Race 2 of Round 4 IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in the Asia Superbike 1000cc category witnessed high-speed drama. Soichiro Minamimoto of YAMAHA TEKHNE Racing Team ASIA celebrating his first win at PERTAMINA Mandalika International Circuit, Indonesia.
As the race started, Yuki Kunii of SDG Team HARC―PRO Honda Ph. immediately took the lead. Behind him, Soichiro and Lachlan Epis of Evolution Sports Group followed closely with attempt to take over the top spot.
On lap 3, Soichiro overtook Yuki but Yuki was quick to reclaim the top position. However, Soichiro did not stop trying to overtake Yuki again.
On lap 6, Soichiro managed to overtake Yuki and picked up his pace to keep the distance with the riders behind him. At P2 was Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM and Andi Farid Izdihar of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo.
The position of top three riders remains the same. Soichiro maintained his pace and made it to the top of the podium at 20’55:484s.
Soichiro said, “I’m overjoyed! I set a strong lap time during qualifying yesterday, but I made some mistakes that led to damage to the bike. Despite this, our team’s dedication and hard work were exceptional. We faced some issues with the bike, but thanks to our efforts, we managed to resolve them this morning. During the race, I felt great about my performance and truly enjoyed the experience. It’s incredibly rewarding to be on the top of the podium. I’m thrilled and want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my team and all the crew for their hard work and support.”
Second place went to Hafizh who concluded the race at 20’57:923s, while Andi clocked 20’58:878s to take third spot on the podium.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 2
ASB1000
- Soichiro Minamimoto – YAMAHA TEKHNE Racing Team ASIA (20’55:484s)
- Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah – JDT RACING TEAM (20’57:923s)
- Andi Farid Izdihar – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (20’58:878s)
- Md Zaqhwan Zaidi – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (21’01:168s)
- Sho Nishimura – TKKR BMW Racing Team (21’01:266s)