Asia Superbike 1000cc is an intriguing race category which encapsulates not only the speed of the machine but also the ability to weigh between riding techniques and calculated moves. In Race 2, Round 3 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship that was held at Sportsland Sugo International Racing Course, Markus Reiterberger of ONEXOX BMW TKKR Team showcased exemplary attributes that rewarded him with a victory.
Taking a moment to reflect upon Race 1, Japanese rider Takume was off to a majestic start but soon started facing challenges of worn-out tires. Malaysian rider, Kasma used that to his advantage as he picked up pace la-by-lap before attacking him at the right time, with the right strategies in mind. German rider, Markus reduced his pace for a moment before jumping right back into the game. Japanese rider, Keisuke who was off the limelight for the first 17 laps emerged at the last lap to bag the third spot.
Today, the race went on a high-speed chase once again with Markus taking lead in the first lap followed by Haruki at P2, Takume at P3 and Azlan Shah at P4. By the end of lap 2, the four riders in the front troop drew up a gap with the riders of the back troop. As TKKR rider, Markus glided confidently ahead, Takume was injecting pressure on Haruki. By the end of lap 3, Azlan was back into the pit. Meanwhile, the back troop was led by Kota Arakawa, followed by Rei Toshima, and Kasma. Among them, Kasma was seen moving fiercely forward and before the end of lap 4, he took over Rei Toshima’s position.
Meanwhile, among the front troop, Takume took a slide ahead of Haruki. But, German rider, Markus was picking up speed with a gap of 1’452s. Down to 12 laps, Haruki took a slide from the inside ahead of Takume while Kasma pushed himself into P4. There was a huge gap between Takume and Kasma but the Yamaha rider was focused on closing the gap. With another 8 laps to go, Haruki crashed at turn one instantly opening the pathway for Kasma into P3. But luck was not on his side too when Kasma took a fall at turn one. With that, Markus was free of threats with a 5’074s away from Takume who was at P2.
Meanwhile, taking P3 was Kota Arakawa followed by Andi Farid and Zaqhwan at P4 and P5 respectively. The two teammates worked towards closing the gap with the Japanese rider ahead. Kota Arakawa however does not intend to give up his position just yet. But Andi kept on with the pressure and finally overtook him. For Markus, it is all about maintaining his momentum and avoiding mistake. It was almost impossible then for Takume to bypass Markus. Unfortunately, Takume too took a fall. Andi moved into P2 and Zaqhwan took P3.
At the final lap, Markus was on his way towards victory. Teammates Andi and Zaqhwan were leaning towards second and third position. With no mistakes made, the trio made it to the podium. Markus made an impressive 17’860s gap ahead when he clocked in at 26’42:374s.
Commenting on the race, Markus said, “My weekend was almost perfect apart from the second place yesterday. I was still happy with the outcome yesterday but I can’t imagine a better race than today. It was really good. I could push from the very beginning as I have planned. I also studied the lap time from Noguchi as he was the strongest rider. I noticed that I could do a few laps very quick and then stabilise my lap time. So, I followed through with my plan and it happened. When I don’t hear the sound of machine and when I noticed the gaps, I relaxed a little so that I could keep it together till the end. Suddenly, I saw it was more than 17s since many riders crashed too. I thank my team for the machine.”
Teammates Andi Farid Izdihar and Md Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA took the second and third spot at 27’00:223s and 27’00:558s respectively.
Latest news at asiaroadracing.com