Underbone 150

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.”

Mohd Akid Aziz of team UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor has cemented his status as the next exciting name in Malaysian motorsports. The 19-year-old had been nothing but impressive, leading not only the CP115 class of the national championship, but also the Underbone 150cc ladder in the regional FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Prior to the start of the Asian series, team principal Yong Ying Hoe raised eyebrows with his decision to put two junior riders on to the competitive Underbone 150cc grid of the ARRC. “Due to the high level of competition in the regional series, teams usually hedge their bets by fielding one seasoned campaigner with a rookie. But Akid rewarded my belief in him many times over with a double podium performance at the Johor Circuit two weeks ago. He rode with a coolness and maturity that eclipsed the fact that it was his first time racing against strong riders from Indonesia,” said Yong. The local racing industry is already abuzz with news that Akid could be the next to follow in the footsteps of Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin. He would most likely be the Malaysian candidate for the Yamaha VR46 MasterCamp this season. However, the news is yet to be officially confirmed by Hong Leong Yamaha. While training stints with racing idols in Europe may beckon in the mid-term, for now, Yong would prefer if his dazzling young protege focuses on the task at hand. “I just want both Akid and Haziq to prepare for Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship that will take place at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand this weekend. Now that the rest of the field have taken the measure of their abilities, we no longer have the element of surprise working to our favour. But if they continue to perform as they have done, the rewards will come their way.” Round 2 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will be held at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand fromApril 13 to 15, 2017.

Mohd Affendi Rosli had been sanctioned with a 1-round suspension from the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Affendi was found to have raced in an irresponsible manner during Race 1 of the Underbone 150cc category in Round 1 of the 2017 season. The incident was deemed to have been potentially dangerous to the other participants. Therefore, Affendi will not be racing in Round 2 of the Asian series which will be held at the Chang International Circuit on April 14 and 15, 2017. Full clip of the incident :

Race 2 from Round 1 of the 2017 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship turned out to be a good day for the rising in the Asian series. Just as Taiga Hada and Rheza Danica Ahrens shone in the SuperSports 600cc and Asia Production 250cc classes, debutant Mohd Akid Aziz gave a thrilling performance when he rode to a stunning victory in the Underbone 150cc category. The 19-year-old Akid had been strong throughout the weekend, narrowly losing out to countryman Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam in Race 1 at a photo finish. In Race 2, Akid redeemed himself with a stunning ride that saw him match Indonesian duo Wahyu Aji Trilaksana and Anggie Setiawan pace-for-pace during the run-up to the finish line. Akid scored his first Asian victory with a time of 14’52.561s, leaving defending champion Wahyu to settle for second place with 14’52.888s and Anggi in third with 14’52.959s. “Race 2 was less challenging than Race 1,” said a very frank Akid. “I just had to keep my pace within the leading group and then power up at the final lap. My thanks to my team for preparing such a great bike.” After Round 1, Akid is now the provisional Underbone 150cc leader with 45 points. Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam is second overall with 33 points while Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin was third with 24 points. Akid’s results had also given team UMA Racing Yamaha Maju a decisive lead in the opening stages of the 2017 season. Team Maju holds 45 points against SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing in second overall position with 36 points.

Johor-born Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam celebrated a victory on home ground in Race 1 of the Underbone 150cc category. The lanky SCK Rapido Hi-Rev Honda Racing rider pipped rival Mohd Akid Aziz to win the first Underbone 150cc race of the season. The tight competition in the South East Asian heritage class resulted in a photo-finish that saw Fakhrusy crossing the finish line 0.004s ahead of Akid. The race quickly took on familiar Underbone characteristics as the entire group of riders bunched up together in the hunt for the lead. However, the pack was split on Lap 6 when Anggi Setiawan crashed out of the race, taking defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana with him. Without the strong challenge from the Indonesian camp, the Underbone 150cc podium was an all-Malaysian affair. Fakhrusy won with a time of 14’55.380s, Akid in second place with 14’55.384s while Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues finished third with 14’55.663s. Meanwhile, Mohd Helmi Azman, representing newcomer team Onexox TKKR Racing, gave good account of himself in fourth place. Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin rounded up the top five. The Underbone class had always been an Indonesian-Malaysian affair. But in Race 1, Vietnamese rider Cao Viet Nam did himself proud when he finished ninth with 15’03.302s. Chinese rider Yuan Ji Bo, picked up three points in his first experience in Underbone racing.

The new Underbone 150cc class promises to be even more exciting than the previous 130cc category. In the qualifying session held for the first round at the Johor Circuit on March 31, 2017, a total of seven riders clocked within the same second. Team Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing’s Azroy Hakeem Anuar topped the timesheets in the qualifyer with 1’49.115s, narrowly edging out defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana who was second fastest with 1’49.336s. Malaysian debutant, Mohd Akid Aziz from team Uma Racing Yamaha Maju Motor made an impactful first qualifying when he posted third fastest with 1’49.338s. However, the top-10 grid of the Underbone 150cc class is yet to be finalized. The final grid will only be confirmed after the Underbone 150cc SuperPole that will take place in the morning before the first race. Then, the top Underbone riders will be put to the test without the benefit of the slipstream from the other competitors on the track.

The Underbone 150cc is a new class, replacing the previous Underbone 130cc category that ran from 2012 to 2016.   1.Yamaha Racing Indonesia Wahyu Aji Trilaksana will embark on his title defense with team Yamaha Racing Indonesia. Should he succeed, he will be the first rider in the Underbone class to successfully retain his title despite a change in the technical specifications.   2. Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing Former Malaysian GP rider Shahrol Yuzy will be collaborating with Honda Vietnam this season. Team Yuzy Honda Vietnam Racing’s role is to guide and expose upcoming Vietnamese riders as they make their international debut. For 2017, the team will field Vietnamese newcomer Cao Viet Nam alongside Malaysian rider Azroy Hakeem Anuar.   3. First Chinese Rider Round 1 of the ARRC will see an unexpected entry in the Underbone 150 class. Chinese rider Yuan Ji Bo will be the first from the People’s Republic of China to race in the Southeast Asian heritage class. Yuan has had substantive experience racing the 600cc bikes back home, but had elected to use the Underbone 150cc category as his debut platform to gain experience before considering a move to higher ccs.   4. UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor had elected for a double rookie combination in 2017. Seasoned campaigner Ahmad Fazli Sham had been refocused to the national championship. UMA Racing’s assault on the Underbone 150cc title will be undertaken by two teenage hotshots – Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues (16) and 2016 National Champion, Mohd Akid Aziz (19).   5. New Entry: ONEXOX TKKR Racing The Underbone 150cc will feature a new team entry this season – Malaysian outfit, ONEXOX TKKR Racing. New to the racing scene, the team had been highly active in the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship in 2016. This year, team TKKR expands their horizons to the Asian region with Norizman Ismail and Mohd Helmi Azman.