Round 5 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 got underway today at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Across two practice sessions in the AP250 category, Muhammad Fadhil Musyavi of YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA clinched the top spot in the Combined Practice standings after a brilliantly timed push in Practice 2.
In Practice 1, Rheza Danica Ahrens of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM adapted quickest to the tricky track conditions, posting a 2’24.472s on his 9th tour to take the early honors. His teammate Irfan Ardiansyah backed up the squad’s performance with a 2’24.915s on lap 8 to secure second. Fadhil completed a closely matched top three at 2’24.964s, while Peerapong Luiboonpeng of ONE FOR ALL and Nguyen Huu Tri of MOTUL HONDA ASIA TEAM settled into fourth and fifth.
Practice 2 saw lap times tighten dramatically, and Fadhil found his breakthrough on his 7th lap, stringing together clean sectors to record a 2’24.350s. The Indonesian rider’s effort proved to be the quickest lap of the entire day, moving him straight to the top of the combined timesheets.
Krittapat Keankum of YAMAHA THAILAND RACING TEAM produced an equally stunning recovery after Practice 1. Krittapat matched Fadhil’s intensity on his 7th lap, clocking 2’24.402s to claim second overall, missing the top spot by a margin of just 0.052s.
Rheza’s Practice 1 benchmark held firm against the afternoon improvements, earning him third place in the combined standings. Behind him, Nguyen took fourth overall with a 2’24.515s while clocking the session’s highest top speed of 194.2kph. Candra H completed the top five for YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA with a 2’24.771s, ensuring two team machines concluded Friday among the frontrunners.
Fadhil said, “Alhamdulillah, finishing fastest and claiming P1 in Practice 2 is a tremendous result for us, and it allowed us to dial in a strong setup for both Race 1 and Race 2. Insyaallah, we can build on this momentum and deliver an even stronger performance tomorrow.”
“The track was quite tricky today, especially during Practice 1, which caught me off guard because it was honestly my first time dealing with such conditions here. I had to stay patient, learn how the bike reacted, and wait for the right moment to push. I hope track conditions improve tomorrow so that I can ride a smart, clean race, bring the bike home safely, and secure a great result for the team.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – COMBINED PRACTICE
1. MUHAMMAD FADHIL MUSYAVI – YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA (2’24.350s)
2. KRITTAPAT KEANKUM – YAMAHA THAILAND RACING TEAM (2’24.402s)
3. RHEZA DANICA AHRENS – ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM (2’24.472s)
4. NGUYEN HUU TRI – MOTUL HONDA ASIA TEAM (2’24.515s)
5. CANDRA H – YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA (2’24.771s)