The opening round of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 continued to deliver high-intensity action today at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, where reigning 2025 ASB1000 Champion Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM asserted his authority by topping the combined practice times in the premier class.
Hafizh immediately stamped his presence in Practice 1 with a strong lap of 2’06.365s, edging out Mohammad Adenanta Putra of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM, who posted 2’06.799s. His teammate Andi Farid Izdihar followed closely in third with 2’06.818s, while Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA and Australia’s Lachlan Epis of SWIFT GROW RACING TEAM completed the top five in a tightly packed opening session.
In Practice 2, Hafizh elevated his performance further, lowering his benchmark to 2’05.693s to maintain control at the top of the timesheets. Zaqhwan responded strongly to secure second with 2’05.903s, while Andi held steady in third at 2’05.972s. Japan’s Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES impressed in fourth, followed by Rocco Sessler of SAVITAR TEAM ASIA, both demonstrating competitive race pace as the field tightened.
Practice 3 saw Hafizh deliver his most decisive performance of the day. The experienced Malaysian rider pushed even further, setting a blistering 2’05.549s, the fastest lap across all sessions. Keito continued his upward momentum with 2’06.194s, while Zaqhwan remained consistent in third at 2’06.361s. Lachlan Epis returned to the top-five fight in fourth, ahead of Andi Farid Izdihar, who rounded out the session in fifth.
With all three sessions combined, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah emerged as the undisputed fastest rider of the day, reaffirming his status as the benchmark in the ASB1000 category and signaling strong intent to defend his crown.
Hafizh said, “So far, everything has gone well. As a team, we did a really good job session by session, from FP1 to FP3, showing an amazing pace in the final session of the day. We will now look into our data and see where we can improve further. At the moment, we are very satisfied with our overall performance as a team.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – COMBINED PRACTICE
1. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (2’05.549s)
2. MUHAMMAD ZAQHWAN ZAIDI – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (2’05.903s)
3. ANDI FARID IZDIHAR – JDT RACING TEAM (2’05.972s)
4. KEITO ABE – SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES (2’06.194s)
5. ROCCO SESSLER – SAVITAR TEAM ASIA (2’06.417s)