Round 4 of LFN FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 at Mandalika International Circuit in Indonesia brought top-tier action to the premier ASB1000 category. Throughout Friday’s three practice sessions, the narrative constantly shifted as riders adjusted to the demanding circuit. The day concluded with an incredibly close finish in the Combined Practice standings, where Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of HONDA RACING THAILAND delivered a late push to secure the fastest overall time, narrowly edging out his rivals in a top three separated by less than five-hundredths of a second.
The morning began with a strong statement from the experienced Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM. Hafizh immediately found his rhythm on the track during Practice 1. He posted a benchmark time of 1’35.910s, making him the only rider to break into the 1’35s in the opening session. Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES settled into a comfortable second place, while the IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA duo of Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi and Azroy Hakeem Anuar finished third and fourth, respectively, finding their initial footing.
As the sun heated the track for Practice 2, the grip levels shifted, and teams focused on race pace and tire management rather than all-out single-lap speed. Syahrin maintained his position at the top of the session leaderboard with a steady 1’36.083s. However, the session revealed a new challenger as Nakarin began to find extra pace. The Thai rider logged a 1’36.191s to move into second place, signaling that he had found a promising setup direction. Keito remained a consistent threat, clocking the third-fastest time to ensure he stayed right in the mix.
During Practice 3, the track cooled down slightly in the late afternoon, and the riders pushed their machines for ultimate lap times. Nakarin executed a precise flying lap to record a 1’35.751s, vaulting him to the top of the combined standings. Keito also found significant improvement, crossing the line with a 1’35.788s to claim second overall. Despite lowering his own best time to a 1’35.799s, early leader Hafizh was bumped to third.
The margins at the top were exceptionally thin, with just 0.048s separating the top three riders. Further down the order, Rocco Sessler of FORTY FORGED ASIA RACING TEAM found a sudden burst of speed in the final session, jumping up to fourth overall with a 1’36.342s. Zaqhwan’s consistent improvement throughout the day earned him the final spot in the combined top five.
Nakarin said, “I am incredibly happy with today’s result. Throughout the practice sessions, my main priority was simply to focus on my own riding and continuously refine the bike’s setup. I honestly wasn’t looking at the timing screens or thinking about my position. My entire goal was just to log laps and steadily build my confidence on this circuit.”
“Coming into this weekend, we faced a new challenge because the rear tire is a completely new model this year. Compared to last season, both the front and rear tires behave quite differently here at Mandalika, which initially made it very difficult to understand where the absolute limit was. To figure it out, we tried so many different configurations, constantly tweaking the setup and making adjustment after adjustment. On my end, I also had to adapt my riding style significantly. I was experimenting every time I went out on track by trying a higher gear in certain corners, braking much harder, and focusing on carrying more mid-corner speed.”
“Eventually, all that work paid off, and we found a fantastic feeling with the bike. What gives me the most confidence is that I managed to set my fastest time on a tire that already had 20 laps of wear on it. By the end of the day, we had collected all the right data, put the puzzle pieces together, and I was finally able to go on the attack. We have a solid baseline now, but we will keep pushing and try to improve even further tomorrow.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – COMBINED PRACTICE
1. NAKARIN ATIRATPHUVAPAT – HONDA RACING THAILAND (1’35.751s)
2. KEITO ABE – SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES (1’35.788s)
3. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (1’35.799s)
4. ROCCO SESSLER – FORTY FORGED ASIA RACING TEAM (1’36.342s)
5. MUHAMMAD ZAQHWAN ZAIDI – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (1’36.360s)