Underbone defending champion Wahyu Aji Trilaksana kept his title hopes alive when he picked up his third victory of the season at Round 6 of the 2017 Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at Buriram, Thailand.
The Yamaha Racing Indonesia rider started Race 1 from third on the grid but wisely stayed tucked in within the leading group while Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues and Azroy Hakeem Anuar battled for the lead.
The 12-bike leading pack split on Lap 5 when Mohd Akid Aziz slid out of the race after contact with Mohd Azhar Abd Jalil and Mohd Hafieenaz Mohd Ali.
With only four riders left in the first group, Wahyu began racing more strategically. He made sure to get himself into the lead each time the group crossed the finish line. The strategy worked when the Yamaha Racing Indonesia rider managed to pip Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa to the finish line by 0.478s.
Wahyu brought down the chequered flag with a time of 16’50.406s. Amirul finished second with 16’50.884s and Haziq third with 16’50.984s.
Championship leader Akid was able to get back on track and finished 11th to retain his position at the top of the championship standings. The five points from Akid’s 11th place finish had pushed the UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor rider’s points haul to 169 points. Wahyu’s win added 25 points to his collection, bringing up his total to 145 points.
To lift the crown, Akid will only need to finish within the top-14 in Race 2.