In Race 1, McKinley Kyle Paz made history when he became the first rider from the Philippines to win an Underbone 150cc class at the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. In Race 2, Fernando Masato followed up on the previous day’s success to claim a double win for debutant Uma Racing Yamaha Philippines Team.
The two ace riders from the Philippines executed their race strategy to perfection. The race flagged off with Kyle on front row and Fernando on second row. 13-year-old Indonesian Aldi Mahendra was dominant in the opening lap. Smaller and lighter than the majority of the grid, Aldi’s flying start took him straight into the lead but he was swallowed up one lap later by the horde.
An 8-rider lead group had splintered off by Lap 3. The competition hotted up on the final lap. Wawan Wello locked his rear wheel and lost touch with the pack. A 3-bike pileup at Turn 15 whittled the group down to six. The speed of the Yamaha Y15 ZR prepared by the Maju engineers were clearly hard to beat. Fernando sailed to the finish line with 15’32.583s. Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa made it to second place with 15’32.691s and McKinley Kyle Paz claimed third place with 15’32.708s.
Kyle is the current Underbone 150cc leader with 41 points.