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.