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2017 asia supermoto

  • Lewis Cornish converted his pole position to win both Motos in Round 1 of the FIM Asia Supermoto 2017 Championship. 

  • Returning 2015 Champ, Trakarn Thangthong finished 2nd overall.

  • Defending 2016 Champ, Muhd. “Gabit” Habibullah ended the day 4th overall.


NAKHON CHAI SI, THAILAND, 3 SEPTEMBER 2017
– Beautiful weather and a  , wonderful circuit welcomed Round 1 of the FIM Asia Supermoto 2017 Championship. The competition saw 17 riders from 13 countries striving for national and personal pride.

The day began with Free Practice, and as expected, the top three spots were dominated by United Kingdom’s Lewis Cornish, returning 2015 Champion, Thailand’s Trakarn Thangthong, and defending 2016 Champion Malaysia’s Muhd. “Gabit” Habibullah, respectively.

MOTO 1

Moto 1 started with the sun shining directly above the riders.

Pole sitter Cornish grabbed the holeshot, but was followed tightly by all riders onto straight of the tarmac section, instead being diverted into the off-road section.

Round 1 winner, Lewis Cornish

The tight hairpin turn immediately after the last table top remained as the biggest challenge, serving as an advantage to some riders and vice-versa for others.

With Cornish speeding ahead on an empty circuit, he opened up a two-second gap within a few laps to the pursuing Gabit and Thangthong. That left the latter two to battle between themselves, giving Cornish an even bigger cushion.

The top three remained the same, until five minutes before the end of Moto 1, when Gabit was overtaken by Thangthong. The Thai rider had planned his move at the right moment, giving Gabit no time to regain the second spot.

Gabit (#1) leading Thangthong (#5)

Lewis finsihed Moto 1 in 22:236.002, followed by Thangthong and Gabit in 22:42.962 and 23:14.056, respectively.

Dutchman Marcel Van Drunen, who had fought tooth and nail against Cornish in Qualifying and SuperChrono, was stuck in a fierce battle with another of Malaysia’s ace, Khairi Zakaria throughout the race to finish fourth, with the latter in fifth.

Marcel Van Drunen

MOTO 2

Cornish stole the holeshot again at the start and never looked back to win his second Moto of the day, finishing the race comfortably five seconds ahead of Thangthong.

“It was a very technical track. Most of us were using slick tyres to race on the track. With the triple dirt section, it feels more like a motocross track instead. I made multiple mistakes in Moto 1 but reduced it in Moto 2. I believe Trakarn and Gabit made mistakes as well, which gave me an advantage to the race,” said Lewis.

“I was fortunate when Gabit hit on a hole at the third dirt section. That was when I passed him. He grew so much since we last faced off in 2015. I enjoyed riding with all the riders, and hopefully, I can perform better in Indonesia,” said Thangthong.

Trakarn Thangthong

Seemingly making amends to his fourth place finish in Moto 1, Van Drunen fought with Gabit for the final podium spot. The two exchanged places multiple times with high-risk maneuvers in the tighter corners.

The contest ended just two laps from the end of the race, when Gabit ran off the track. It was a brave performance from the Malaysian, however, when the KTM Malaysia factory rider revealed later that he had lost his brakes.

Whereas most riders would have called it quits, Gabit Habibullah soldiered on to finish the race

“My front and rear brakes malfunctioned, and I lost control of my bike. This makes it even harder for me to maintain my pace, especially on this track. I tried my best to ensure the best possible result in this condition,” said Gabit.

Gabit landed the sixth spot in Moto 2, clocking a total time of 24:20.495.

Van Drunen (#17) battling with Gabit (#1)

Malaysia’s Khairi Zakaria attempted to close the gap to the Dutchman, but his efforts were forlorn when he made a mistake at the transition between the road and off-road section. Khairi landed fourth in Moto 2, finishing nearly two seconds behind Marcel with a total time of 23:50.924.

Khairi Zakaria

Japan’s Naoto Takayama performed well in Moto 2, and came home fifth .

“It was a perfect and successful race. We would like to congratulate the Asia Supersports Group, FMSCT, all the partners and all the riders. The opening round of the season was exciting, and everything was in order. The track is probably one of the most challenging tracks in the season’s history, but all safety aspects were taken into consideration,” said Stephan P. Carapiet, FIM Asia Safety Officer.

The 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship will commence in Jogjakarta, Indonesia on 7 and 8 October 2017.

For more information, visit www.supermotoasia.com or watch the race live for free in HD on www.twenty3.tv powered by E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd.

FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship is promoted by Asia Supersports Group, a consortium of three companies namely Bikenation Motorsports Sdn Bhd, Trade My Superbike and E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd; sanctioned by FIM Asia and FMSCT; and supported by Malaysia Major Events, a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia), Malay Mail, Kelab Blogger Ben Ashaari and TX Sports.

 

Moto 1 Race Result:

Pos No. Name National Laps Best Time Total Time
1 8 Lewis Cornish GBR 18 1:11.606 22:36.002
2 5 Trakarn Thangthong THA 18 1:12.526 22:42.962
3 1 Muhd Habibullah MAS 18 1:13.472 23:14.056
4 17 Marcel Van Drunen NED 18 1:15.169 23:31.190
5 32 Khairi Zakaria MAS 18 1:14.316 23:33.763
6 162 Farhan Hendro INA 18 1:17.095 23:55.446
7 300 Naoto Takayama JPN 17 1:16.645 22:37.403
8 12 Kenneth San Andres PHI 17 1:18.520 23:10.666
9 28 Natthapat SuksanWatthana THA 17 1:15.368 23:34.965
10 97 Arten Teslenko RUS 17 1:20.359 23:36.386
11 7 Pedro Wuner INA 16 1:19.964 22:39.942
12 77 Hasroy Osman SGP 16 1:18.960 22:40.996
13 720 Lin Chin Pei TPE 16 1:18.960 22:40.996
14 40 Lee Wei TPE 15 1:22.517 22:43.571
DNF 102 Tsang Wai Kei HKG 13 1:30.587 23:46.389
DNF 27 Sun Tong CHN 12 1:25.996 19:4.087
DNF 101 Takashi Sasaki JPN 7 1:18.032 9:30.062

 

Moto 2 Race Result:

Pos No. Name National Laps Best Time Total Time
1 8 Lewis Cornish GBR 18 1:12.459 23:00.233
2 5 Trakarn Thangthong THA 18 1:14.494 23:27.317
3 17 Marcel Van Drunen NED 18 1:15.223 23:48.316
4 32 Khairi Zakaria MAS 18 1:16.522 23:50.924
5 300 Naoto Takayama JPN 18 1:17.768 24:07.549
6 1 Muhd Habibullah MAS 18 1:12.741 24:20.495
7 162 Farhan Hendro INA 18 1:18.292 24:26.555
8 12 Kenneth San Andres PHI 17 1:20.493 23:35.442
9 101 Takashi Sasaki JPN 17 1:22.063 23:56.181
10 28 Natthapat Suksanwatthana THA 17 1:18.431 24:03.932
11 7 Pedro Wuner INA 16 1:22.101 23:01.271
12 77 Hasroy Osman SGP 16 1:22.921 23:03.908
13 720 Lin Chin Pei TPE 15 1:25.411 23:32.197
14 27 Sun Tong CHN 15 1:29.510 24:09.029
DNF 102 Tsang Wai Kei HKG 13 1:32.737 23:45.547
DNF 97 Artem Teslenko RUS 11 1:21.761 24:31.701
DNF 40 Lee Wei TPE 5 1:25.683 7:43.684

 

Overall Standing

Pos No. Name National M1 M2 Total Point
1 8 Lewis Cornish GBR 25 25 50
2 5 Trakarn Thangthong THA 22 22 44
3 17 Marcel Van Drunen NED 18 20 38
4 1 Muhd Habibullah MAS 20 15 35
5 32 Khairi Zakaria MAS 16 18 34
6 300 Naoto Takayama JPN 14 16 30
7 162 Farhan Hendro INA 15 14 29
8 12 Kenneth San Andres PHI 13 13 26
9 28 Natthapat Suksanwatthana THA 12 11 23
10 7 Pedro Wuner INA 10 10 20
11 77 Hasroy Osman SGP 9 9 18
12 720 Lin Chin Pei TPE 8 8 16
13 101 Takashi Sasaki JPN 0 12 12
14 97 Artem Teslenko RUS 11 0 11
15 27 Sun Tong CHN 0 7 7
16 40 Lee Wei TPE 7 0 7
17 102 Tsang Wai Kei HKG 0 0 0

 

  • Kejohanan FIM Asia Supermoto 2017 kini sedang berlangsung di Nakhon Chai Si, Thailand.
  • Penunggang dari Britain, Lewis Cornish merangkul petak pertama.
  • Juara FIM Asia Supermoto 2016, Muhd. “Gabit” Habibullah dari Malaysia melayakkan diri di tempat ke-dua.

(more…)

  • The FIM Asia Supermoto 2017 Championship is underway in Nakhon Chai Si, Thailand.

  • Briton Lewis Cornish grabs pole position.

  • 2016 FIM Asia Supermoto Champion, Muhd. “Gabit” Habullah of Malaysia qualified second.

Muhd “Gabit” Habibullah

QUALIFYING
Fighting for one of the six entries to SuperChrono, the riders put on their best show for the 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship.

The scorching sun returned briefly before the start of qualifying to dry the off-road section, creating a relatively easier track for the riders.

Japan’s Takashi Sasaki (#101) kicked-off the round with a tremendous performance on the track, taking advantage of the empty circuit in his attempt to secure the top spot tomorrow’s race (3rd September).

Shortly after, top riders Lewis Cornish (#8), Trakarn Thangthong (#5), Muhd “Gabit” Habibullah (#1), Khairy Zakaria (#32), Marcel Van Drunen (#17), and Thai wildcard rider, Natthapat Suksan Watthana (#28) entered the track and to steal the show.

The battle between Lewis and Marcel spilled over from Free Practice. However, it was Lewis’ experience that showed as he blocked Marcel from leading the race. The block effectively put Marcel two seconds behind Lewis, which resulted in a battle with defending champion Gabit.

Marcel Van Drunen

With Lewis securing a spot for SuperChrono, Marcel and Gabot battled out for the second and third spots.

While the track’s condition has improved, the hairpin turn immediately after a table top jump seemed to be the toughest challenge even for the top riders.

Gabit and the Thai fans’ favourite, Trakarn Thangthong almost slipped off the track in that turn, especially when they tried to go around backmarkers.

Natthapat Suksa Watthana shocked the spectators with a favourable performance, landing him the final entry to SuperChrono, after facing multiple complicated mechanical issues during free practice yesterday. With all eyes on the home riders, the host country is likely to see at least one rider claiming a spot on the podium tomorrow.

SUPERCHRONO
The Top Six riders qualifiers went on to SuperChrono in order to secure their definite starting grid spots for the race, among Lewis Cornish, Gabit Habibullah, Marcel Van Drunen, Trakarn Thangthong, Khairi Zakaria and Natthapat Suksan Watthana.

It was clear that Lewis overpowered the other riders and claimed the pole position, clocking the best time of 1:15.297. Gabit, on the other hand, tried to fight with speed but landed him second on the grid, with 1:16.632.

Gabit Habibullah

Malaysia’s Khairy Zakaria’s held back at all three off-road sections, landing him the fifth on the grid.

The Thai duos Trakarn Thangthong and Natthapat Suksan Watthana it easy without putting themselves at risk to secure the fourth and sixth positions, respectively.

Trakarn Thangthong

Moto 1 will commence on Sunday, 3 September 2017, from 12:00PM (+7:00 GMT).

For more information, visit www.supermotoasia.com or watch the race live for f ree in HD on www.twenty3.tv powered by E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd.

QUALIFYING RESULTS:

Pos No. Name National Best Time
1 8 Lewis Cornish GBR 1:15.677
2 17 Marcel Van Drunen NED 1:17.305
3 1 Muhd Habibullah MAS 1:17.540
4 5 Trakarn Thangthong THA 1:17.757
5 32 Khairy Zakaria MAS 1:19.313
6 28 Natthapat Suksan Watthana THA 1:20.183
7 300 Naoto Takayama JPN 1:20.436
8 101 Takashi Sasaki JPN 1:20.917
9 12 Kenneth San Andres PHI 1:21.539
10 162 Farhan Hendro INA 1:21.982
11 97 Arten Teslenko RUS 1:23.432
12 7 Pedro Wuner INA 1:23.716
13 77 Hasroy Osman SGP 1:26.791
14 720 Lin Chin Pei TPE 1:26.981
15 27 Sun Tong CHN 1:27.059
16 40 Lee Wei TPE 1:32.497
17 102 Tsang Wai Kei HKG 1:42.129

SUPERCHRONO RESULTS:

Pos No Name National Best Time
1 8 Lewis Cornish GBR 1:15.297
2 1 Muhd Habibullah MAS 1:16.632
3 17 Marcel Van Drunen NED 1:16.737
4 5 Trakarn Thangthong THA 1:17.047
5 32 Khairy Zakaria MAS 1:19.229
6 28 Natthapat Suksan Watthana THA 1:19.952
  • The 2017 FIM Asia Supermoto Championship starts on 2nd September 2017.

  • 2016 Champion Gabit Saleh from Malaysia is set to defend his title.

  • 2015 Champion Trakarn Thangthong from Thailand returns.

The 2017 season of the FIM Asia Supermoto Championship kicks off on 2nd September 2017 at the Thailand Circuit Motorsports Complex, Nakhon Chai Si, near Bangkok, Thailand.

Promoted by the Asia Supersports Group (ASG), E-Plus Global and Bikenation, the championship has come a long way from its humble beginnings, consisting of a series of races cobbled together, to what is now a series which has attracted participation and attention the world over.

But why is supermoto popular? Here are the Top 10 reasons:

10. THE ATMOSPHERE

Yes, it’s true that there’s a carnival-like atmosphere at any race, but you could find all sorts of stuff from the very affordable to the most expensive stuff at supermoto races. There’s also the authentic street food at each of the countries supermoto visits, compared to having to spend RM15 for a diarrhea-inducing burger at the track.

9. THE PITS

The pits and paddock areas are not enclosed in concrete booths. You could see the bikes up close and how the teams work on them. Call out to the riders and they are more than happy to go over for selfies and autograph your gear. Same with some of the umbrella girls.

8. THE UNITED NATIONS

The championship may be titled “FIM Asia Supermoto,” but the field consists of riders from as far away as Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Russia, France, United Kingdom and the United States in addition to those from Asia. It’s truly an international championship.

7. THE BIKES

The motorcycles that compete in supermoto usually originate from motocross bikes (enduro bikes in some cases), with the wheels swapped out for 16-, 16.5- or 17-inch ones and shod with sticky rubber. The suspension is also reworked to have less travel and stiffer for the high-speed stresses of the road course. These aren’t purpose-built racing prototypes like in MotoGP, but bikes that you and I could purchase from the shop down the block and modify for road riding or racing.

6. THE PERSONALITIES
Since supermoto isn’t much like other motorsports, there are plenty of colourful characters in the paddock and on track.

2016 FIM Asia Supermoto Champ, Gabit Saleh from Malaysia rides aggressively almost like a high-speed bulldozer that smashes through all the different sections. Being a part-time stunt rider, he’s especially entertaining when he flies through the air. His signature is his head twitch, a sign that he’s switched on his personal “Race Mode.”

Gaban Saleh, Gabit’s older brother could be described as the road warrior when he races. He’s probably the hardest rider to pass as he puts up a huge fight rather than ceding a position easily. His riding style is also very aggressive and a thrill to watch.

Lewis Cornish from the UK is quiet and unassuming but he is just superfast and never gives up. He’s unafraid to charge through the smallest of gaps to grab the win – as Trakarn found out in the final round in 2015.

10-time British Supermoto Champ, Chris Hodgson is always jovial and happy-go-lucky but takes no prisoners on track. He can spot an opportunity to pass when no one does. His signature are his long, long high-speed drifts.

5. THE VIEW

Whereas other forms of motorsports cordon off the spectators far away from the action on track, you could view supermoto from almost up next to the riders as they flash by. You could hear the rear tyres howl when the riders drift into corners, smell the exhaust and rubber, feel the rumble in your chest and even see the expressions of the riders.

4. THE COMBO

Supermoto combines roadracing, motocross and flat track disciplines into one race. That means instead of having to visit three different races, you could watch all three in one race. There are two sections to each track: A tarmac section and a motocross section consisting of mountain-like jumps.

The riders have to perform well in all disciplines; being good at just any two, what more if just one of the three, would mean getting left behind.

3. THE WEATHER

As in the show goes on regardless of weather.

For example, the second round of the 2016 season was held in Malang, Indonesia. The weather had been hot all week, then rain came down with a vengeance during the weekend. The torrential rain was so heavy that puddles around certain parts of the track were ankle-deep. Yet, that didn’t stop the riders from battling tooth and nail against each other as if it was a jetski race.

2. THE SLIDES

Apart from the inclusion of both tarmac and offroad sections, drifting and powersliding are the hallmarks of supermoto racing.

The rider would blast down the straight into the braking zone, snap the rear wheel outwards and howl into the corner, and finally powerslide out, laying down a dark line on the track.

Seeing them do so lap after lap, laying down their bikes almost on their sides as they slide through corners is one of the most spectacular sights in motorcycle racing. As was in Indonesia, they’d even do it in the rain!

1. THE RACING

Well, what is racing without the action, right? But supermoto racing is elbow-to-elbow in the literal sense.

Supermoto race starts are always heart attack inducing as 30-odd riders pile into one tight corner, similar to motocross starts. You could see the riders having both elbows out, pushing other riders inside and outside away from him, while his opponents do the same to push him out of the way in return.

And while most motorsports see the greatest excitement at the start and a couple of laps after, supermoto features dogfights throughout the field, throughout the race. Lesser humans would be on their heads in no time.

So there you go. Do start following supermoto if you haven’t already, you could find many great videos on YouTube and the internet. Make sure you follow the latest reports on the 2017 FIM Asia Supermoto Championship at their official Facebook page and here at Bikes Republic.

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