The intensity of Race 1 of Round 3 of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship continued at Mobility Resort Motegi, Japan, with the highly competitive SuperSport 600cc category as Apiwath Wongthananon of YAMAHA TEKHNE Racing Team Asia emerged victorious, cementing his place at the top of the podium.
In the Qualifying session, Azroy Hakeem Anuar of IDEMITSU Boon Siew Honda Racing Team claimed the pole position with the fastest lap time of 1’53:225s, closely pursued by the wildcard rider, Kengo Nagao of TEAM KENKEN, at 1’53:298s, and Muhammad Helmi Azman of IDEMITSU Boon Siew Honda Racing Team at 1’53:344s.
Azroy wasted no time as the race started by surging to the front but was soon overtaken by Kengo, who led the pack. Behind Kengo and Azroy was Veda Ega Pratama of ASTRO HONDA RACING TEAM, with Apiwath following and Helmi at P5.
Entering lap 4, Kengo maintained his position leading the race, and behind him was Apiwath, who slowly made his way from P4 to P2, leaving Azroy and Adenanta at P3 and P4.
On lap 8, Kengo made a slight mistake, allowing Apiwath to overtake him, but Kengo managed to reclaim the position on lap 9. However, Apiwath did not stop putting pressure on Kengo by trailing closely behind.
On the final lap, as Kengo was expected to win the race, Apiwath stunned everyone when he overtook Kengo in the last corner and crossed the finish line in first place at 22’57:221s.
Apiwath said, “The race was truly amazing for me. This weekend posed several challenges, especially on the first day when the setup wasn’t quite right. However, today, I experimented with various adjustments on my bike, and fortunately, it all paid off in a positive way. During the race, I pushed myself to the absolute limit, and to my delight, clinched victory. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my team for their endless support, as well as to the passionate fans from Thailand who cheered me on every step of the way.”
Second place went to Kengo, who concluded the race at 22’57:440s, while Adenanta placed third at 23’01:889s.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
SS600
- Apiwath Wongthananon – YAMAHA TEKHNE Racing Team Asia (22’57:221s)
- Kengo Nagao – TEAM KENKEN (22’57:440s)
- Mohammad Adenanta Putra – ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM (23’01:889s)
- Kengo Nagao – TEAM KENKEN (23’02:228s)
- Azroy Hakeem Anuar – IDEMITSU Boon Siew Honda Racing Team (23’02:476s)