Underbone 150

An incident occurred at Turn 7 on Lap 3 of the Underbone 150cc Race 2 at the Chang International Circuit. Rider Amber Garcia from the Philippines was injured in the incident.   Amber first received medical attention at the Medical Centre before being transferred to the Buriram Hospital where treatment continued in the ICU unit.   The FIM Asia, Two Wheels Motor Racing, and the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship family ask for everyone to join us as we pray for Amber’s recovery.   Statement : Amber Garcia

McKinley Kyle Paz (UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team) was disappointed to qualify off the front row at the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship season finale at Buriram, but in the Underbone class, the UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team rider knew that grid position is not everything.   The 18-year-old, who was one of five riders still in the running for the 2019 title, knew that all he had to do was hunker down within the front group and bide his time for a last lap, last corner attack.   However, in the sheer unpredictability that is so characteristic of Underbone racing, pre-drawn plans and strategy went flying out the window the moment the 8-lap race was flagged off.   Haziq Fairues and Akid Aziz (UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team)  were among the early leaders at the start of Race 2. At the end of Lap 1, 28 out of 31 were still bunched up in one big group, attacking the corners six abreast.   The first title contender to drop out of the race was Aldi Satya Mahendra (Yamaha Racing Indonesia). Aldi crashed out of the last turn along with Mohd Rozaiman Said (Cardinals Racing Team). Haziq Fairues was very nearly swept along by the incident and lost eight positions to drop down to the back of the group.   On Lap 4, championship leader Akid Aziz retired from the race, his title hunt derailed again by mechanical failure. This left 20 riders in the leading charge, among them, McKinley Kyle Paz, Ahmad Fazli Sham (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), and Haziq Fairues.   McKinley’s bid for the title faltered when he crashed in the mid-section of the 4.554km circuit. Refusing to give up, the young Filipino rider was back on his bike in a flash even though he had lost touch of the front pack.   The leading group had not shrunk noticeably by the final lap. With the notorious Buriram Turn 12 looming, Ahmad Fazli Sham began to slipstream his way past Richie Taroreh, Mohd Izzat Zaidi and Wawan Wello. The seasoned campaigner was all set to take control of the final corner until he got skittled by Syahrul Amin (SND Factory Racing Rapido).   Mohd Izzat Zaidi (RCB Accentwire Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team) led the group across the finish line but was later penalized for exceeding the track limit at the last corner.   Izzat’s penalty handed the win to Richie Taroreh (Proliner 549 Kaboci Racing Team) who claimed his first win of the season with 16’23.670s. Wawan Wello (SND Factory Racing Rapido) and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team) made it an all-Indonesian clean sweep in the Underbone 150 Race 2.   15 seconds behind, McKinley Kyle Paz finished just outside of the points in 16th place. Clueless about what had happened in front of him, the disappointed young rider had no idea that his title contenders had been taken out one by one in the intensity of the race. It was only when he returned, dejected, to the pits that he found out he had officially entered the history books as the first Filipino rider to become the FIM Asian Underbone 150cc champion with 121 points to his name.   Akid Aziz, despite two DNF finishes in the final round, stayed in second overall with 119 points while his team mate Haziq Fairues closed the season in third with 113 points.   While the UMA Racing Yamaha riders were busy celebrating their personal achievements, the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team had quietly triumphed over UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team in the UB150 Team Awards. Thanks to Wahyu’s steady performance, the Malaysian-based team won the team award by 190 points. UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team dropped to second with 178 points while UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team was ranked third with 139 points.

A change in the UB150 pecking order after Race 1 has set the stage for an explosive final race at the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship finale in Thailand this week.   A strong performance in the SuperPole earlier in the day had brought title contender Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues to pole position alongside two ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team riders Ahmad Fazli Sham and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana on the front row.   As the 31 riders assembled on the congested grid for the start of Race 1, a clean start brought polesitter Haziq into the lead at Turn 1 with the rest of the grid in hot pursuit. The intensity of the title chase had ramped up the action in the Underbone 150cc Race 1. At the end of the first lap, the top 11 riders came across the finish line within the same second.   Unfortunately for championship leader Mohd Akid Aziz, mechanical failure forced the Uma Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team rider out of the race on Lap 2. More carnage ensued on the same lap when Mohammad Murobbil Vitoni, Syahrul Amin, Richard Taroreh and Muhamad Iqbal Abdul Malek got involved in a big pile-up at Turn 4. Thankfully, all the riders were able to walk away from the crash.   Seasoned campaigner Ahmad Fazli Sham used every bit of skill in his arsenal to lead the group across the finish line for most of the 8-lap race. Three laps to go, while Fazli continues to mix things up at the front, championship hopeful McKinley Kyle Paz was tucked into the front group on P6.   McKinley’s team mate Fernando Masato sprung a surprise on the last lap when he stormed past Fazli and into the lead. The Filipino rider held on to his advantage for two more corners but lost the lead to Fazli as they exited Turn 3. Team tactics came into play at this point when the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team riders bunched up together to squeeze Masato out of the front. Fazli got onto the lead with the aid of their slipstream.   Another crash at the same corner gave Fazli the space he needed to pull ahead of the group. The Malaysian rider kept his momentum for the rest of the final lap and notched his second win of the season. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana made it a ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team 1-2 when he crossed the line in second place. Fernando Masato settled for third place.   McKinley Kyle Paz took control of the title chase when he finished tenth in Race 1. McKinley leads Akid by only two points. The Underbone 150 title chase is now down to five riders including Haziq Fairues, Ahmad Fazli Sham and Aldi Satya Mahendra ahead of the final race on Sunday.

The top 15 riders from Friday’s Underbone 150cc qualifier went out for the final SuperPole session for the 2019 season. This format of seeding the top-15 spots on the race grid will see the riders going out in batches of five. Each rider is flagged off individually to ensure that everyone has a clear piece of track in front of him. The idea is to take away the vital slipstream advantage and create a front grid that is based solely on machine and rider capability.   Young Aldi Satya Mahendra (Yamaha Racing Indonesia) led the first batch of five comprised of Gupita Kresna Wardhana, Peerapong Luiboonpeng, Mohd Faiz Zekri and Aditya Fauzi.   Aldi’s best time 2’03.044s was quickly eclipsed by the second group (Izzat Zaidi, Hafiza Rofa, McKinley Kyle Paz, Amirul Ariff Musa, and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana). Wahyu posted the fastest time among the second group with 2’02.694s.   The third and final batch of riders were made up of the top five fastest riders from Friday’s qualifying session – Haziq Fairues, Affendi Rosli, Rozaiman Said, Ahmad Fazli Sham, and lap record holder Akid Aziz.   However, it was Haziq Fairues (UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team) who stole the limelight when he claimed pole position with 2’02.470s. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana’s time was good enough to keep him on front row followed by his ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team team mate, Ahmad Fazli Sham on P3.   Top Friday qualifier and championship leader Akid Aziz will lead the second row with Izzat Zaidi and McKinley Kyle Paz.

Indonesian rider Rafid Topan Sucipto led the way on Day 1 at the season finale of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, thanks to a 1’53.039s fastest lap that put him on provisional pole in the Asia Production 250cc class.   The former Moto2 rider was followed by A.P. Honda Racing Thailand trio Piyawat Patoomyos, Muklada Sarapuech and Tatchakorn Buasri, with the top seven riders all qualifying within a second.   ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Rey Ratukore completed the top five on the overall charts. The Indonesian sits 0.7 seconds off compatriot Rafid as they head for qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday.   Aiki Iyoshi led the three AP250 title contenders on P6. Behind the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing rider, his team mate Andy Muhammad Fadly, Awhin Sanjaya, Irfan Ardiansyah and Lucky Hendriansya rounded up the top 10. All four has a critical role to play in the outcome of the Asia Production 250cc title chase. Team play is expected to be very much in evidence this weekend, especially with both Fadly and Irfan riding with a 1000rpm cut.

Underbone 150 title hopeful Mohd Akid Aziz is in top form as the season finale of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship opened at the Chang International Circuit on November 29, 2019.   The UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team rider who stands a good chance of winning his second Asian title, logged a new Underbone 150 lap record at the 4.554km circuit when he posted 1’59.784s to take provisional pole in the Underbone qualifier. The Malaysian’s previous lap record was set at 1’59.974s.   One other rider managed to lap below the previous lap record. Ahmad Fazli Sham was clocked as the second fastest man on the Underbone grid with 1’59.940s. Fazli was the first to break the lap record earlier in the qualifier but his feat was eclipsed when Akid bettered him by 0.156 seconds. The seasoned campaigner from the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team also topped the timesheets earlier in the day during the first two practice sessions.   In all, seven of the nine Underbone 150 title contenders made the cut for the SuperPole that will determine the final composition of the starting grid for the weekend. McKinley Kyle Paz, almost a second adrift of the provisional pole sitter, was eighth fastest on the timesheets. Akid’s team mate, Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues posted 2’00.314s and placed fifth on the results.   Wahyu Aji Trilaksana clocked 2’00.416s in sixth while Peerapong Luiboonpeng checked in at P12 with 2’01.123s. Indonesian wonderkid Aldi Satya Mahendra squeaked through into the SuperPole in P15.   Fernando Masato and Wawan Wello were the only two still in the title hunt who will not be taking part in the SuperPole.

The battle to become the Asian 2019 Underbone 150 champion is set to ignite at the season finale in Buriram, Thailand. UMA Racing trio, Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues from the UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team and McKinley Kyle Paz from the UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team, are locked in as the front runners of the battle. Underbone podiums have been hard to come by in 2019. Akid has the highest podium haul this season, topping out at four podiums from Malaysia, Thailand, and China. The Malaysian rider also holds the highest number of pole positions and wins. Should he succeed, this will be the second Asian Underbone 150 title for Akid. He last won the title in 2017. Meanwhile, McKinley Kyle Paz is determined to become the first Asian Underbone 150 champion from the Philippines. There is very little to choose from between the two talented youngsters. Both have had their ups-and-downs all season long. For Kyle to return home triumphant, he must ensure that he keeps himself always four points ahead of Akid, a tall order in the ever-unpredictable UB150 race. Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues, team mate to Akid Aziz, will be the biggest wild card in the Underbone battle. Haziq’s campaign got off to a bad start at the season opener. The 18-year-old had been able to put in better results in the second half of the year when he finally claimed a win at the China round. Away from the top three, Aldi Satya Mahendra’s best chance to steal the title would be to win both races while hoping that Akid, McKinley and Kyle finish off the podium. Mathematically, the top nine riders are still in the hunt for the title. These include Ahmad Fazli Sham, Fernando Masato, Wawan Wello, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana and Peerapong Luiboonpeng.

Mohd Haziq Fairues has put his bid in for the 2019 Underbone 150cc Asian champion when he scored his first win of the season at Round 6 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Sepang International Circuit. Race 2 for the Underbone 150cc class got off with poleman Akid Aziz serving out a controversial ride-through penalty for irresponsible riding in Race 1 on Saturday. In a 6-lap race with 35 bikes on the grid, the penalty effectively put Akid out of podium contention for Race 2. The UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team rider elected to serve out the penalty on Lap 1, giving himself more time to catch up and collect as many points as possible. At the front, Fernando Masato led the pack into the first lap even as Akid rejoined the group in P32. On Lap 2, Mohd Faiz Zekri from the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team pushed his way to the front, with Mohd Izzat Zaidi, Affendi Rosli, Aldi Satya Mahendra, and Haziq Fairues in tow. A number of retirements brought championship leader Akid closer to the front group. Notably, Mohammad Murobbil Vitoni crashed out on Lap 3 followed rapidly by Wawan Wello sputtering to the side of the grid. On Lap 4, both championship leaders Akid Aziz and McKinley Kyle Paz were still out of points contention even though a determined Akid put in the fastest lap of the race, 2’31.525s. More crashes at the last corner allowed Haziq Fairues a bit of breathing space at the sharp end of the group. As he came into the final two corners of the race, Haziq was able to carve out a small lead at the front, enough space to keep the horde from his back. Haziq crossed the finish line uncontested in first place with 15’36.361s. It was a day of many firsts for the riders celebrating on the podium – Haziq’s first win of the season, and Faiz Zekri’s first UB150 podium when he finished second with 15’36.728s. Aldi Satya Mahendra finished third with 15’37.608s. Further down the grid, championship leaders Akid and McKinley crossed the finish line in 13th and 10th places respectively. The two riders netted enough points to stay at the front of the title chase. Akid still leads with 119 points while Kyle stays in second overall with 111 points.