Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM continued his unstoppable form in Race 2 at the Mandalika International Circuit, Indonesia, delivering a flawless performance to claim his eighth consecutive ASB1000 victory in Round 4 of the LFN FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026.
The 15-lap race began with a strong launch from Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES, who took the early lead ahead of Lachlan Epis from SWIFT GROW RACING TEAM and Mohammad Adenanta Putra of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM. Starting further back, Hafizh quickly analyzed the chaotic opening corners from fifth place. By Lap 2, Hafizh had sliced through the pack to take the lead, just before Lachlan crashed out of the race.
Once at the front, Hafizh immediately dropped the hammer. He set a series of blistering fastest laps, dropping from 1’36.332s on Lap 3 to an incredible 1’35.349s by Lap 6. This relentless pace allowed him to pull a comfortable gap over Keito. Behind them, a fierce battle for third unfolded between Adenanta and Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA. Zaqhwan managed to take third on Lap 5, but unfortunately lost front grip and crashed out on Lap 8. Anthony West of MOTOGO YAMAHA FUSPORT RACING also suffered an early exit on Lap 6.
As the race progressed, Hafizh extended his lead to over three seconds. The fight for the final podium spot intensified when Adenanta experienced a slight wobble on Lap 10. Rocco Sessler of FORTY FORGED ASIA RACING TEAM quickly capitalized, overtaking Adenanta to secure third place. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of HONDA RACING THAILAND also found his way past Adenanta on Lap 12.
Hafizh controlled his gap perfectly to the finish, crossing the line first at 24’03.193s. Keito maintained a solid pace to take second at 24’05.883s, while Rocco successfully fended off late pressure from Nakarin to secure third at 24’06.545s.
Hafizh shared, “Syukur Alhamdulillah, I suppose eight is my new lucky number! We put together a fantastic race today. We had a great launch off the line, but as expected, everyone was extremely aggressive into the first corner. Seeing that chaos, I knew I had to control the race with my head. While the others were battling fiercely, I rode smart, stayed out of trouble, and capitalized on the right moments to make clinical passes.”
“I knew Keito’s plan was to stick right behind me in my slipstream. Yesterday felt a bit like a game of cat-and-mouse, so today, I completely changed the strategy. I decided to push the pace much earlier to break the tow and build a comfortable gap.”
“Honestly, I carried a heavy amount of emotional pressure on my shoulders this weekend. Between Andi’s unfortunate injury, celebrating the birthdays of my father and my mechanic, and the difficult situation with our team manager, Razmin, who has been in the hospital, I desperately wanted to deliver something special. This victory is dedicated to Razmin. Ultimately, this is a true family win.”
“I also want to express my deepest gratitude to our big boss, HRH Tunku Mahkota Ismail, who is always by our side pushing us to our highest potential. Achieving eight consecutive wins demands an unbelievable amount of personal sacrifice from your time and your family. There isn’t much more to say right now, other than I am going to truly savor and enjoy this beautiful moment.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 2
1. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (24’03.193s)
2. KEITO ABE – SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES (24’05.883s)
3. ROCCO SESSLER – FORTY FORGED ASIA RACING TEAM (24’06.545s)
4. NAKARIN ATIRATPHUVAPAT – HONDA RACING THAILAND (24’10.417s)
5. MOHAMMAD ADENANTA PUTRA – ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM (24’14.379s)