The Asia Superbike 1000cc went on swiftly at Chang International Circuit in Race 2 of Round 1, FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. Haruki Noguchi of SDG MS HARC-PRO.HONDA.PH. made Japan proud when he concluded the race for the day with yet another victory.
The scene of the Asia Superbike 1000cc kept the audience at the edge of their seats yesterday when Haruki pulled his tricks for a win towards the end of the race. While Zaqhwan was boosted up with a new lap record, he may not have anticipated the consequences of swinging into the act too soon. Azlan on the other hand gave a stunning performance with his slow move up, injecting pressure before calling it a day.
In today’s race, Zaqhwan was quick to take turn 1 however Markus made it past him before the second sector. Haruki was playing it cool at P3. At turn 3 of lap 2, Haruki moved to P1 and Azlan sled into P2. Markus on the other hand was finding his pace at P3 while Zaqhwan trailed at P4. The battle was heated up between Haruki and Azlan with the latter flexing up his muscles once again after a long unfortunate season last year. By the end of lap 3, Azlan was in charge.
Azlan seemed confident, gliding swiftly lap-by-lap while Haruki followed him diligently. By the end of lap 7, Andi was steady at P3 but inched closer to Haruki before overtaking him at turn 3. Into the 9th lap, Andi worked his magic and took lead at turn 3. With that, he picked up speed. Haruki who was at P3 moved ahead of Azlan. With two more laps to go, the battle heated up. Zaqhwan emerged into P3 with Haruki ahead of him and Andi leading. It was at the last turn where Andi presumably made a mistake. Haruki grabbed the opportunity to strike for a win at 20’57:031s while Zaqhwan swerved in for the second best. Azlan made it into P3.
Commenting on the race, Haruki said, “It was not a bad start but everyone seemed to be picking up on speed. Although I was at the front, today seemed a little tougher for me. But the last turn gave me the opportunity and I am happy for the win. I thank everyone who has worked hard for me.”
Md Zaqhwan Zaidi of HONDA ASIA-DREAM RACING WITH SHOWA clocked in at 20’57:227s.
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of ONEXOX BMW TKKR TEAM logged in at 20’57:638s.
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