Underbone 150

An inspired performance from 13-year-old Aldi Satya Mahendra at a rain-soaked Suzuka saw him become the youngest ever winner of an ARRC race in the championship’s 23-year history. After the scheduled start was delayed while oil dropped on the track on the sighting lap by Gupita Kresna was cleared up, Aldi made his presence felt from the start, staying within the top half of a group of eight bikes that broke away at the front. By the end of lap two, it was clear that Aldi and YY Pang’s Adib Rosley were making the best of the conditions, while Akid Aziz and Fazli Sham moved up the order ahead of Team One for All’s Peerapong Luiboonpeng and Affendi Rosley. Meanwhile, half the 30 starters fell by the wayside. Gupita’s mechanical problem at the start prevented him from reaching the start line. Adib spent most of the race at the front, but Aldi kept the pressure on and moved ahead on the last lap and held his advantage through the final chicane and on to the chequered flag to win by 0.297 from the red Yamaha, with Fazli close behind in third, just beating Akid to the final podium spot. Five seconds back, Affendi was fifth just ahead of Said, while Peerapong, Richie Taroreh, Haziq Fairues and Fitri Ashraff Razali completed the top ten. Despite being among the non-finishers, SND’s Wawan Wello still leads the standings with 71 points to the 59 held by both McKinley Kyle Paz and Akid Aziz.

SND Factory Racing’s Gupita Kresna made up for a poor qualifying performance, which saw him start from 22nd position on the grid, to take a brilliantly judged win in Underbone 150 race one which saw almost half the riders who started lead the race at some point. In the morning’s Superpole contest, Akid Aziz, Friday’s fastest qualifier, confirmed his provisional pole position with a near perfect lap of 2’39.065 ahead of Peerapong Luiboonpeng and Wahyu Nugroho. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana broke down on his superpole lap and started 15th. 13 year-old Gun Mie impressed by qualifying ninth. The first half of the six lap race saw UMA Racing Yamaha’s Akid Aziz contesting the lead with Ahmad Fazli Sham, Wawan Wello, Peerapong Luiboonpeng, Haziq Fairues, McKinley Kyle Paz and Wahyu Aji. With two laps remaining, Gupita completed his charge through the field to lead briefly, before settling into the first four of the leading group. As the leaders fanned out at the final chicane, Gupita placed himself perfectly to get ahead of team-mate, Wawan and Wahyu Aji to add another win at Suzuka to his resume. It was an impressive team performance for SND Factory, as Syaruhl Amin finished fourth. Peerapong crossed the line fifth ahead of Fazli Sham and Amirul Ariff Musa. Non finishers included Gun Mie, Kyle Paz and both RCB YY Pang Yamahas of Adib Rosley and Izzat Zaidi.

UMA Racing Yamaha’s Akid Aziz kept the best until last in underbone qualifying this afternoon. ONEXOX TKKR SAG’s Wahyu Aji Trilaksana led most of the session, after banking a time of 2’37.133 relatively early on in what is starting to look like a return to form for the Indonesian. Akid had shown good pace from the opening laps, topping the first session on a drying track, while Team One for All’s Peerapong Luiboonpeng recorded the overall fastest lap of the day in FP2 with a lap of 2’36.723. What had been an advantage of more than a second for Wahyu in qualifying got nibbled away during the last few minutes by Haziq Fairues, McKinley Kyle Paz, Peerapong Luiboonpeng and Akid who eventually pushed Wahyu down to second. Peerapong finished third in front of Kyle Paz, Fairues, Aiman Azman, Wawan Wello and Affendi Rosli, all of whom were bracketed within the 1’37s. HI REV SCK Honda’s 13-year-old Japanese rider, Gun Mie, was a few places further back in 12th on 1’38.555, while Adib Rosley was 15th and therefore the last rider through to Saturday morning’s Superpole competition, which determines positions for the first five rows of the starting grid. Lap record holder and winner of last year’s race two at Suzuka, Gupita Kresna, only managed a 2’39.89 to qualify 22nd one place in front of Australia’s Travis Hall, who had an off during the session. Round three, race two winner, Ahmad Fazli Sham, also found himself down the order in 18th.

The Malaysian-based UMA Racing crew has ramped up their efforts and came out with guns blazing in the Underbone 150 class of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The vaunted team experienced a mediocre season in 2018, with their best ranking coming from 2017 UB150 champion Mohd Akid Aziz who ended his campaign in fifth overall. This season, however, the team runs not just one race outfit in the UB150, but two. The team’s partnership with Yamaha Philippines has effectively doubled Uma Racing’s presence in the class – UMA Racing Philippine Team and UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team. The crew is obviously up for the challenge as both teams dominate the first half of the 2019 season. A flying start in the season opener gave Uma Racing Yamaha Philippine Team an advantage. They lead the team’s rankings with 65 points. As the circus heads to Suzuka for Round 3, McKinley Kyle Paz is still at the top of the standings but is under increasing pressure to maintain and extend his lead. A disappointing outing in Buriram has cut McKinley’s lead to a 5-point margin against upcoming rider Wawan Wello. UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team is ranked second on the team’s ladder with 59 points. The bulk of the team’s points-haul has come from Akid Aziz who has picked up two podiums to date. Third on the team’s standings is Team One For All who are back with two familiar riders – Mohd Affendi Rosli and Peerapong Luiboonpeng. Their season got off to a challenging start when the team’s assets were stolen a week before the opening round. Even so, the crew run by former MotoGP rider Youichi Ui were able to overcome the devastating loss. Affendi has managed two podium finishes after Round 2 and the team is ranked third with 57 points. SND Factory Racing Rapido’s trio of Indonesian racing stars – Wawan Wello, Gupita Kresna Wardhana and Syahrul Amin – are still trying to get into the rhythm. Wawan Wello has been the team’s best performer so far. Wawan has consistently picked up points from the first two rounds. His second place finish in Buriram boosted him up to where he is now in the position to challenge McKinley Kyle Paz for the lead. The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team experienced a big boost at Buriram when seasoned campaigner Ahmad Fazli Sham picked up the team’s first UB150 win of the season. The team, which has a presence in all classes of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, is ranked fifth with 51 points. Meanwhile, Yamaha Racing Indonesia’s decision to go with young talents this season is beginning to gain momentum. 16-year-old Wahyu Nugroho, in particular, put in a stunning performance in Round 3 when he claimed fourth in Race 1 and second in Race 2. Debutant team Pro-Liner 549 Kaboci Racing Team is currently ranked seventh on the team standings. The team is banking on experienced rider Richard Taroreh to maintain their presence in the limelight while the team continues to train 15-year-old Mohammad Murobbil Vitoni as their next generation of Indonesian talents. 2019 has been challenging for Yuzy Honda Racing this season. After a second-placed podium by Amirul Ariff Musa in Round 1, the team has not been raking in the points. Like many of the Underbone teams, the Yuzy Honda Racing partners an experienced campaigner with a rookie rider. In this case, the team is highly reliant on Amirul’s performance to bring home the championship points. A 30-rider UB150 grid leaves little room for wildcards. At the upcoming Suzuka round, Hi Rev SCK Honda Racing Team’s Gun Mie will be the sole Japanese rider in the class. Ironically, Gun, who is racing in his first full UB150 season this year, has been the team’s best performer. The 13-year-old, one of the youngest riders in the class this season, has consistently picked up points in the first two rounds. Currently ranked 13th on the riders’ standings, Gun Mie would be looking forward to his home race this week. Newcomer team Cardinals Racing Team has managed to break into the top 10. Coming into the ARRC as a new racing outfit, the crew were well aware that they would have their work cut out for them to get into the competitive rhythm. Working with experienced Malaysian riders Fitri Ashraf Razali, Rozaiman Said and Indonesian Chepy Armansyah, the team is ranked 10th to date.

photo : Honda Racing Vietnam Honda Racing Vietnam has decided on Nguyen Duc Thanh to replace Le Khanh Loc who was injured in the previous leg of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. 20-year-old Thanh will be making his ARRC debut at Round 4 in Japan.

ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s seasoned campaigner, Ahmad Fazli Sham, won a truncated UB150 Race 2 with a resounding victory as Round 3 of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship drew to an end at the Chang International Circuit. The race was red flagged on the first lap following a starting grid incident between Mohd Hafiza Rofa, Travis Hall and Le Khanh Loc. All three riders had been reported to be doing fine after the incident. The race was re-started with the number of laps shortened from the original eight to six. The incident had clearly done nothing to dampen the spirits of the rest of the riders. With only six laps on the lapboards, there was even less time for the riders to strategize. The melee was fierce and furious right up to the final lap. Ahmad Fazli Sham got himself into the lead at Turn 10 and benefitted when Wahyu Aji Trilaksana bottled up the rest of the group. Fazli sprinted to the chequered flag with a time of 12’20.355s. Behind Fazli, the Indonesian riders finally revealed their true colours on the Underbone bikes. Wawan Wello took second place with 12’20.769s followed by Wahyu Nugroho third with 12’20.955s. Wahyu Aji Trilaksana finished fourth ahead of Richard Taroreh. Thai rider Peerapong Luiboonpeng made it to sixth place followed by a trio of Malaysians – Mohd Faiz Zekri Sabri, polesitter Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues and Rozaiman Said. Japanese youngster Gun Mie rounded up the top 10. Filipino rider McKinley Kyle Paz still holds a nominal lead at the top of the championship standings. McKinley finished sixth in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2. He holds 56 points at the front. Wawan Wello is now second on the standings with 51 points while Affendi Rosli is third with 44.

UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team’s Mohd Akid Aziz gave a masterclass in the perfect underbone strategy when he won Race 1 against a 20-bike front group at the Chang International Circuit. This would be Akid’s first win of the season. It has been a weekend of ups and downs for 2016 Underbone champion Akid. He broke the lap record during the free practice and set a new record for the underbones at the 4.55km Chang International Circuit. Akid was half a second faster during the qualifying but something went awry during the SuperPole and Akid lost his anticipated position on the front row, instead started the race from 15th on the grid. Akid was quick to make up for lost ground and led the pack into Lap 1, but there was no breaking away from the chasing group. ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Hafiza Rofa was dominant during the first half of the race, leading from laps two to four but Hafiza was unable to sustain his pace against the tide of riders behind him. Meanwhile, Akid had opted to stay out of trouble before emerging in the lead again on Lap 7. The young Malaysian rider, no stranger to winning Underbone 150cc races, expertly threaded his way past the 20-bike group and was first across the finish line with 16’25.633s Indonesian rider Richard Taroreh, racing in Pro-Liner 549 Kaboci Racing Team colours this year, also picked up his first ARRC Underbone podium in second place with 16’25.776s. Seasoned Malaysian campaigner Mohd Affendi Rosli claimed the final spot on the podium in third place with 16’26.017s “The front group was bigger than usual and it was very difficult to strategize with attacks coming from all corners. I’m glad our plan worked out although I wish that my team mate, Haziq Fairues was standing beside me on the podium,” said Akid. Haziq was the man with the pole advantage when he aced the SuperPole with 2’02.416s but finished 15th with 16’26.713s Championship leader McKinley Kyle Paz picked up enough points from sixth to stay ahead on the championship standings. The Filipino rider leads with 51 points. Affendi Rosli ranks second with 44 points followed by Akid third with 41 points.

Mohd Akid Aziz smashed the Underbone 150cc lap record at the Chang International Circuit by 0.024s to take provisional pole ahead of the UB150 SuperPole on Saturday morning. The UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team rider went from fifth on the combined free practice results to first in the qualifying session with 1’59.974s. Akid’s blistering pace has effectively erased Wawan Wello’s 2018 record (1’59.998s). Akid was also the only rider among the 30-man grid to lap below two minutes. After a morning dominated by the Yamaha riders, Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa came out strong in the qualifier. The Yuzy Honda Racing rider posted 2’00.730s to clinch the second quickest time of the day. Indonesia’s Richard Taroreh, representing team Pro-Liner 549 Kaboci Racing Team this season, was third with 2’00.732s. Behind the three leaders, nine riders found themselves lapping within the same minute. The sole Thai rider on the grid, Peerapong Luiboonpeng clocked fourth fastest with 2’01.036s followed by his Team One For All team mate Mohd Affendi Rosli with 2’01.160s. Championship leader McKinley Kyle Paz will need to up his pace if he were to retain any hopes of keeping the championship lead. McKinley clocked 13th quickest with 2’02.089s, a full two seconds behind pace-setter Akid.

The Underbone 150 riders are gearing up to do battle once again after a break that had lasted for almost three months. At the season opener in Sepang, Filipino duo McKinley Kyle Paz and team mate Fernando Masato took the underbone racing world by storm when they bagged a win each to lead the class into Round 3. Together, the two riders delivered a dream start for debutant outfit, the UMA Racing Yamaha Philippine Team. The 4.554km Chang International Circuit was the venue where Kyle first stepped into the ARRC spotlight when he scored a third place podium finish as a wildcard in 2018. The Malaysian contingent would be raring for a chance to make up for a disappointing Round 1. Of the 30 riders scheduled to start the UB150 race in Thailand, 14 Malaysian riders make up almost half of the grid. Wily campaigner Mohd Affendi Rosli will be leading the troops. Affendi finished second and eighth in the first leg, enough to put a smile back on the face of Team One For All principal, Youichi Ui. The former MotoGP rider had had a bad start to the season when his team truck was stolen in Japan, along with almost all of his operational assets. Despite the challenges, the determined racing outfit was still able to put their best foot forward with Affendi managing a podium and Peerapong Luiboonpeng consistent among the top five. At the Chang International Circuit this coming week, Peerapong will be the only Thai rider in the Underbone class. While the anticipated battle between the Filipino and Malaysian riders take up the bulk of everyone’s attention, an Indonesian renaissance may be in the making in the Underbone class. Wawan Wello, now with the SND Factory Racing Rapido team, holds the lap record at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit. Wawan was the only rider to lap below the 2 minute mark last year. The time to beat, set by Wawan, is 1’59.998s. 2016 Underbone champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana will also be looking to make an impact in Buriram. Wahyu secured an eleventh-hour slot with burgeoning team ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team just days ahead of the season opener. Currently 10th in the standings, Wahyu will need to bring his A-game to the second round.