Race 1 of Round 5 of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in the Asia Superbike 1000cc category at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, saw Yuki Kunii of SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda Ph. clinch a commanding victory, securing the top spot on the podium.
During the qualifying session, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM earned pole position with the fastest lap time of 2’05.224s. Yuki Kunii followed in second with a time of 2’05.300s, while Sho Nishimura of TKKR BMW Racing Team took third with a time of 2’06.092s.
As the race commenced, Hafizh quickly took the lead, with Yuki and Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo close behind.
On Lap 2, Hafizh experienced a slight wobble, allowing Yuki and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of TKKR BMW Racing Team to overtake him, taking the top two positions respectively.
While Yuki and Azlan held onto the top spots, Nakarin, who was in fourth place, moved up to overtake Hafizh for third on Lap 5.
The positions remained unchanged as Yuki raced across the finish line to claim victory with a time of 25’31.250s.
Yuki commented, “I’m very happy with the result and thrilled to have won. Since yesterday, I felt great with the bike and the track, and I had confidence in my pace. Although Hafizh delivered an incredible lap time in qualifying, I knew my strength was in the race. I focused on my own performance, and in the end, I achieved the victory. I’m delighted, especially as my championship standings are improving. I’m really looking forward to Race 2 tomorrow and hope to build on this momentum.”
Azlan finished in second place with a time of 25’34.412s, while Nakarin took third with a time of 25’36.101s.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
ASB1000
- Yuki Kunii – SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda Ph. (25’31:250s)
- Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman – TKKR BMW Racing Team (25’34:412s)
- Nakarin Atiratphuvapat – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (25’36:101s)
- Andi Farid Izdihar – Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (25’38:107s)
- Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah – JDT RACING TEAM (25’38:191s)