The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is set to kick off its highly anticipated 20th season as the championship promoter released its 2015 race calendar that will see six rounds take place in five countries across Asia with Japan no longer hosting two rounds. (more…)
Batu Kawan, 8 January 2015: Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd raised the bar in the automatic transmission segment with introduction of the All New PCX- a luxurious personal comfort sedan, easy ride daily commuter that blends agile performance with indulgent features and full LED lighting system to outshining every light in the city. (more…)
Zaqhwan Zaidi snatched the SuperSports 600cc crown from the grasp of Katsuaki Fujiwara and Yuki Ito to become the youngest rider to win the premiere class in a thrilling PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship season finale at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on Sunday. (more…)
PETRONAS Talent Development Programme’s riders, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah and Mohd Ramdan Rosli are optimistic on their home race as they wish to perform their best (more…)
It was the second day of Round Four of the 2014 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship at the Suzuka Circuit, Japan.
Here are the highlights of the day by Two Wheels Motor Racing.
YUKI EARNS CAREER FIRST POLE,
Japan’s Yuki Ito delivered a sensational performance as he stormed to his maiden SuperSports 600cc pole ahead of Malaysian, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi.
Representing PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha, Yuki threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the field with 2’14.242s at the 23-minute mark, right before race marshalls signalled the red flag.
Zaqhwan (Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing) who led the timesheets in the earlier parts of the session settled for second spot with 2’14.282s, 0.004 seconds off Yuki’s best lap while Makoto Tamada rounded up the top three with 2’14.296s.
Meanwhile Mohd Zamri Baba suffered an unfortunate blow to his campaign as he was declared unfit to compete on Sunday following a massive high side in the third practice session. The 31-year old crashed while trying to avoid a collision with Thailand’s Jakkrit Swangswat, inflicting further damage to his injured leg.
“It feels fantastic to finally pick up pole after several seasons competing in the ARRC,” said Yuki.
“However, I don’t consider this to be one my best run because I made a couple of mistakes in my flying lap. Additionally, the bike is not 100 percent ready because the engineers had to change the setup a lot to meet changing weather conditions,” he added.
Speaking about his expectations for the race tomorrow, Yuki commented, “We anticipate a tight battle but I believe starting from pole gives us a certain advantage over the field. Hopefully we can win the race or at least finish on the podium.”
Zaqhwan on the other hand said, “I am pleased to start from front row again but at the same time I am a bit nervous because Zamri will not be there to help me out. Nevertheless, I am keeping an optimistic mindset because anything can happen during a race.”
1-2 START FOR PETRONAS HONG LEONG YAMAHA
In the Underbone 130cc category, Ahmad Fazli Sham and Mohd Affendi Rosli delivered a faultless ride to secure a one-two start for PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha in the Underbone 130cc qualifying.
His second pole position after Sepang, Fazli clocked the quickest lap out of 14 contesting riders in 2’45.009s while Affendi who won here last season stopped the clock at 2’45.457s followed by Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech) with 2’45.526s.
“This is my first time racing at Suzuka so of course I am very happy and excited to grab pole. Making things sweeter, Affendi will start the race next to me and we are both aiming to finish on the podium tomorrow,” said Fazli Sham.
Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) will start the Underbone 130cc race from second row alongside Ferlando Herdian (Faito FactoryRacing) and Hokky Krisdianto (Outdo Koyoko Motul YY Pang Racing Team).
Vorapong Malahuan (Thai Honda Racing Thailand), Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) and Mohd Rozaiman Mohd Said is set to take off from third row.
MALAYSIAN-DOMINATED FRONT ROW IN ADC
Malaysians dominated the developmental Asia Dream Cup series qualifying at Round 4 in Suzuka through the combined efforts of Khairul
Pawi and Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin.
Khairul was in a class of his own as he posted the quickest lap of 2’42.745s, 0.923 seconds ahead of Harith (2’43.668s) followed by Japan’s Syunya Mori with 2’43.760s.
To start Sunday’s race from second row would be Indonesian, Andi Farid followed by Chuang An-Yu from Taiwan and Teppei Nagoe.
Day one of Round Four of the 2014 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship in Suzuka, Japan saw the local riders having an upper hand on track knowledge as the first day of practice went underway.
Here are some highlights of the day by Two Wheels Motor Racing.
ITO TAKES CHARGE ON FIRST DAY AT SUZUKA
Team PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha’s Yuki Ito brought home the fastest time of the first day’s practice in the SuperSports 600cc class when he stopped the clock at 2’15.030s.
“Today’s time is still far from my personal best at this circuit. During the All Japan, I managed to clock within the 2’12 range. Because of that, I am confident that lap times will drop further by qualifying,” said Ito.
Split seconds off Ito’s pace, Katsuaki Fujiwara of BEET Kawasaki Racing posted the second fastest time of the day with 2’15.466s.
“The track hosted the Super GT last week and the track is still a little bit dirty. With more track time for the bikes, the track conditions will certainly improve. For sure, today’s time was not so impressive,” Fujiwara agreed with Ito.
While Ito and Fujiwara are provisionally the front runners from the first day, Malaysian youngster Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi of MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing also showed his potential to qualify for the front row when he chalked up the third fastest time of the day, 2’15.535s.
GUPITA: KAWASAKI MAY HAVE AN ADVANTAGE
In the Underbone 130cc category, championship leader Gupita Kresna Wardhana from team Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech emerged fastest from the second free practice session after nothing up a time of 2’46.190s.
Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda’s Ahmad Fazrul Sham was second fastest with 2’47.977s followed by Hokky Krisdianto of Outdo Koyoko Motul Yamaha YY Pang with 2’48.090s.
“The bike is in good condition and our set up has yielded better results than I expected,” said Gupita. “I feel that my Kawasaki will have a strong advantage thanks to the decision for the Underbone 130cc bikes to race full track at Suzuka. The long straights and sharp corners suit my riding style and machine very well. I am feeling really confident right now.”
KUROGI MORE DETERMINED AT SUZUKA
Suzuka born-and-bred Reitoku Kurogi is determined that he will not be bested at the track he calls home. Already crowned a champion here at the Suzuka Circuit, Kurogi is hoping to take over the role of lead rider from Khairul Idham Pawi here on his home track.
After the first day of practice, Kurogi looks to be pacing himself well when he set the benchmark with a time of 2’46.457s, edging out championship leader Khairul Idham Pawi who clocked 2’47.294s and a constantly improving Chuang An-Yu who finished third with 2’47.477s.
“This round is very important to me, for personal reasons. I badly want to do well here and I don’t want to be outshone in front of my home fans. So I will keep pushing myself to excel even more,” said Kurogi.
Have nothing planned for the upcoming Merdeka celebrations (independence day)? We might just have the thing for you; the Road Marshall Club of Malaysia (RSMC) will be hosting the Merdeka Unity Ride 2014, and it is something every available biker should support.
The event is basically a convoy of various bikers from various backgrounds to celebrate the spirit of Malaysia through the love of biking. It also aims to highlight the importance of road safety and to promote the spirit of volunteerism for any cause.
The event is to be held on August 23rd for 8am to 10pm, and 157 bikers will visit 31 locations around the Klang Valley to celebrate Malaysia’s independence, achieved on August 31st, 1957, exactly 57 years ago.
The ride will visit places like the Merdeka Stadium, Tugu Kebangsaan (National Monument), the Petronas Twin Towers, and even areas around Putrajaya. The riders will distribute the Malaysian national flag (Jalur Gemilang), and badges to the public.
If you are interested to join and you ride a 500cc and above motorbike, call 016-222 3853 for details.
The RSMC was established in 2008 and promotes safety among road users for both car drivers and motorcycle riders. The Club also supports various events by offering road safety marshals for marathons and charity runs. It also distributes crash helmets to school children.
The Petronas Raceline Malaysia Moto2 team recently welcomed Naza World as its newest key sponsor. (more…)
We’ve been wanting to post these up for a while, but as you would’ve guessed, all hands at BR were occupied for the recent Terengganu Bike Week 2014. (more…)
17-year-old Muhammad Hafiza Rofa took a clean sweep at last weekend’s season opening round of the 2013 SIC Ninja Cup series, winning both races on Saturday. (more…)
Dubbed as the Asian version of MotoGP, the 18th edition of Petronas Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) once again had its season opener at its home ground of Sepang International Circuit from April 19 to 21, 2013. (more…)
© Copyright – BikesRepublic.com 2023 Trademarks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved
