Johor-born Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam celebrated a victory on home ground in Race 1 of the Underbone 150cc category.
The lanky SCK Rapido Hi-Rev Honda Racing rider pipped rival Mohd Akid Aziz to win the first Underbone 150cc race of the season. The tight competition in the South East Asian heritage class resulted in a photo-finish that saw Fakhrusy crossing the finish line 0.004s ahead of Akid.
The race quickly took on familiar Underbone characteristics as the entire group of riders bunched up together in the hunt for the lead. However, the pack was split on Lap 6 when Anggi Setiawan crashed out of the race, taking defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana with him.
Without the strong challenge from the Indonesian camp, the Underbone 150cc podium was an all-Malaysian affair. Fakhrusy won with a time of 14’55.380s, Akid in second place with 14’55.384s while Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues finished third with 14’55.663s.
Meanwhile, Mohd Helmi Azman, representing newcomer team Onexox TKKR Racing, gave good account of himself in fourth place. Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin rounded up the top five.
The Underbone class had always been an Indonesian-Malaysian affair. But in Race 1, Vietnamese rider Cao Viet Nam did himself proud when he finished ninth with 15’03.302s. Chinese rider Yuan Ji Bo, picked up three points in his first experience in Underbone racing.