Australian Broc Parkes seems to be settling in and getting comfortable in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship environment.
The 38-year-old from the Hunter Region in New South Wales Australia, is doing double-duty this year, racing in both the EWC with YART and the Asia Road Racing Championship with Yamaha Racing Team Asean. We stole five minutes of his time for a quick update:
New Circuits to Conquer
“Aside from Suzuka and Sepang, the rest of the circuits are unfamiliar to me. This will be a brand new challenge.”
The Bike and Preprations for Round 1
“I’m happy with the preparations so far. The team had had the opportunity to do some private testing at Sepang a few weeks ago. During the 2-day pre-season test, we were able to lay a good foundation for the first round.”
“The spec of the bike is stock while I’m more used to bikes with more race specs. In a way, it feels closer to riding a 600cc (as opposed to a fully kitted out Superbike)
Dunlop Tyres
“I have not raced on Dunlop tyres for many years. But I have been able to understand the tyres very quickly. I find it to be very consistent.”
First Full Asian Season
“I have had spot entries in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in the past. I joined the series for the Qatar round in 2013 where I finished 4th in Race 1 and 2ndin Race 2. I repeated the stint in 2015 but unfortunately, was unable to start the race due to engine troubles.