Underbone 150

As Round 4 of the Idemitsu Asia Road Racing Championship got underway at the Sentul Circuit in Indonesia, wildcard rider Richard Taroreh served up a surprise in the Underbone 150cc when he emerged as the fastest rider with 1’49.860s. The Yamaha Yamalube Jasti Putra Usaha Jaya NHK 549 Kaboci rider came in on a strong note when he clocked sixth fastest during the morning free practice and followed up with a big finish during the qualifier. Richard was only one of two riders to run a 1’49s lap. The other was Malaysian Azroy Hakeem Anuar of team Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing.  Another wildcard rider, also gave the full-season competitors a run for their money. Owie Nurhuda, racing under team Yamaha Yamalube KYT TJM Racetech colours, posted third fastest with 1’50.243s. Malaysian duo Mohd Izzat Zaidi and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues rounded up the top five. Further down the field, Anggi Setiawan, Decky Tiamo Aldy, Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin, Wahyu Widodo and championship leader Wahyu Aji Trilaksana clocked within the top 10, and will be making an appearance at the SuperPole session where they will fight for their final starting positions.

Malaysian duo Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam and Mohd Muzakkir Mohamed triumphed in a dramatic Underbone 150cc Race 2, bringing home a much needed boost for team SCK Rapido Hi-Rev Honda Racing. The 6-lap Underbone 150cc race got off with championship leader Wahyu Aji Trilaksana at the helm. The Indonesian Yamaha rider raced at a conservative pace in the first part of the race. With an extra second in his pocket, Wahyu could afford to pace himself while his chief rival Mohd Akid Aziz tried desperately to gain the upper hand. On Lap 3, Wahyu made an attempt to break away, but was quickly reeled back in by the charging horde. At the last lap, Akid had the reins in his hands, while Wahyu found himself sandwiched between the two SCK riders. As the swarm flew down the back straight, Wahyu pushed beyond his limits in an effort to gain some leverage at the final chicane. Unfortunately, Wahyu was unable to fully control his bike and crashed heavily at the entrance of the chicane, taking Akid Aziz out with him. Fakhrusy and Muzakkir narrowly avoided the same catastrophe. Fakhrusy had almost lost control, but made an impressive save and continued racing towards the finish line in first place with 16’03.866s. Muzakkir scored his first ARRC podium in second place with 16’03.940s and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues completed the all-Malaysian podium in third place with 16’04.649s. Both Wahyu and Akid were able to get back on their bikes in time to finish within the top 10. Akid finished eighth, and earned enough points to stay at the head of the title hunt with 93 points. The unfortunate Wahyu finished the race in seventh but is still second on the standings with 79 points. Haziq is third with 73 points.

Yamaha Racing Indonesia’s Wahyu Aji Trilaksana seems unstoppable now that he has found his rhythm. Qualifying for pole position with a full second ahead of his closest competitors, Wahyu looked like a shoo-in for the top spot of the podium in Race 1. The Indonesian rider rocketed off to a strong start with Malaysian riders Mohd Akid Aziz and Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam hot on his tail. The more experienced Wahyu allowed Fakhrusy to overtake on Lap 2, only to watch as the SCK rider dive in too deep at the chicane and crash out of the race. Akid Aziz took a turn at the front on Lap 3 before Wahyu reclaimed his position. Wahyu grabbed his second back-to-back victory with a time of 16’05.294s. Malaysian team mates Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues of team UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor picked up second and third places respectively. Anggi Setiawan and Mohd Adib Rosley completed the top five.  Wahyu, the defending champion in the Underbone category, has narrowed the gap against Akid on the championship ladder. The Malaysian rider still leads with 85 points but Wahyu is now only 15 points shy, with 70 points in the bag. Mohd Izzat Zaidi is third overall with 61 points.

Buoyed by news that he will be a part of the famed Team Green in the upcoming Suzuka 8-Hour World Endurance Race this coming July, Malaysian SuperSports 600cc rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman came out strong in the first day of free practices at Round 3 of the 2017 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship currently underway at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. The Kawasaki rider scraped 0.02s off Yuki Takahashi’s 2016 lap record when he posted 2’12.341s to emerge as the fastest SuperSports 600cc rider of the day. The Manual Tech Kawasaki Racing rider was pleased that the day had gone according to script even though he is still trying to shake off the vestiges of a bad cold. Wildcard rider Ikuhiro Enokido posted second fastest with 2’12.771s followed by Thailand’s Chalermpol Polamai third fastest with 2’12.793s. Another wildcard, Keisuke Maeda piloted his Yamaha to fourth fastest with 2’12.907s. Anthony West clocked fifth fastest with 2’12.955s. Yamaha Racing’s Yuki Ito was strong in the first practice session but dropped to sixth fastest with 2’12.975s by the end of the day as the pace increased. Defending champion Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi was seventh fastest with 2’13.076s after spending the first day running in a new engine and electing to go for race distance during the rest of the sessions instead of fast time.  Thailand’s Ratthapong Wilairot clocked eighth fastest with 2’13.367s, Teppei Nagoe was ninth fastest with 2’13.789s. The sole Indonesian rider in the SuperSports 600cc class this round, Ahmad Yudhistira, crashed out in the closing minutes of the third practice session and was tenth fastest with 2’13.803s. On a more interesting side note, legendary rider Yukio Kagayama completed his first SuperSports 600cc practice sessions 15th fastest with 2’14.250s

Indonesian rider Wahyu Aji Trilaksana aced the Underbone 150cc qualifier with a time of 2’39.749s. Wahyu looks set to dominate the Suzuka leg of the season, especially after proving to be almost a second and a half fastest than the rest of the grid. Second fastest rider, Mohd Akid Aziz was only able to log 2’41.367s. Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam clocked third fastest with 2’41.570s. Four other Malaysian riders filled up the middle ranks of the Underbone qualifying – Mohd Helmi Azman, Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa, Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues and Mohd Adib Roley were all fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh fastest respectively. Wahyu’s compatriot, Anggi Setiawan was eighth fastest with 2’44.066s followed by Mohd Izzat Zaidi and Mohd Khairul Ikhwan Ajis. While the Underbone 150cc class was clearly the playing ground for the Malaysian and Indonesian riders, Vietnam’s Cao Viet Nam struggled to find pace. China’s entry, Yuan Ji Bo, also found it difficult to make the cut at the challenging Suzuka Circuit.

After a disappointing Race 1, Wahyu Trelaksana made a flying start from the back of the grid in Race 2 at Chang International Circuit and made his way to the front of the pack by the end of the first lap. Together with Anggi Setiawan, Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, Akid Aziz and Haziq Fairues, the 2016 Underbone champion set a hot pace. They briefly created space between themselves and the pursuing group, but were reeled back in quickly to make a cluster of ten potential race winners. With the lead swapping continuously, Wahyu crossed the line first at the end of the eighth and final lap with half a wheel ahead of Anggi and Akid, but the rest of the field caught up in the slipstream on the Thai Circuit’s two long straights. The Indonesian champion kept his head among the weaving bunch, secured himself the best line into the final turn and took what is, for this class a comfortable victory of 0.231 of a second. Akid grabbed second place from Hafieenaz Ali and Izzat, who finished the width of a front tyre in front of Tengku, to take fourth place. The first nine finished within 1.6 seconds. Any remaining regrets about replacing the venerable and much loved 130cc bikes with the 150cc fuel injected machines will have vanished after race long, all-out action the class has served up in the first four races of the season at Johor and Buriram.

Malaysian rider Azroy Hakeem Anuar clinched a clear win in Race 1 of the Underbone 150cc category. The Yuzy Honda Vietnam rider emerged from a dramatic race as the winner of the day with a time of 16’54.800s. Race 1 of the Underbone 150cc category had been full of drama since the free practice. Defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana and Round 1 winner Mohd Akid Aziz were both excluded from the qualifying results when they were found to be under the minimum weight. Although both riders still went out for the SuperPole, they were relegated to the back of the grid for the race start. Things took a turn for the worse for both these riders. Akid’s bike failed on him on Lap 1 while Wahyu retired on Lap 5. It was also a bad day at the office for Norizman Ismail. the ONEXOX TKKR Racing rider had to leave the starting grid when his bike couldn’t turn over. In exiting from the pitlane to rejoin the group, Norizman was found to have exceeded the track limit and was penalized with a ride-through penalty. Norizman ignored the penalty and was subsequently blackflagged on Lap 6. As the riders dropped out of the top group, Azroy tucked in and stayed out of trouble. In the final corner mad dash to the finish line, Azroy stayed on the racing line while many of the front runners ran wide at the apex. Even though the results were immediately placed under investigation by the jury, Azroy’s win was confirmed. Fellow Malaysians Mohd Izzat Zaidi and Mohd Helmi Azman also made it to the podium in second and third places respectively.

Reigning Underbone champion, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana is looking forward to Round 2 at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand this weekend after an opening round that did not quite go according to script. Wahyu had hoped for a strong start to the 2017 season even though his pre-season test had been beset by problems. Team Yamaha Racing Indonesia had clearly made tremendous steps towards resolving the technical issues as Round 1 progressed in early April. “Full credits to my team and especially our engineers. They turned the bike around in a remarkably short period of time,” said Wahyu. Unfortunately, Wahyu’s charge to the first podium of the season was derailed when he and team mate Anggi Setiawan crashed out on Lap 6. Undeterred, Wahyu finished second in Race 2 to get his title run back on track. The loss of points from Race 1 has dropped Wahyu down to sixth overall in the rankings. Round 2 in Thailand will be crucial for Wahyu to redeem his position. “The switch up to the Underbone 150 category has been hard for all the riders. The lack of data makes it harder to prepare our bikes. But I am really optimistic ahead of Buriram. Our bike showed good improvement in Race 2 and we’re well on our way to a solid result in Thailand. Buriram is also one of my favourite tracks, so I’m really looking forward to racing there.”