Round 1 of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 delivered a gripping Race 1 in the SS600 class at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, where home hero Muhammad Helmi Azman of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA rose above early setbacks to secure a hard-fought victory in front of the home crowd.
The drama began even before lights out, as Muhammad Faerozi Toreqottullah of YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA was forced to retire during the warm-up lap due to a technical issue. Once the race got underway, Thanat Laoongplio of HONDA RACING THAILAND made a lightning start to lead the pack, followed by Wahyu Nugroho of YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA and Malaysia’s Khairul Idham Pawi. However, Khairul wasted no time asserting himself, quickly surging into the lead.
By Lap 2, Khairul led the charge, with Anupab Sarmoon just 0’141s behind, followed by Wahyu and Thanat, while Helmi had worked his way into fifth ahead of 2025 champion Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin of HONG LEONG YAMAHA RACING.
The battle intensified on Lap 3 when Anupab clocked the fastest lap of 2’11.198s to take over the lead, only for Khairul to respond immediately and reclaim the position. The relentless exchanges continued into Lap 4, where Helmi made a decisive move up the order, overtaking Wahyu to place himself firmly in podium contention behind Khairul and Anupab.
Lap 5 marked a turning point in the race. While Anupab made another move on Khairul, Helmi capitalised brilliantly, slipping through unnoticed to seize the lead. From there, the Malaysian began to dictate the pace, with Anupab and Khairul in pursuit and Herjun Atna Firdaus of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM joining the leading group.
Helmi maintained control on Lap 6, as Herjun posted the fastest lap of 2’11.120s to close in, while the top five remained tightly packed. On Lap 7, Helmi responded emphatically with a fastest lap of 2’10.828s, holding off relentless pressure from Anupab, Khairul, Wahyu, and Herjun.
The pace intensified further on Lap 8, with Anupab hitting top speeds of 250 km/h and setting the fastest lap of 2’10.728s, but Helmi remained composed at the front. The race took another dramatic twist on Lap 9 when Khairul crashed out at Turn 4 while chasing second, promoting Wahyu and Herjun up the order.
Heading into the final lap, Helmi led the charge ahead of Anupab, with Herjun moving past Wahyu into third. McKinley Kyle Paz of HONG LEONG YAMAHA RACING joined the top five as the battle reached its climax. Despite immense pressure from Anupab throughout the final sector, Helmi held his nerve and crossed the line in 21’58.392s, sealing a sensational victory and reaffirming his reputation as the “King of Sepang.”
Anupab finished just 0.293s behind at 21’58.685s, while Herjun completed the podium at 22’02.372s after a consistent and determined ride.
Helmi said, “From the test day, I struggled a lot with my bike because this year we are using a new ECU, so we had to start from zero and couldn’t rely on last year’s data. Even in qualifying, the bike had no power due to an issue with the ECU. But for the race, we worked hard to improve, and Alhamdulillah, we managed to fix it. I also crashed this morning at the beginning of qualifying, which affected my confidence, but I told myself to stay focused and calm. In the end, I achieved this result, and it means a lot because this is my dream when I come here. I want to thank my team for their hard work, and also ask everyone to pray for my chief mechanic, Fahmi. He couldn’t be here, I miss him, and I hope he recovers and returns for the next round.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
1. MUHAMMAD HELMI AZMAN – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (21’58.392s)
2. ANUPAB SARMOON – YAMAHA THAILAND RACING TEAM (21’58.685s)
3. HERJUN ATNA FIRDAUS – ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM (22’02.372s)
4. WAHYU NUGROHO – YAMAHA RACING INDONESIA (22’02.594s)
5. MCKINLEY KYLE PAZ – HONG LEONG YAMAHA RACING (22’04.564s)