Underbone 150

SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team’s Mohd Helmi Azman is intent on extending his Underbone 150cc lead. At Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia, Helmi secured his second pole position of the season with a quick lap of 2’18.857s around the 4.9km circuit.   Wahyu Aji Trilaksana clocked second fastest during the UB150 SuperPole, 2’19.281s and will fill in on the second spot of the front row ahead of Uma Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team’s Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues. Haziq qualified third with 2’19.643s.   Haziq’s wildcard team mate Mckinley Kyle Paz stayed very much on the radar when he posted the fourth fastest time in class, 2’19.892s. Mohd Izzat Zaidi of team RCB Yamaha YY Pang, surprise winner from the season opener, qualified fifth with 2’20.337s.  Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa was sixth fastest with 2’20.467s.   Mohd Adib Rosley will lead the third row after clocking the seventh fastest time of 2’20.765s. Australian wildcard Travis Hall performed tremendously well on his first Underbone 150cc outing, qualifying eighth fastest with 2’20.967s. Mohd Affendi Rosli and Mohd Aiman Azman also managed to qualify within the top 10.

UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team’s wildcard, Mckinley Kyle Paz surpassed all expectations as the Underbone 150 riders took their first crack at The Bend Motorsport Park, host venue for Round 2 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.   The Filipino’s entry to Round 2 had been a highly anticipated affair, particularly after his impressive performance during the pre-season test a few months ago. Presented with a level playing field at a new host venue, Mckinley wasted no time to demonstrate his abilities against that of his more experienced peers.   He clocked the fastest Underbone laptime of the day, 2’18.393s in the second free practice session. Championship leader Mohd Helmi Azman came closest to match Mckinley’s pace. The SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team rider checked in second fastest with 2’18.737s.   Indonesia’s Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, whose season opening results had been handicapped by several sanctions, posted third fastest with 2’18.922s. Wahyu would be looking to make up for lost ground at Round 2 in order to gain the upper hand in the 2018 title chase.   The formidable UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team, also defending team champion in the Underbone class, managed to put three riders in the top five. Defending champion Mohd Akid Aziz stopped the clock at 2’19.326s and his team mate Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues ended the day fifth fastest with 2’19.640s.

Underbone 150cc defending champions, Uma Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team, has implemented a unique rotating wildcard system this season. Under this new initiative, the Malaysian-based outfit will systematically field a succession of wildcard riders from Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.   According to team principal Yong Ying Hoe, this initiative is a precursor towards the final objective of establishing a bonafide multi-national Asian team in 2019.   “Our goal is to promote diversity in racing. There are plenty of promising young riders out there waiting for the resources to bring them to the regional level. Eventually, we hope to create a pool of talent that will comprise of riders from Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and of course, Indonesia,” said Yong.   “This idea is still in the developmental stage. For 2018, our wildcards are actually auditioning for a spot on the team in the future.”   In Round 1 at the Chang International Circuit, the Uma Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team introduced Vietnamese Huynh Minh Sang into the class. Huynh finished 10thin Race 1 but mechanical gremlins prevented him from starting in Race 2.   The team’s Round 2 wildcard, McKinley Kyle Paz, is the most highly anticipated. The Filipino rider was particularly impressive during the pre-season test and there are high expectations for his debut in Australia.

Underbone Racing For The Uninitiated   Underbone racing is a unique genre of motorsports that began predominantly in South East Asia, primarily, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. In recent years, the popularity of the sport has fired up in other emerging Asian markets such as Vietnam and the Philippines, to name a few.   An Underbone race is renowned for its pack-racing characteristics. It’s always head-down-elbows-out from lights to flag.   It’s NOT A Scooter!   An underbone bike uses structural tube framing and is overlaid by plastic or non-structural body panels. The only characteristics that an Underbone bike shares with a moped or scooter, is the tube framing and the position of the fuel tank.   In terms of wheel size, engine position and power transmission, the underbone bike is functionally identical to conventional motorcycles.   Description Yamaha Y15ZR Honda RS150R Wheel Base: 1290mm 1276mm Weight: 115kg 123kg Gear: 5-speed 6-speed Power Distribution: ECU Fuel Injection Single Cylinder Liquid Cooled 149.7cc 15.4hp @ 8,500 rpm 13.8Nm Torque @7,000 rpm ECU Fuel Injection Single Cylinder Liquid Cooled 149.1cc 15.63hp @ 9,000 rpm 13.5Nm Torque @ 6,500 rpm Race Spec: 23 – 25 hp 23 – 25 hp     The Underbone 150 Category In The Asia Road Racing Championship   The Underbone genre has been a part of the Asia Road Racing Championship since the inception of the series in 1996. Over the years, it has evolved from 2-stroke to the current 4-stroke.   Undoubtedly, this is considered as the highest level of underbone racing anywhere in the world.   Underbone As A Grassroots Platform   Indonesia and Malaysia, in particular, has been successful in developing the sport of Underbone racing into a viable grassroots platform.   The bikes are smaller and lighter, easily managed by kids as young as 13. With less horsepower, rider talent comes to the fore.   The smaller size of the bikes allow underbone races to be held outside of traditional race circuits. Hence, the popularity of street racing in South East Asia. This key point – the mobility of the underbone championships – is one of the reasons for its immense popularity. Instead of relying on fans to travel to a fixed race circuit, these mobile championships bring the excitement of the sport right to the doorsteps of their fans.   The Notables   Every single Malaysian and Indonesian rider currently racing in either the world or European series can trace their roots back to Underbone racing.   These include Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah, Khairul Idham Pawi, Adam Norrodin, Zulfahmi Khairuddin, Doni Tata Pradita, Rafid Topan Sucipto, Dimas Ekky Pratama, and Gerry Salim, to name a few. Other notable names include Red Bull Rookies rider Kazuki Masaki who also spent a couple of years on the Underbones as part of his early training.   It’s Not A Conveyer Belt   However, the image of underbone racing as a conveyer belt that continuously spit out aspiring young riders for the world stage is fictitious at best.   Underbone racing in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have become successful racing series in their own rights. Many of the top riders have established lucrative careers, some that span close to a decade.   Some choose to chase after the GP dream. Others don’t. It’s the riders’ decision and freedom to determine the course of their careers. This explains why, in 2018, the Underbone 150cc class features as many as five champions on a single grid.   What’s New In 2018?   The latest announcement on the use of Moto3 tyes in the Underbone 150cc class had ignited a flurry of excitement from Asian fans.   A race class renowned for its close fighting has now been taken to a whole new level as the new tyres allow riders better rolling speed, improved braking points and deeper lean angles.   ARRC Underbone 150cc Tyre Description:     Front Rear Size 90/80R17 150/60ZR17 Pattern Moto3 Moto3 Rec. Rim (in)   2.15 3.00 Rim Range (in) 2.15 – 2.50 2.75 – 3.50 Width (mm) 88 113 Centre Diameter (mm) 578 601 Cold Pressure (kPa) 160 – 210 170 – 220 Hot Pressure (kPa) 180 – 230 190 – 240  

Race 2 of the Underbone 150cc became embroiled in more controversy as race winner Wahyu Aji Trilaksana faced further sanctions for his repeated risky final lap race tactics. In Race 1 on Saturday, Wahyu was sanctioned with a 3-points deduction from his total points haul for intentionally swerving into the path of the other competitors. At the final lap of Race 2, Wahyu executed the same move again. The FIM Asia jury which is comprised of members from different Asian countries, sanctioned Wahyu with a 20-second penalty to be added to his race time. Consequently, Wahyu went from first to ninth in the finishing order. Mohd Helmi Azman from team SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing picked up his first ARRC win with 16’42.183. Newcomer Syahrul Amin of  Yamaha Yamalube SND Factory was also promoted to second with 16’42.351. Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa went up to third with 16’42.351s. Helmi now leads the Underbone 150cc title chase with 36 points, followed by Mohd Izzat Zaidi with 33 points and Affendi Rosli with 30 points. Underbone 150cc Fastest Lap Summary FP Helmi Azman 2’01.917 QP Helmi Azman 2’01.998 R1 Mohd Akid Aziz 2’03.420 R2 Mohd Akid Aziz 2’03.663

In the Underbone 150cc category, RCB Yamaha YY Pang rider Mohd Izzat Zaidi inherited a surprise win when the three leading riders crashed out ahead of him at the infamous Chang International Circuit last corner.   Adroitly sidestepping the carnage, a delighted Izzat sprinted to the finish line in 16’40.311s followed by Mohd Affendi Rosli in second place and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana in third.   However, both Affendi and Wahyu will be facing penalties in the form of a 3-point championship points deduction for unsporting behavior in Race 1. Defending champion Mohd Akid Aziz finished out of podium position in fourth place followed by polesitter Mohd Helmi Azman. Seasoned underbone riders Amirul Ariff Musa and Ahmad Fazli Sham were sixth and seventh respectively. Indonesian youngster Syahrul Amin came in eighth. Mohd Haiekal Akmalwas ninth. Most impressive was first-time competitor Huynh Minh Sang, a Uma Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team wildcard from Vietnam.

Mohd Helmi Azman came out tops in the Underbone 150 qualifier as Round 1 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway.   With Moto3 slicks fitted onto the Underbone bikes for the first time, the SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team rider was able to bank on his previous Asia Talent Cup experience to get ahead of the competition. Helmi posted 2’01.998s, the only rider to lap under the 2’02.   “Because I was already familiar with the tyre characteristics, I was able to perform the moment I got on track. There was no need for me to experiment with different settings or lines,” said Helmi who seemed to have fitted in comfortably with his new team. Prior to this weekend, Helmi had been vacillating between several options before finally settling on the SCK outfit.   Helmi’s closest competitor, fellow Malaysian Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa, clocked 2’02.206s. Also within the 2 minute 2 seconds range, were Gupita Kresna Wardhana (third fastest with 2’02.236s) and Mohd Izzat Zaidi fourth with 2’02.786s. Mohd Adib Rosley ended the qualifying session with 2’03.046s and rounded up the top five.   Defending champion, Mohd Akid Aziz, got off to a rocky start but managed to make the top-10 cut for the SuperPole when he qualified eighth fastest with 2’03.273s.   Indonesian ace, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, was also one of the faster riders on the grid with 2’02.230s but unfortunately his results were excluded due to a technical infringement.   The use of the Moto3 tyres on the Underbone bikes continued to fascinate fans in the region. The specifications of the tyres are as follows:   Front Rear Size 90/80R17 150/60ZR17 Pattern Moto3 Moto3 Rec. Rim (in)   2.15 3.00 Rim Range (in) 2.15 – 2.50 2.75 – 3.50 Width (mm) 88 113 Centre Diameter (mm) 578 601 Cold Pressure (kPa) 160 – 210 170 – 220 Hot Pressure (kPa) 180 – 230 190 – 240