of happiness when he realized that he had won the title with 155 points. The last time Kawasaki had won the Asian title was in 2011 through Katsuaki Fujiwara.   Azlan’s closest rival for the title, Zaqhwan (MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda), was seventh across the chequered flag. Consequently, he dropped to second overall with 153 points. Taiga Hada (RAMA Honda by NTS T.Pro Ten10) finished eighth in the race and completed his third SuperSports 600cc season third on the championship rung with 149 points. Yamaha Racing’s Yuki Ito was ninth across the finish line and dropped to fourth overall with 141 points.   Azlan’s win also confirmed team Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing as the 2017 SuperSports 600cc Team Champion with 182 points.

Apiwat Wongthananon handed the Yamaha Racing Thailand team their second victory of the year when he pipped Anthony West to the finish line in the SuperSports 600cc Race 1 at the season finale. 23-year-old Apiwat, who was also Asia Production 250cc and BRIC Superbike Champion in 2016, was virtually unstoppable as Round 6 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.   After topping the timesheets multiple times during the free practice and qualifying sessions, Apiwat put on a solid performance at the front of the SuperSports 600cc group. The upcoming Thai rider coolly absorbed the pressure coming at him from all directions, especially from his Kawasaki rival Thitipong Warokorn.   The Thai riders had put up such a formidable defense at the top end of the grid that the only rider who had been able to penetrate into the top four was Australian Anthony West. The Akeno Speed rider made a serious bid for the win on Lap 17, only to be checked by Apiwat who used his superior speed to race to the finish line with a time of 29’58.173s.   West had to settle for second with 29’58.353s. Former Moto2 rider, Thitipong Warokorn crossed the chequered flag in third place with 29’58.488s.   Team Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing’s Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman was the best performer among the five title contenders. He finished fifth behind Chalermpol Polamai. With the exception of Azlan, Race 1 had been a bad round for the championship leaders. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi, visibly struggling to find pace the entire weekend, finished 10th and picked up enough points to stay at the top of the standings with 144 points. Taiga Hada finished ninth and has moved up the standings to second overall with 141 points. Azlan’s fifth place moved him up the ladder with 139 points to his name while Yuki Ito crashed out at Turn 1 on Lap 14. The Yamaha Racing rider had dropped to fourth overall with 134 points. Despite finishing seventh, Ahmad Yudhistira had dropped out of the title chase. With 119 points in hand, Yudhistira is a full 25 points behind the championship leader.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Yamaha Thailand Racing Team riders are certainly rocking their brand new 2017 model Yamaha R6. Wildcard rider, Apiwat Wongthananon, back after a season racing Moto3 bikes in the Spanish National Championship, is aiming to wow his local crowd with a convincing victory at the Chang International Circuit.   Apiwat, who was 2016 Asia Production 250cc champion, showcased his abilities to perfection when he topped the SuperSports 600cc qualifying with 1’38.770s. Apiwat will lead the front row consisting of Chalermpol Polamai and Anthony West.   Meanwhile, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman was the fastest among the five title contenders. The Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider posted 1’39.223s during the qualifier and will start both Race 1 and Race 2 from fourth on the grid.   The two championship leaders Yuki Ito and Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi were seventh and eighth fastest respectively with 1’39.588s and 1’39.794s. Young Taiga Hada will start from tenth on the grid after he posted 1’40.070s as his best time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text] SuperSports 600cc – TOP SPEED COMPARISON FP1 FP2 FP3 QP Zaqhwan 244.1 – 243.0 246.3 Ito 249.7 254.4 248.5 252.0 Hada 246.8 249.7 249.1 248.0 Azlan 252.0 251.4 252.0 253.8 Yudhi 250.8 254.4 254.4 252.0 [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As of the Qualifying Practice, Azlan looks to have the advantage in terms of laptimes and top speed.   Yuki Ito and Ahmad Yudhistira posted the fastest top speed of their class – 254.4km/hr while Zaqhwan looks to be disadvantaged at the long straights.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The race to become the 2017 SuperSports 600cc champion intensified after an interesting first day of practice as Round 6 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship gets underway at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.   After clocking fastest in the first practice session with 1’39.957, championship leader Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi crashed on his first lap out in the afternoon practice session. The damage to the bike resulted in Zaqhwan sitting out FP2. The Malaysian was certified fit to race by the track doctors and will be back on track for the qualifier.   In Zaqhwan’s absence, wildcard Apiwat Wongthananon stole the show astride his 2017 model Yamaha R6 when he posted quickest with 1’39.294s. Apiwat’s team mate, Chalermpol Polamai was second fastest with 1’39.707s and Anthony West third with 1’39.827s.   The results from Day 1 so far had lived up to expectations that the title race will take place off the podium. Yuki Ito was the fastest among the five title contenders. The Yamaha Racing rider was fourth fastest with 1’39.836s.   Zaqhwan’s time from FP1 placed him sixth on the combined timesheets. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman was seventh fastest with 1’39.965s followed by his team mate Ahmad Yudhistira ninth with 1’40.146s.   SuperSports 600cc – Title Contenders Round 2 and Round 6 Laptimes Comparison:   Rd 2 FP1 Rd 6 FP1 Rd 2 FP2 Rd 6 FP2 Zaqhwan 1’42.173 1’39.957 1’40.059 – Ito 1’41.366 1’40.588 1’40.927 1’39.836 Hada 1’41.327 1’40.791 1’40.829 1’40.537 Azlan 1’40.644 1’40.158 1’40.415 1’39.965 Yudhis 1’40.440 1’40.666 1’41.003 1’40.146   In general, most of the riders had improved on their laptimes from Round 2 but the lap record set by Decha Kraisart, 1’38.641s, remains unbroken.

A season of twists and turns in the SuperSports 600cc class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship and suddenly, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi finds himself back in the championship lead again. Zaqhwan, who is also the defending champion of the class, did not look particularly strong at the start of the season. Instead, it was Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman who became the hot favourite for the title. But Azlan was unable to sustain his winning momentum beyond Round 2. He crashed and injured himself twice during the season. Meanwhile, Zaqhwan’s performance peaked with two race wins out of five podiums. As Zaqhwan and his peers head to the Chang International Circuit for the final round, the MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda rider leads the pack with 138 points. This is not the first time in Zaqhwan’s career when circumstances outside of his control had turned matters in his favour. In 2014, Zaqhwan won the SuperSports 600cc title by one point ahead of Yuki Ito. Ito was a strong contender for the title that year. But at the last lap of the final round, Zaqhwan’s team mate Mohd Zamri Baba crowded Ito off the racing line and ushered Zaqhwan into the winning position.     In 2016, the SuperSports 600cc title was a toss-up between Tomoyoshi Koyama and Zaqhwan. The title chase had narrowed down to the two riders and whichever one finished ahead of the other, would be the winner. Koyama had been the stronger of the two during the race weekend. Nobody would have guessed that the Japanese rider would fail to finish the race due to an engine malfunction.     As the countdown begins for the finale at the Chang International Circuit, the question remains: will Zaqhwan’s luck hold for a third time?

Since Yuki Ito’s full season ARRC debut in 2013, the 26-year-old had frequently been considered as one of the potential riders who could lift the SuperSports 600cc crown. He came close to reaching that target in 2014 when he missed out on the title by only one point. 2016, in particular, was a year to forget. Bogged down by persistent mechanical issues, the Yamaha Racing rider struggled to match results to his full potential. Dogged persistence and sheer determination from both the rider and his engineering crew had made a comeback possible in 2017. The bad news is, Ito’s results had not been consistent this season. However, a performance graph with peaks and valleys is infinitely preferable to a flatline at the bottom of the chart. The good news is, consistency was a rarity among the front runners in the 2018 title fight. Everyone suffered from their own issues ranging from mechanical failure to injuries and unforced human errors. With four podiums and a race win under his belt, Ito rocketed up the SuperSports 600cc ladder. As the clock ticks down to the season finale at the Chang International Circuit, the Yamaha Racing rider is trailing championship leader Zaqhwan Zaidi by only 4 points and shares second overall with Taiga Hada. YUKI ITO Rank after Rd 5: 2 Points: 134 points 2017 Pole: 0 2017 Podium: 5 (50%) 2017 Win: 1 (10%)

The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship experienced a mini-trend from 2012 to 2014 that brought a wave of young Japanese riders into the Underbone category. Some of these riders included Kazuki Masaki, Kaito Toba, Ren Toba, and Taiga Hada. Only 18, Hada is one of the youngest riders in the SuperSports 600cc category, and certainly the youngest among the five racing for the title in 2018. This is his fourth season in the ARRC. In 2014, Hada finished second overall in the Underbone 130cc class behind Gupita Kresna Wardhana. Since that first year, Hada’s progress had been remarkable. He ranked 22nd overall in his rookie SuperSports 600cc year in 2015 and finished 10th overall in 2016. Hada started the 2017 season in top form but experienced a slight dip in the mid-segment of the season. Double podium results from Round 5 at the Madras Motor Race Track places him shoulder-to-shoulder on the points standings with Yuki Ito. TAIGA HADA Rank after Rd 5: 2 Points: 134 points 2017 Pole: 0 2017 Podium: 5 (50%) 2017 Win: 1 (10%)

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman’s quest for his second Asian title had been derailed by a string of unfortunate incidences. Following a positive start in Round 1, the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider looked to be in good position, especially after inheriting a double win in Round 2 when Anthony West was disqualified. Azlan’s season went downhill after that. He injured his hand in Round 3 at Suzuka which also affected his results in Indonesia (Round 4). Just when he thought his injuries were behind him, another crash in India resulted in an injured leg and a start position from the back of the grid. The fact that Azlan is still in title contention is testament to his grit and determination. This rider had been racing in pain for most of 2017 yet had been able to keep his points-haul high enough for one last battle. AZLAN SHAH KAMARUZAMAN Rank after Rd 5: 4 Points: 128 points 2017 Pole: 0 2017 Podium: 3 podium (30%) 2017 Win: 2 (20%)

Since 2011, the SuperSports 600cc title had been won by either the Japanese or Malaysian riders. As the 2017 season draws to an end, Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing’s Ahmad Yudhistira is in position to become the first premiere class champion from Indonesia. 24 years of age, Yudhis, had been racing in the SuperSports 600cc category since 2013. His best result in the class was in 2015 when he finished third overall. Currently standing fifth on the rankings with 110 points, Yudhis still has a mathematical chance of overcoming the 28-point chasm that yawns between him and Zaqhwan Zaidi in first place. AHMAD YUDHISTIRA Rank after Rd 5: 5 Points: 110 points 2017 Pole: 0 2017 Podium: 3 podium (30%) 2017 Win: 0