Supersports 600

MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda’s Zaqhwan Zaidi is revelling in the heat of the Chang International Circuit while SuperSports 600cc championship leader Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman struggles to get on pace. The Malaysian rider who is second overall in the title chase was quickest during the first day of practice for Round 2 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship underway in Thailand this weekend. Despite playing second fiddle behind team mate Yuki Takahashi during the first two practice sessions, Zaqhwan came out with guns blazing at the third session with 1’40.249, the fastest lap of the day. Decha Kraisart and Tomoyoshi Koyama posted 1’40.255s and 1’40.376s respectively to round up the top three. Meanwhile, Takahashi’s pristine record at the Chang International Circuit was marred by a crash at Turn 1 during the second free practice session. Takahashi ended the first day fourth fastest with 1’40.468s followed by Ratthapong Wilairot with 1’40.655s. “The track surface is heating up as the day wears on and we are getting less traction than ever. I took an unexpected tumble during FP2, but sustained only minor damages to the bike. I am still confident that my results will hold up well for the qualifying and subsequent races,” said Takahashi who is looking to revive his title defense here in Buriram. Meanwhile, class leader Azlan Shah struggled to produce the laptimes on an unfamiliar circuit. “The tarmac was really slippy and to be absolutely honest, these types of track layouts with a lot of stop-and-go are never high on my favourites list,” said Azlan who was 11th fastest in FP1, 10th fastest in FP2, and eventually 9th fastest in FP3. Qualifying for the SuperSports 600cc will take place on Saturday morning to be followed by Race 1 in the afternoon. Catch the live stream of the races on www.eversport.tv starting from 0505hrs GMT.

The 4.554km Chang International Circuit, Thailand’s first FIM Grade A circuit, can be a deceptively difficult race course for rookie riders. For Malaysian rider Mohd Fitri Ashraff Razali, currently in his third season in the premiere class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, the circuit located in Buriram is the most important race track in the 2016 title chase. “The Chang International Circuit will host the ARRC twice this season. Therefore, the ability to score big points here becomes doubly important. This is not an easy race track to master. It looks easy on paper but there are two big trouble spots that could have a big impact on riders’ performance. Turn 4 happens as we descend from a slight elevation and we have to make an immediate left hand dive. Because of the elevation, we won’t be able to sight the corner prior to the turn and the method to tackle this turn must be memorized and ingrained into our muscles and reactions. Turn 12, the last corner, is also another tricky spot. It is a sharp right-hander and any mistake here will send the rider out onto the runoff area, effectively killing our race pace,” said Fitri. The 22-year-old Malaysian rider has much to prove this season, especially after landing a coveted ride with factory team Yamaha Racing. In a field of factory-supported satellite teams, Team Yamaha Racing is the only factory outfit in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. “Turn 4 and 12 have always been the hardest part of the circuit for me. I have not had good results here in 2015. This season, I must overcome those blocks. I need to improve on my rankings to secure my seat in the team,” he said. Fitri ranked 32nd overall in 2014, his maiden season in the SuperSports 600cc class. In his sophomore year in 2015, he climbed up the ladder to finish 25th overall. After one round of competition in 2016, Fitri is currently 14th overall.

23-year-old Indian rider Sarath Kumar is set to take on a new chapter in his racing career. With backing from the WOW Digit Company, the former Asia Dream Cup graduate will be making his SuperSports 600cc debut at Round 2 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Scheduled to be held at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand on May 7 – 8, 2016, Sarath will be running mates with two Japanese aces – Moto2 rider Tomoyoshi Koyama and upcoming hotshot Taiga Hada. Sarath was the first Indian rider to be accepted in the Honda-driven Asia Dream Cup. He ranked ninth overall in 2014 but slipped down to 13th in 2015. While Sarath will not be the first Indian to race in the Supersports 600cc class (that distinction has already been taken by K. Rajini), his participation in the class becomes that much more anticipated with the Buddh International Circuit set to host the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship later this year. “This is a perfect time for me to move from 250 class to the 600 class and I am so happy that I will be representing India in ARRC SS600. I have been riding the smaller bikes for over 8 years and because of my physic I had to move up the cc class but I did not expect the opportunity to come so soon that to at such a high level of competition. ARRC SS600 is one of the toughest grid in the world and I want to learn a lot this year before I start thinking about results. Riding with teammates like Koyoma will be a great learning opportunity for me and I hope I can get adjusted with the motorcycle fast. I really want to thank Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India, HM Japan our sponsors Mr. John Sudheer, WOW Digit Company and Mr. Ramji Govindarajan, Ten10 Racing who came forward to support the entire team for the season,” said Sarath. The Asia Dream Cup is an intermediary development programme meant to bridge the distance between the national championships and the regional and international levels. A fully sponsored programme, the Asia Dream Cup has become a much coveted opportunity among young hopefuls from around the region. Within five short years, the Asia Dream Cup had clocked tremendous success with their proteges now making waves around the world. 2012 winner Hikari Okubo is now a full-season World Superbike rider racing the 1000cc, 2013 and 2014 winners Hiroki Ono and Khairul Idham Pawi form a team in the Moto3 World Championships, 2015 winner Mukhlada Sarapuech is now being trained in Japan. Other luminaries from the Asia Dream Cup platform include Australian rider Josh Hook, now a WSBK rider with Hikari Okubo; as well as Indonesian Gerry Salim who is beginning to make big strides in the SuperSports 600cc class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The Asia Dream Cup gained global prominence recently when Malaysian rider Khairul Idham Pawi became the first South East Asian to win the Moto3 race. Khairul accomplished his feat at the Argentinian Grand Prix on April 3

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made a big comeback to the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship with a double victory in the season opener held at the Johor Circuit on April 1 and 2, 2016. The Malaysian rider followed up his commanding performance in Race 1 with an unexpected change of tyre strategy. Even though the soft compound rear tyre netted him good results on Friday, Azlan opted for the hard compound for Race 2. With track temperature close to 55 degrees Celcius, the choice was disadvantageous at the start of the race. Pole-sitter Zaqhwan Zaidi and Yuki Takahashi both opted for soft compound rears for Race 2. The MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda duo were quick to capitalize on their prime starting position on the front row. However, Azlan was never far behind. As the 16-lap race progressed, tyre wear rapidly became a serious issue. Takahashi was content to stay in third place, allowing the two Malaysians to battle it out in front of their home crowd. In trying to fend off constant attacks from an increasingly aggressive Azlan on the final lap, Zaqhwan committed a critical error on Turn 3. As Zaqhwan ran wide, Azlan raced through and held the lead right to the chequered flag. Azlan brought the flag down at 24’56.627s, followed by Yuki Takahashi second with 24’57.612s. Zaqhwan recovered fast enough to squeak through onto the podium in third place. Behind the leading trio, former Asia Dream Cup rider Gerry Salim rode an impressive ride in fourth place. The young Indonesian rider successfully edged out Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ahmad Yudhistira, Dimas Ekky Pratama and Anthony West. Maximum points from Race 1 has Azlan leading the SuperSports 600cc title chase. Zaqhwan Zaidi is currently second overall with 32 points and Tomoyoshi Koyama’s consistency placed him third in the rankings with 31 points. Rider Quotes: Azlan Shah: “I was playing it safe at the start. I had identified Turn 3 as one of the possibilities for an overtaking move. My patience paid off when Zaqhwan ran wide right on cue. This double win was unexpected and I have my new team to thank for it.” Yuki Takahashi: “Today’s results was certainly better than Race 1. My performance suffered because I was only able to do one day of testing during the pre-season official tests. Because of that, I don’t have enough data with the new tyre and ended up making the wrong tyre choice in Race 1. To be honest, I really didn’t have any specific strategy in mind. I just wanted to follow Zaqhwan and push hard to overtake.” Zaqhwan: “Of course I am disappointed. I had a good start and led the majority of the 16 laps. My mistake at Turn 3 was painful. I guess I would have to be satisfied with two podium finishes this round.”

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman crafted a spectacular Asia Road Racing Championship comeback when he piloted his Kawasaki to victory at Round 1 of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Held at the Johor Circuit on April 1 and 2, 2016, Azlan displayed a near-perfect performance to win the SuperSports 600cc Race 1 with a total time of 26’00.806s. As Round 1 commenced, it was all about the tyre in the SuperSports 600cc class. New tyre rules for the 2016 season brought the element of slick tyres into the Asian premiere category and was a game-changer in more ways than one. Azlan started the race third on the grid, but his choice of hard compound for his front tyre and soft compound for the rear gave him the speed he needed to power his way into the hole shot. For the remainder of the 16-lap race, Azlan controlled the race pace at the front of the pack. “I worked really hard to save my tyre while keeping the rest of the competition at bay. During the first half of the race, I thought that the other riders who had opted for medium rear tyres were biding their time, waiting for my tyres to degrade before they made their move. This turned out to be the right strategy. When Koyama finally attempted to overtake on Lap 11, I still had enough grip left to respond aggressively,” said Azlan who has signed on with BikeART Racing Kawasaki this season. Azlan’s win ended a 9-month Kawasaki drought in the SuperSports 600cc category. The last time a Kawasaki rider won the premiere class of the ARRC was Ahmad Yudhistira who took first place at the Sentul International Circuit last year. 0.795s behind Azlan, T Pro Yuzy Honda NTS rider Tomoyoshi Koyama ended the race in second place. Pole-sitter Zaqhwan Zaidi admitted that he was still grappling with the idea of tyre strategies when he finished third with 25’02.573s. “Both Yuki Takahashi and I opted for a hard-medium combination. But despite our prime starting position at the front row, we were unable to defend that advantage,” said Zaqhwan. Indonesian rider Dimas Ekky Pratama was fourth after a hard-won battle against fifth-placed Taiga Hada. Ratthapong Wilairot finished sixth. Anthony West went from 10th to seventh in his first exposure in SuperSports 600cc racing.

The temperature may be soaring at the Johor Circuit, but local boy Zaqhwan Zaidi is not sweating the competition as he faces down a 21-strong SuperSports 600cc grid. The 21-year-old rider secured the provisional pole position for the season opening leg of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship with his fastest time of 1’31.423s. Zaqhwan, who is also 2014 SuperSports 600cc Asian Champion, will expect stiff competition from Japanese rider Tomoyoshi Koyama who was second fastest with 1’31.654s and his former team mate Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman who clocked third fastest with 1’31.902s. The top three riders were the only ones lapping within the 1 minute 31 second barrier. Zaqhwan’s fastest time recorded during the official pre-season test, 1’31.112s, remains as the unofficial lap record at the 3.86km Johor Circuit. “I think everyone was more relaxed today because we have all been able to do many laps during the pre-season test last week. The variables such as track temperature and tarmac condition has remained the same. So, for the free practices, we were able to focus on long runs to find the limits of the new tyres instead of going for speed. I have been able to test out many different compound combinations but we are still fine-tuning our strategy for qualifying and the race. I am expecting a drastic change of results during the qualifying session so we can’t rest on our laurels yet,” said Zaqhwan. Thai riders Ratthapong Wilairot (1’32.130s) and Thitipong Warokorn (1’32.166s) completed the free practices in fourth and fifth places respectively. Indonesian riders Gerry Salim and Ahmad Yudhistira, double 600cc champion Decha Kraisart, 600cc sophomore Taiga Hada and defending champion Yuki Takahashi all made it into the top-10 in the SuperSports 600cc. Moto2 rider Anthony West, was 13th fastest with 1’32.741s, 1.5 seconds off Zaqhwan’s pace.