Supersports 600

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.

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.