Underbone 150

2018 has been a season of firsts for Malaysian rider Mohd Helmi Azman. It was his first year riding a Honda, his first season with the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team, and he had just won the first title of his racing career.   In Race 2 at the season finale, Helmi finished fourth with 16’23.311s to bring his total points to 197.   Indonesian wildcard Wawan Wello had looked to be in top form at the start of the race, but never managed to get away from the horde. By Lap 6, the riders in the top 14 positions were separated by only a single second.   As the group rushed en-masse into the dreaded Turn 12 in the final lap, a seven bike crash caused massive confusion as the riders who had managed to stay upright scrambled to the finish line.   Syahrul Amin was initially declared as the winner of the race, but was later penalized five race positions for exceeding the track limits. His Yamaha Yamalube SND Factory team mate Gupita Kresna Wardhana inherited the win with a race time of 16’22.140s. Mohd Aiman Azman from Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing Team came home in second place.   McKinley Kyle Paz from the Philippines, racing for the UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team as a wildcard this round, was third with 16’22.982s.   Mohd Izzat Zaidi from team RCB Yamaha YY Pang Racing picked up six points in 10th position to hang on to his second overall position with 130 points. Ahmad Fazli Sham delighted team ONEXOX TKKR Racing by securing a third overall ranking with 117 points.   Helmi’s strong results from this season has also put the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team at the top of the Underbone 150cc team standings with 205 points.   “This has been the high point of my career so far. I would like to thank my team, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing, for having faith in me and giving me this opportunity to showcase myself. In 2019, I am looking forward to racing in the SuperSports 600cc category,” said Helmi.

The Underbone 150cc title chase came to an end at Race 1 of the season finale of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Championship leader, Mohd Helmi Azman, in spite of the handicap of starting the race from P19, powered his way up the 27-rider grid to seal the title with a second place finish.   Indonesian rider Wawan Wello who had breezed through the qualifying and waltzed his way through the SuperPole succeeded in capturing the holeshot. But in typical Underbone fashion, the race got serious as soon as all 27 riders had gotten past Turn 1.   While Wawan dictated the pace at the front, Helmi had made up ten spots by Lap 1. By Lap 2, the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team rider had gotten up to P8, exactly what he needed to pick up enough points to seal the title.   However, Helmi was not content with a safe finish. Instead, the 19-year-old waded into the top group and fought his way up to the front of the pack.   At the end of the 8-lap race, Wawan picked up a second victory for team Yamaha Yamalube SND Racing with 16’18.788s. Helmi Azman followed Wawan to the finish line in second place with 16’19.362s while Mohd Affendi Rosli was delighted when he placed third with 16’19.544s.   “It was actually safer at the front end of the grid instead of enduring the bumps and jostles in the middle group. Anyway, I really wanted to win the title by finishing on the podium and I thank my team for their hard work this season,” said Helmi who confirmed himself as the 2018 Asian Underbone 150cc Champion with 184 points.   Helmi’s closest title contender, Mohd Izzat Zaidi, didn’t manage to get himself in play in Race 1. The RCB Yamaha YY Pang rider only managed a 14th place in Race 1. Izzat must pick up at least one point in Race 2 to prevent ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team’s Ahmad Fazli Sham from taking the second overall ranking from him.   At the same time, team SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing has also won the Team Award title in the Underbone 150cc class with 192 points. The last time the Malaysian racing team had won the Asian title was in 2009.

Indonesian team Yamaha Yamalube SND Factory is pulling no punches in the final leg of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. With super-wildcard Wawan Wello astride the team’s striking yellow Yamaha, the team has smashed lap times in the Underbone 150cc class.   Wawan was the only rider to lap below the 2-minute mark during the free practice, and earned the right to park his bike on pole position when he aced the Underbone 150 SuperPole with 2’01.313s.   The front row of the Underbone 150cc class will feature a mixed bag of nationalities. Local rider Peerapong Luiboonpeng qualified second on the grid with 2’02.979s and Malaysian seasoned campaigner Mohd Affendi Rosli third with 2’03.222s. Both riders are racing under the Team One For All colours, owned by former GP rider Youichi Ui.   A blown engine during the qualifying session prevented championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman from making the cut into the SuperPoles. He will start the race from 19th on the grid.

Laptimes continue to tumble in the Underbone 150cc class as the teams bring one years’ worth of developmental efforts back to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand for the final joust of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.   Championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman broke his own Round 1 lap record (2’01.917s) in the first free practice session with 2’01.359s and upped the ante in the second free practice by lapping 2 minutes flat.   However, the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team paid a heavy price for that initial burst of speed when Helmi’s bike broke down before he managed to clock a single lap in the Qualifying for SuperPole.   While the SCK engineers raced against time to get Helmi back out on track, wildcard rider Wawan Wello had taken charge at the top of the timesheets. Not only did the Yamaha Yamalube SND Factory rider improve on the lap record, he was the only Underbone 150cc competitor to lap under the 2-minute mark. Wawan has set a new benchmark for the Underbone class at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit with 1’59.998s.   Wawan’s time is followed by a quartet of Malaysian riders. Yuzy Vietnam Honda Racing’s Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa posted the second quickest time with 2’00.198s followed by Team One For All’s Mohd Affendi Rosli third fastest with 2’00.530s, and UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team’s Mohd Akid Aziz fourth with 2’01.231s. Amirul’s younger team mate, Mohd Aiman Azman clocked home at fifth fastest with 2’01.475s.   Other riders who made the cut into the SuperPole include Reza Fahlevi (sixth with 2’01.503s), title contender Mohd Izzat Zaidi (seventh with 2’01.678s), Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam (eighth with 2’01.762s), Peerapong Luiboonpeng (ninth with 2’01.931s) and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (tenth with 2’01.953s).   As a result of the mistake in the Qualifying session, championship leader Helmi Azman will start both Race 1 and Race 2 from 19th on the grid.

UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor will be bringing back popular wildcards for the final round of the 2018 Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Mckinley Kyle Paz from the Philippines and Vietnamese rider To Ha Dong Nghi will join full-season riders Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues on the Underbone 150cc grid.   McKinley, in particular, has been one of the more outstanding wildcards of the season, especially when he pulled off a stunning ride in Australia to finish second in his 150cc debut.

The SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing is going all out to end a nine-year title drought in the Underbone class of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. With Mohd Helmi Azman in good standings for the riders’ trophy, hopes are high that the team will also be able to claim the crown that they last won in 2009.   Standing in their way, is another Malaysian racing bedrock, the RCB Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team. The two teams are separated by 36 points. To seal the deal, the SCK team will only need one of their riders (championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman, Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, or Australian wildcard-turned-permanent-rider Travis Hall) to finish within the top 9 in Race 1 and Race 2.   In this respect, the SCK team has the advantage of numbers. By fielding three riders to YY Pang’s Izzat-Adib Rosley combination, the SCK team betters their odds of picking up the points they need.   The Team Awards points system in the Asia Road Racing Championship assigns points from each team’s top performing rider to the team.

19-year-old Mohd Helmi Azman is heading for the biggest race of his career. Six years after his racing debut in the mono-brand races of the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, Helmi is on course for the first major title of his career to date. Racing with the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team this season, Helmi has amassed a 42-point advantage at the top of the Underbone 150cc standings. With six podiums in the bag, two of which are race wins, Helmi has raked in 164 points up to Round 5 in Indonesia. His closest rival, Mohd Izzat Zaidi, stands at second overall with 122 points. In order to stand even a ghost of a chance to turn the tables around at this late stage, Izzat must win both final races in Buriram this coming December 1 and 2. Should that happen, Helmi will need just eight more points to be equal on points. To be safe, Helmi will need one more point to secure the title. At the worst case scenario, even if both riders end up equal on points, Helmi’s higher number of podiums will effectively break the tie. For the 19-year-old Malaysian rider, this will be the biggest title of his career to date. Helmi made a name for himself in the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship in 2013. He subsequently spent two seasons in the Asia Talent Cup. Helmi subsequently returned to Asia and found a home with the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team where he ended the 2017 Underbone 150 season in fourth overall.