Supersports 600

The four day finale of the 2015 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship revs off with two free practice sessions for the open-make SuperSports 600cc, Asia Production 250cc, and Underbone 130cc classes. From the results of the first day of practice, the weekend is shaping up to a Thai-Japanese confrontation especially in the premiere SuperSports 600cc class. MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing’s Yuki Takahashi is in strong form, clocking in fastest of the day with 1’39.820s. Behind Takahashi, Kawasaki rider Ahmad Yudhistira was the only Indonesian to make it into the top-10 when he posted the second fastest time of 1’40.086s. Returning former ARRC protege and current Moto2 rider Thitipong Warokorn was third fastest with 1’40.223s followed by Ratthapong Wilairot who was fourth fastest and wildcard rider Ryuiji Yokoe, fifth. “The Thai riders seem to be in top form this weekend, even the wildcard riders are posting amazing results. We tried out a bunch of different settings during the morning session where I was second fastest. But ultimately, we decided to revert back to our Round 4 configurations as it had yielded the best results for this track. The surface of the tarmac is a little slippery, mainly due to the high number of car races that had been held at this popular circuit. Thanks to the expanded race programme, we now have one extra day in which to fine-tune the machine for the final battle,” said Takahashi. Other Thai and Japanese riders in the top-10 during the free practice results included Anucha Narkcharoensri, Tomoyoshi Koyama, Decha Kraisart, Hikari Okubo, and Suhathai Chaemsup. The fastest Malaysian rider was Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi who posted 11the fastest with 1’40.999s. In the Asia Production 250cc class, a similar Thai-Japanese battle seem to be on the cards as Takehiro Yamamoto and Apiwat Wongthananon take their title chase right down the wire to the final round. Needing to overcome the 24-point lead held by Yamamoto, Apiwat shot to the top of the timesheets during the second free practice session with 1’57.637s. Yamamoto was second fastest with 1’57.737s while Vorapong Malahuan and Nakarin Atiratphuvapat were third and fourth fastest respectively. Finally, Indonesian riders Wahyu Aji Trilaksana and Ferlando Herdian tag-teamed their way to the leadership position during the second free practice session. Wahyu was fastest with 2’08.763s while Ferlando trailed with 2’09.451s. Malaysian rider Mohd Adib Rosley was third fastest with 2’09.471s. Anggi Permana Putera and Elly Idzlianizar Ilias made up the rest of the top-5.

Japanese Yuki Takahashi’s hopes of wrapping up the title was given a timely boost on Friday after the Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider topped the SuperSports 600cc qualifying session in style at the final round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. Yuki had already set the benchmark after going quickest in the third and final practice on Friday morning with his best effort of 1:39.603s, which was a tenth faster than his closest rival, Ahmad Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) who came in with a 1:39.699s on his Kawasaki. With the stage set for an epic qualifying showdown, it was Yuki who set the pace with a series of quick lap times to top the time sheet in the earlier half of the 30-minutes session. However, Thailand’s Decha Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team), who is participating in the weekend’s race as a wildcard forced the Japanese to work much harder after the Yamaha Thailand Racing team rider clocked in with a 1:39.563s to claim the top spot. Upping the ante in the latter stages of the session and swapping to a new set of tyres it did not take long before Yuki responded with a stunning 1:39.194s and obliterating the circuit’s qualifying lap record enough to seal the deal with the pole position start for the first race on Saturday. Meanwhile, Decha’s best effort was unmatched earning the Thai a second position start ahead of Ahmad Yudhistira with his best effort of 1:39.609s ensuring a front row start from third on the grid. A last minute push by Tomoyoshi Koyama (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) saw the Japanese register a fourth place grid start with his best effort of 1:39.615s just ahead of another wildcard Ryuji Yokoe (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) who impressed with his time of 1:39.665s. Clearly delighted with his pace, Yuki has his sights focused on a securing a win on Saturday in his quest to seal his championship bid having already amassed a total haul of 177 points after five rounds and a 44-point advantage over his closest contender, Tomoyoshi Koyama. “I am very happy with the overall pace so far. Also the conditions was not too bad today and I am very happy with the set-up, which is crucial considering that tomorrow’s race will be at the same time as when we had the session today,” notes Yuki. With the tile due to the decided, the first race in the category will take place on Saturday with the second due to take place on Sundayafternoon.

After dominating the practice and qualifying sessions, Musashi Boon Siew Honda’s Yuki Takahashi made it a Saturday to remember after notching an emphatic race win in Race 1 in the SuperSports 600cc category at the season finale round of the 2015 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Buriram, Thailand. Claiming his seventh successive race win, the victory on Saturday afternoon was enough for the Japanese to also clinch the riders’ championship title with one race to spare, adding to the team championship title, which the team was able to wrap up at the previous round in Qatar. Although the Japanese did not have a great start losing the lead to Yamaha Thailand Racing team’s wildcard Decha Kraisart, it was temporary setback as Yuki managed to reclaim the lead by the end of the first lap, one that he did not relinquish right through to the chequered flag. Lapping consistently in the 1:39 mark throughout, Yuki’s lead was an unassailable one as he romped to an emphatic win with over a 10second gap to the rest of the field. The newly crowned SuperSports 600cc champion, Yuki Takahashi notes, “I am so happy with this result today. I would like to thank my team and sponsors. This is an amazing, especially after the collected their fourth team title and to now also win the riders’ championship is a fantastic result! I did my maximum, but it would not have been possible to get the title today without the team. The level of competition is very high in this category so i knew i had to push very hard today to ensure a win.” The fight for the remaining positions on the podium proved an exciting one involving Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki’s Ahmad Yudhistira and Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s wildcard rider, Anucha Narkcharoensri in a battle royale for second place that went all the way to the final sequence of corners on the final lap. Struggling with tyre issues, it was the wildcard rider who prevailed claiming second, relegating Ahmad Yudhistira to third place. In fourth place was Ratthapong Wilairot (AP Honda Racing Thailand) who managed to hold on to the position despite a spirited battle with Tomoyoshi Koyama (T. Pro Yuzy Honda NTS), who eventually settled for fifth. Claiming seventh place was Astra Honda Racing Team’s Dimas Ekky Pratama ahead of best-placed Malaysian, Zaqhwan Zaidi (Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing) in eighth. With the riders’ championship title already wrapped up, the fight for the runners-up position in the championship remains open between Tomoyoshi Koyama and Ahmad Yudhistira, which will be determined in the final race of the season on Sunday.

Zaqhwan Zaidi said that managing tyre wear plays an important aspect for this weekend’s FIM Asia Road Racing Championship as he attempts to claw his way onto the podium at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The reigning SuperSports 600cc champion hinted that the 5.380 kilometre circuit tends to be more abrasive on the Dunlop tyres and he expects the high track temperatures will further aggravate the problem. Zaqhwan however remains confident he can make something happen under Losail’s floodlights following a fruitful outing in Thailand last month that saw him finish Race 1 and Race 2 seventh upon his return from the Moto2 World Championship. “Qatar has always been known to be tricky especially where tyre wear is concern. Degradation happens a lot faster here compared to other tracks because there are a lot of high-speed corners. Adding on to the challenge, this year we will race under warm conditions unlike the past four seasons where the race took place during winter,” he said. The Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider added, “But racing in the heat does have it’s upside. Lap times are surely to be much faster because with more heat, the tyres can generate better grip. So to get on the podium this weekend, tyre management is crucial and we need to find the right balance between knowing when to attack and hold back.” Speaking about his targets for this weekend, Zaqhwan commented, “I’m looking forward to the night race. This place holds sweet memories because this is where I won the Asian SuperSports 600cc title last year.” “Furthermore, I feel like I am gaining more confidence after the race in Thailand. We had a strong pace but unfortunately I made some mistakes in the race. I was disappointed but I knew getting back into the groove won’t be easy because competition is very stiff. The goal for this weekend is to make a further step forward and try to finish on the podium.”