Ahmad Fazli Sham netted a second UB150 victory for the ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team when he dominated Race 2 in the 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship season opener at the Sepang International Circuit.
With this win, Fazli erased the bad memories from 2019 when he finished out of the points in both the Sepang rounds.
Race 2 got off, again with Fazli’s younger brother Ahmad Fazrul Sham on pole. The Cardinals Racing Team rider lost the holeshot to Akid Aziz, but made up for lost ground when he led his team mate Iqbal Abdul Malek in 1-2 formation across the finish line by the end of Lap 1.
Fazli got into the lead as Lap 2 commenced. The seasoned UB150 campaigner kept his position even as a big crash between Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, Iqbal Abdul Malek and Fernando Masato shook things up at the front.
As the 20-rider group swarmed into the final lap, poleman Fazrul tried to peel away but lost his advantage in the long backstraight before heading to the last corner. A neat move by Fazli saw him ducking into the inside line and raced ahead of Fazrul to pick up his sixth career Sepang win with 15’34.448s.
RCB YAMAHA YY Pang’s Mohd Izzat Zaidi served up a surprise when he finished the race in second place with 15’34.549s. The outcome from Race 2 represented a big comeback for Izzat who sat out of Race 1 on Saturday due to mechanical errors.
Race 2 reunited the two brothers on the podium as Cardinals Racing Team’s Ahmad Fazrul Sham crossed the line in third. The Sham siblings are now leading the UB150 title chase. Fazrul’s double Sepang podiums placed him at the top of the ladder with 36 points. Fazli ranked second with 34 points.
Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, winner of Race 1, was one of the riders who crashed out on Lap 3. The Indonesian dropped to third overall with 25 points.
The UB150 Race 2 also brought some sterling performances from the newcomers to the Asian series. SND Factory Racing Rapido’s Muhammad Hildan Kusuma finished a creditable fourth while 4S1M YAMAHA Racing Team’s John Emerson Inguito gave Filipino fans something to cheer for when he crossed the finish line in fifth.
UB150: Top 5 Race 2 Results
- Ahmad Fazli Sham (MAS) (Yamaha) 15’34.448s
- Mohd Izzat Zaidi (MAS) (Yamaha) 15’34.549s
- Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha) 15’34.749s
- M. Hildan Kusuma (INA) (Honda) 15’35.407s
- John Emerson Inguito (PHI) (Yamaha) 15’35.413s
UB150: Top 5 Standings After Round 1
- Ahmad Fazrul Sham (MAS) (Yamaha) 36 pts
- Ahmad Fazli Sham (MAS) (Yamaha) 34 pts
- Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (INA) (Yamaha) 25 pts
- Mohd Izzat Zaidi (MAS) (Yamaha) 20 pts
- Peerapong Luiboonpeng (THA) (Yamaha) 18 pts
UB150: Top 5 Team Standings After Round 1
- ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team 1 59 pts
- Cardinals Racing Team 40 pts
- UMA Racing YAMAHA Maju Motor Asia Team 34 pts
- RCB YAMAHA YY PANG 28 pts
- Team One For All 25 pts