Team WeBike Ikazuchi Racing will be leaving the Madras Motor Race Track on a winning high after a successful weekend by their star rider, Anthony West. The undulating 3.74km circuit has been particularly kind to West who picked up his first double win of the season by taking Race 2 with a time of 27’10.157s.
Race 2 revved off with West on pole position, and team mates Tomoyoshi Koyama and Zaqhwan Zaidi joining him on the front row. West reversed his race strategy for Race 2, opting to push ahead early in the race rather than sitting back and waiting for the second half of the race.
Racing with a clear piece of track ahead of him, the Australian rider was able to carve out 7 seconds worth of daylight between him and the chasing group comprised of Tomoyoshi Koyama, Taiga Hada and Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi. The three Honda riders were caught up with battling each other for P2. Their 16-lap scuffle ended with the two Japanese riders on the podium. Koyama finished second with 27’17.240s while Hada was third.
Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi missed out on the podium and was forced to settle for fourth. Behind him, defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made up for his crash in Race 1 by completing the second race in fifth place. Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin was the most impressive rider of the day. The Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia rider started the race from 17th on the grid and made up 10 places to finish 6th.
However, the most heart breaking moment of the day was served up by Yuki Ito. In line for a potential podium finish, Ito high-sided at the last corner of the final lap. Even though the top honours were lost, Ito was hell bent on finishing his race. The Japanese Yamaha rider picked up his bike and pushed the broken machine to the finish line as the crowded grandstand cheered him on.
The outcome from Round 4 has given West a huge lead on the championship standings. He is well on his way to becoming the first Australian champion of the ARRC with 136 points. Azlan Shah trails by 51 points.