The Round 4 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will once again adorn the circuit layout of PERTAMINA Mandalika International Circuit this weekend. The riders of the Underbone 150cc race category are ready to rev up to the storm of challenge and among them are Md Akid Aziz of PitsBike OneWay JRT Tech2 Racing Team and Adytya Fauzi of RACETECH SIXTY Racing Team who will be upping their games for a taste at the top.
He may have been defeated with a “DNF” status in race one of the season opener but Akid is quickly making up for the loss and striking it up the ladder towards excellence. With only 14 points away from the leader, the sweet flavour of success is getting closer for the Malaysian born rider. The only question is, “Would he be able to repeat another victorious note in the coming rounds?” The UB150 race category is known for its unpredictability and landing on the podium is not as easy as it may seem. Nevertheless, Akid has showcased tremendous improvements this season in terms of dexterity and consistency when he barged towards the chequered flag twice to place himself on the podium.
Commenting on the race, Akid said “Half a season has been pretty impressive as we had a chance to fight competitively with the closest contenders. That is a great improvement on our part. The UB150 race category is not an easy one because every rider has a chance to get lucky. However, most important is being prepared with the right setup. The suspension is a crucial part and in the beginning of the season, it was a problem for us. However, in Round 3, Race 2, we managed to optimise it and that has contributed to our success. For the coming round, we haven’t found the right setup yet. Although we have improved a little bit compared to the other rounds, we are still struggling to fight among the front troop. Therefore, we need to keep working on the machine and I have to keep pushing to do my best. For the next round, the aim is to find a better position during the race and fight for the championship title. The Mandalika circuit is quite interesting however, the last sector can be challenging. We can’t predict anything as yet but certainly there will be better advantage if the machine is in a better condition. My goal is to score the champion title this season and while I know it is hard, it is not impossible!”
Adytya on the other hand faced some rough challenges of his own, one that of being a first-timer for a full-season and the other is the unforeseen circumstances that limits the performances. While Adytya may be new in the ARRC scene, he is definitely not new to the experience aboard the underbone machine. Adytya has garnered vast experience from other national championships and his participation on the Asian motorcycle racing championship is a matter of adapting and learning the behaviour of other riders. The Indonesian who has teamed up with a seasoned pro definitely has his advantages however the disadvantages that are inevitable is something that he has to tackle immediately if he aims to maintain his position at the top three spot.
Commenting on the race, Adytya said, “This season is my first, participating in a full-season and it has been quite different for me to be honest. Riding alongside highly robust riders has given me quite an insight as to how the race category functions. Each rider come with their own strengths and tackling that, to be better than them, it requires great focus and proper strategizing. I am quite lucky and glad to partner with Wahyu Aji who has been in the racing scene for a long time. He has heaps of experience and that has been extremely helpful especially in navigating through the rough and tough riders as well as learning the circuit grounds quickly. He has also taught me moves in overtaking, getting the best lap time in the qualifying session and making bold moves during the race. The team and mechanics have been working very hard to optimise the machine’s performances with the evaluation from each session up to the race so that we can obtain the best results. Racing in Mandalika has a big impact for me so, I will go all out for my country, the team and myself. I will never let my first year in ARRC go to waste. I will do my best and take this opportunity to learn and score as many points as possible.”