Taking their moves to the next level and steadfast in their commitment to achieve their goals, the riders of the Asia Superbike 1000cc once again got their hands dirty on the scenes of Round 5, FIM Asia Road Racing Championship beginning with the free practice sessions at the Zhuhai International Circuit. Making the fastest cut for the day in the sessions combined was Markus Reiterberger of ONEXOX BMW TKKR Team.
It was an excellent morning as the riders went on their first FP session. Zaqhwan of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA made the fastest lap time at 1’34:028s. Markus of ONEXOX BMW TKKR Team clocked in second fastest at 1’34:289 followed by Kasma Daniel of YAMAHA GEN BLU Racing Team ASEAN with his best lap time at 1’34:571s. During the FP2, Markus geared up and hit the fastest lap time with his best at 1’33:880s. Zaqhwan on the other hand made it second fastest with his best at 1’34:387s. His teammate Andi Farid made some improvements and scored the third fastest at 1’34:553s.
In FP3, Markus seemed to have mastered the circuit as he went on at a blistering speed to score a better lap time. He clocked in his best at 1’33:048s. Markus currently leads the overall charts with a total of 155.5 points. The rider may not have had a colourful start in the season opener but has been acing since then and is in contention for winning the championship title on the grounds of Zhuhai.
Commenting on the sessions, Markus said, “This is my first time here in ZIC. I did go around the circuit, on a walk and realised that this circuit is really different, for example compared to Mandalika. The other circuits were wider compare to ZIC which is way narrower. The tarmac was a little rough I suppose. But the layout was easy to learn and after a few laps, I was already on top of the chart. The machine is in an excellent condition as always and the team has been working tirelessly to maintain that. The electronics are good, maybe some minor adjustments. Initially, I had some issues at certain areas but I guess we managed to overcome that. It definitely needs a lot of acceleration especially with the others who are much smaller in size, they have better advantage here. I struggled a bit to make the gap wider but I am good at braking, so more or less, I think I will do good. My goal for is to make it at least 1 second better for the qualifying tomorrow and take the championship win here.”
Taking the second fastest spot for the day was Zaqhwan Zaidi after FP3 with his best lap time at 1’33:626s.
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of ONEXOX BMW TKKR Team made it third fastest at 1’33:765s after FP3.
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