Underbone 150

Ahmad Fazli Sham netted a second UB150 victory for the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team when he dominated Race 2 in the 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship season opener at the Sepang International Circuit. With this win, Fazli erased the bad memories from 2019 when he finished out of the points in both the Sepang rounds. Race 2 got off, again with Fazli’s younger brother Ahmad Fazrul Sham on pole. The Cardinals Racing Team rider lost the holeshot to Akid Aziz, but made up for lost ground when he led his team mate Iqbal Abdul Malek in 1-2 formation across the finish line by the end of Lap 1. Fazli got into the lead as Lap 2 commenced. The seasoned UB150 campaigner kept his position even as a big crash between Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, Iqbal Abdul Malek and Fernando Masato shook things up at the front. As the 20-rider group swarmed into the final lap, poleman Fazrul tried to peel away but lost his advantage in the long backstraight before heading to the last corner. A neat move by Fazli saw him ducking into the inside line and raced ahead of Fazrul to pick up his sixth career Sepang win with 15’34.448s. RCB YAMAHA YY Pang’s Mohd Izzat Zaidi served up a surprise when he finished the race in second place with 15’34.549s. The outcome from Race 2 represented a big comeback for Izzat who sat out of Race 1 on Saturday due to mechanical errors. Race 2 reunited the two brothers on the podium as Cardinals Racing Team’s Ahmad Fazrul Sham crossed the line in third. The Sham siblings are now leading the UB150 title chase. Fazrul’s double Sepang podiums placed him at the top of the ladder with 36 points. Fazli ranked second with 34 points. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, winner of Race 1, was one of the riders who crashed out on Lap 3. The Indonesian dropped to third overall with 25 points. The UB150 Race 2 also brought some sterling performances from the newcomers to the Asian series. SND Factory Racing Rapido’s Muhammad Hildan Kusuma finished a creditable fourth while 4S1M YAMAHA Racing Team’s John Emerson Inguito gave Filipino fans something to cheer for when he crossed the finish line in fifth. UB150: Top 5 Race 2 Results Ahmad Fazli Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                   15’34.448s Mohd Izzat Zaidi (MAS) (Yamaha)                      15’34.549s Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                15’34.749s M. Hildan Kusuma (INA) (Honda)                       15’35.407s John Emerson Inguito (PHI) (Yamaha)               15’35.413s UB150: Top 5 Standings After Round 1 Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                36 pts Ahmad Fazli Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                   34 pts Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) (Yamaha)                25 pts Mohd Izzat Zaidi (MAS) (Yamaha)                      20 pts Peerapong Luiboonpeng (THA) (Yamaha)         18 pts UB150: Top 5 Team Standings After Round 1 ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team 1                       59 pts Cardinals Racing Team                                             40 pts UMA Racing YAMAHA Maju Motor Asia Team   34 pts RCB YAMAHA YY PANG                                           28 pts Team One For All                                                        25 pts

Indonesian rider and 2017 Underbone Asian champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana ended a 2-year winning drought with bit of smart racing at the season opener of the 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Sepang International Circuit.   The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team rider who had consistently posted fastest times in the practice sessions, started the race from second on the grid when he clocked 2’35.006s in the qualifier.   As Race 1 flagged off, Wahyu tucked himself into the leading group, allowing Malaysians Ahmad Fazrul Sham and Akid Aziz to lead the pack across the start/finish line. The savvy Indonesian rider made his move at the start of the final lap when he pushed out of the slipstream into the lead.   Wahyu held on to his position up to the back straight but came under attack when the leading group caught up. At the last corner, Wahyu grimly hung on to the inside line while Fazrul attacked from the outside. The Indonesian was able to defend his position in the final sprint to the finish line and notched up his first Sepang career win with 15’36.063s.   Behind Wahyu, the Cardinals Racing Team reached a significant milestone when the team’s riders Ahmad Fazrul Sham qualified for pole position with 2’34.389s and Mohd Iqbal Abdul Malek earned the right to park his bike on P3 with 2’35.504s.   Fazrul led the group for the majority of the race, but was caught out by Wahyu in the final lap. Denied the win, Fazrul still brought home a first podium for the Cardinals Racing Team when he finished second with 15’36.108s.   Peerapong Luiboonpeng crossed the finish line in third with 15’36.138s.     UB150: Top 5 SuperPole Results   Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                2’34.389s Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) (Yamaha)                2’35.006s Iqbal Abdul Malek (MAS) (Yamaha)                   2’35.504s Izzat Zaidi (MAS) (Yamaha)                                 2’35.606s Akid Aziz (MAS) (Yamaha)                                   2’35.784s   UB150: Top 5 Race 1 Results   Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) (Yamaha)             15’36.063s Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                15’36.108s Peerapong Luiboonpeng (THA) (Yamaha)              15’36.138s Mohd Akid Aziz (MAS) (Yamaha)                        15’36.270s Wawan Wello (INA) (Yamaha)                            15’36.370s  

Wahyu Aji Trilaksana continues to ride high in the Underbone 150cc class. With only a day’s break between the 2020 pre-season tests and the start of Round 1, the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team rider had been able to sustain his momentum at the top of the Underbone timesheets.   The Indonesian rider led the Underbone 150cc qualifying charge and posted a new lap record of 2’31.358s in the process.   Proliner RCB 549 KABOCI Racing Team’s Richie Taroreh was a close second with 2’31.874s, the only rider on the 27-man grid to lap within the same second as Wahyu Aji.   Behind the two charging Indonesians, competitive siblings Ahmad Fazli Sham and Ahmad Fazrul Sham looked well prepared for this season’s title chase. Fazli, representing the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team, was the third fastest man in qualifying with 2’32.059s. Younger brother Fazrul who is racing under the Cardinals Racing Team banner this year, posted fourth with 2’32.311s.   Peerapong Luiboonpeng has shown remarkable progress in his third full season in the UB150. The Team One For All rider, who is also the sole Thai representative in the class, was fifth quickest in qualifying with 2’32.625s.   Off the top five, UMA Racing YAMAHA Maju Motor Asia Team looked to have hit a spot of trouble during the UB150 qualifier. Akid Aziz led the field in Practice 1 and Practice 2, but ended the qualifying session in seventh behind team mate Haziq Fairues. Akid’s best time in the qualifying, 2’32.862s, was about a second off his best pace earlier in the day.   Similarly, UMA Racing YAMAHA Philippine Team struggled to get the pace out of their Yamaha Sniper 150. Fernando Masato narrowly made the cut into the SuperPole when he qualified 14th with 2’34.181s. Kerwin Chang was 25th on the list with 2’36.179s.   In contrast, newcomer team 4S1M YAMAHA Racing Team has gotten their UB150 debut off to a solid start with Gupita Kresna 13th quickest with 2’34.078s.     UB150: Top 5 Qualifying Results 2020 Lap Record: 2’31.359s – Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) (Yamaha)   Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) (Yamaha)                2’31.358s Richie Taroreh (INA) (Yamaha)                           2’31.874s Ahmad Fazli Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                   2’32.059s Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha)                2’32.311s Peerapong Luiboonpeng (THA) (Yamaha)              2’32.625s