Underbone 150

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

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.