Asia Road Racing Championship

RACE DATA

■Race: 2017 Asia Road Racing Championship Rd. 01
■Category: SS600/AP250
■Location: Johor Circuit, Malaysia

Race 1
SS600 Class
■Date: April 1, 2017
■Race Condition: Dry
■Laps：16
■PP: Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (1'30.612/Honda)
■FL: Decha Kraisart (1'32.021/Yamaha)

AP250 Class
■Laps：12
■PP: Anupab Sarmoon (1'43.424/Yamaha)
■FL: Takehiro Yamamoto (1'43.034/Honda)

Race 2
■Date: April 2, 2017
■Race Condition:Dry
SS600 Class
■Laps: 16
■PP: Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (1'30.612/Honda)
■FL: Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman(1'32.129/Kawasaki)

AP250 Class
■Laps: 12
■PP: Anupab Sarmoon (1'43.424/Yamaha)
■FL: Rheza Danica Ahrens (1'42.849/Honda)

REPORT

SS600: Ito Takes 3rd Place in Race 1
AP250: Thailand's Sarmoon Podiums Twice with 3rd and 2nd

SS600

Race 1
Yuki Ito (#76), star rider of the Yamaha Racing Team, lined up on the 3rd row of the grid in 9th. The Yamaha Thailand Racing Team's power duo of Decha Kraisart (#24) and Chalermpol Polamai (#65) were ahead of him, with Kraisart on the front row in 2nd and Polamai on the second row in 6th. Ito's teammate and SuperSports 600 (SS600) class rookie Keminth Kubo (#64) had qualified well for his debut race, slotting in right behind Polamai in 7th.

During the off-season, Ito had worked to change his riding style and had augmented his training regimen to include things like trials--something he'd never practised before--and he was coming into this season in good shape. Despite of all that, he was about to begin Race 1 from a position he wasn't happy with and no clear indicator that his hard work had paid off. But one small event turned his fortunes around.

Ito got a great start off the line that brought the mental kick-start needed to get himself in gear. He quickly passed four riders and found himself in 5th, and the riders he had been struggling to match in practice and qualifying were right in front of him. He closed in, made solid passes and kept driving forward. By the middle of the race, Ito was in 3rd and right behind Kraisart. When Kraisart had an unexpected slide that took him wide when coming out of a corner, Ito took over 2nd position from the Thai veteran.

Ito then engaged in a three-way fight for the win against last year's champion, Malaysia's Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (#21), and a much-matured Taiga Hada (#23) from Japan. Ito came up just short to their Hondas and finished in 3rd, but his fantastic start and subsequent podium finish had done much to blow away the grey clouds hanging over his head from last season and the lead-up to this opening round.

Meanwhile, Kubo's fortunes differed greatly from Ito's and he had dropped to 10th on the first lap. Being just 17 years of age, lining up for the first time on the grid for a big race and having no international racing experience of any kind, it was something of a baptism by fire. But in a situation that would have caused most to panic, Kubo and his YZF-R6 started to pick up speed as well as positions. He was undaunted in battling with top riders from the All Japan Championship or veterans with experience in world championships, banking his R6 deep into corners and making his way up to 8th. In a last-lap battle, he unfortunately crashed and had had to retire from the race, but there were definitely positives to take away as he got ready for Race 2.

Race 2
After a night to rest, reflect and recover, the Yamaha Racing Team came back out for Race 2 and looked ready to ride the wave of positives from the day before, but road racing at this level isn't so simple and Race 2 turned out to be a complete reversal from the day before.

Kraisart got another strong start, slotting into 2nd from the off. Behind him, Polamai, Ito and Kubo were in 6th, 7th and 8th respectively as they began chasing down the lead group on their R6s. However, it was then that Yamaha riders began falling one after another. On the second lap Polamai made contact with another rider and crashed while Kubo lost the front and also went down. Then just two laps later, Kraisart too lost the front mid-corner.

Ito was still in the race and running in 4th due to the other Yamahas crashing out. With a roughly two-second gap to the leaders, the Japanese rider began carving out a tenth here and a tenth there. By the end of lap 7, he had latched onto the tail of the rider in 3rd. He made his move on lap 8, slicing past his target. But on the very next corner after earning a spot on the podium again, Ito couldn't slow his R6 enough for the next corner and ran off the track. In a split second the podium spot he'd earned was lost.

Though Kubo had to retire, the three other riders were able to re-mount and pick up valuable points, with Polamai finishing in 10th, Ito in 11th and Kraisart in 13th. The opening race in Johor served as a stark reminder of just how challenging motorcycle racing at this level can be. In the end, the best-placed Yamaha was that of "Nitro" Noriyuki Haga (#41) in 6th.

AP250

Race 1
For Yamaha and its local subsidiaries, the Asia Production 250 (AP250) class serves as a stage to develop young racing talent to step up to the world stage and to demonstrate the YZF-R25's competitiveness. Attending the exclusive Yamaha VR46 Master Camp run by Yamaha and Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy last year, Thai rider Apiwat Wongthananon went on to clinch the AP250 title and secured a spot for this season in the ultra-competitive CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, a de-facto gateway to MotoGP. It was a successful year in which Yamaha's riders grew and the R25 displayed its speed. This season promises to be an exciting one again, as several young riders with their sights on the world stage pilot their R25s towards glory in the ARRC.

Race 1 was a battle among rivals. Anupab Sarmoon (#500) of the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team had taken pole position earlier that same day and was brimming with confidence. Unfazed by the fact that other teams were sporting new models this season, he came ready to take the fight to them. Sarmoon and two other riders broke away at the front and began to battle amongst themselves. One of those was standout rider Gerry Salim (#31) flying the flag for Indonesia on a Honda, and the other was Japanese rider and first-ever AP250 class champion Takehiro Yamamoto (#11), also on a Honda.

Salim had the lead with Yamamoto in 2nd, but the two had similar pace and their stalemate at the front continued. But it was clear that even the slightest mistake could instantly change the order, so Sarmoon locked onto their rear wheels, biding his time and waiting to pounce. Though he managed to take 2nd position a few times in the middle of the race, Sarmoon wasn't able to best the two. He finished on the podium in 3rd in what was a frustrating but acceptable result for him and the team.

While Sarmoon battled at the front, his teammate Peerapong Loiboonpeng (#14) was rising to the occasion. Battling with fellow R25 riders Soichiro Minamimoto (#22) and Peerapong Boonlert (#39) in the trailing group, the three swapped positions through the race before Minamimoto and Boonlert crashed in the final laps. Loiboonpeng stayed aboard his R25 and took the checkers in 6th. Behind him, Yamaha Racing Indonesia's Galang Hendra Pratama (#99) came across the line in 9th.

Race 2
Race 2 became a one-on-one duel between Salim and Sarmoon. Salim took an early lead with Sarmoon behind his rival in 2nd and Honda's Rheza Danica (#123) in 3rd. But Danica was hit with a ride-through penalty for a jump start, meaning that the fight for the win would come down to Sarmoon and Salim.

Just as in Race 1, Sarmoon didn't lose ground to the Indonesian race-leader but wasn't close enough to mount an attack. As the laps ran down, the situation remained unchanged and he eventually crossed the finish line in 2nd, improving on his result from the previous race. In doing so, he showed progress and set the stage for making one more step to take a win at the next race at his home circuit in Thailand.

Further down the field, several groups of machines had formed. Loiboonpeng was in the fight for 3rd in the opening stages before dropping back. He was then in contention for 5th in the 3rd group from the front in the latter half of the race before finishing in 7th. Behind him Pratama, his teammate Reynaldo Chrisantho Ratukore (#222) and Boonlert were locked in a three-way scrap as part of the 5th group. Pratama finished in 9th, Ratukore in 10th and Boonlert in 11th.

UB150

The Underbone 150 class races take place alongside the SS600 and AP250 races, and is full of riders in their mid-teens who have their eyes set on joining the two higher classes before taking to the world stage of motorcycle racing. Malaysian rider Md Akid Aziz (#13) on the UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor team overcame the free-for-all battle that often unfolds in this class to run in the top group and take a clever 2nd in Race 1 and a win in Race 2.
Also in Race 2, Yamaha Racing Indonesia's Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (#60) finished 2nd behind teammate Azizni while Yamaha Yamalube WR KYT TJM RACETECH Racing's Anggi Setiawan (#96) took 3rd, making it a clean sweep of the podium for Yamaha. It was a race that showed how well Yamaha's young riders are progressing.

SS600 RESULT Race.1

SS600 RESULT Race.2

SS600 RIDERS RANKING

AP250 RESULT Race.1

AP250 RESULT Race.2

AP250 RIDERS RANKING

COMMENT

SS600

Yamaha Racing Team
#76 Yuki Ito (3rd/11th)

"For the opening round, the plan I had envisioned for myself was to always be in the top three in every session, but my time didn't improve in qualifying, so I headed into Race 1 feeling a bit uneasy. But that all changed when the race started. Working with the team right up until the race began, we got the settings we wanted and I made a good start. At the beginning I just wanted to stick with the leaders and not let them get away. I couldn't close up to the two riders in front of me, but I think a podium at the opening round is a good result for us, and it got rid of all the unease we felt before the race. In Race 2 I got up to 3rd but ran off track, so it was an unfortunate result. But I was able to pass everyone and aim for the top three in the opening round so that gives me a lot of confidence. The next round in Thailand is soon, but I already can't wait to race again. That's how I feel right now."

#64 Keminth Kubo (DNF/DNF)

"When I first arrived in Malaysia, I was pretty nervous as this is a big race, but as the race weekend started I think I was able to relatively calm down and focus on racing. But at the start of Race 1, I made a mistake and lost a lot of positions and then I crashed on the final lap. I made an OK start in Race 2, but then I crashed on the second lap. Two DNFs is a lot worse than how I thought I would do so I'm really disappointed. But even so I think there were some positives. The top riders are really fast and really strong, but now I know that they aren't out of reach. The next round is my home race in Thailand. I haven't ridden the track in a long time, but I'll do my best to make more progress."

Toru Koseki, Team Manager

"It was a disappointing result in Race 2, but Ito finishing 3rd in the first race put smiles on our faces and gave the whole team confidence to feel like we can do it this year. Since Kubo crashed out of Race 1, the important thing was for him to finish Race 2. We just wanted him to finish, so while we'll have a frank chat about it among the team to discuss corrections that need to be made, there were flashes of brilliance in Race 1 as he gained positions back, so we have things to be hopeful about for the next round in Thailand. The mission of the Yamaha Racing Team is two-pronged, one being to win and the other being to develop riders, so we have very big challenges as a team, but I think the fans can enjoy both of those aspects by following us. I hope everyone will keep an eye on our riders' progress and lend us their support as the season progresses."

AP250

Yamaha Thailand Racing Team
#500 Anupab Sarmoon (3rd/2nd)

"Taking a 3rd and a 2nd here when our goal was two wins feels both encouraging and disappointing. What I felt battling in both races is that our rivals have gotten faster. But we've also raised the level of the R25, especially with the engine, and I could tell we have the speed to compete with them. But as you can see from the result, we don't completely surpass them. I need to communicate clearly with the team because we to improve our machine even further. And that goes for me too. The next round is my home race, so I'll do all I can to bring a victory to the team and Yamaha."

Theerapong Opaskornkul, Senior General Manager of Sales & Marketing Support

"Our competitors have a new model for this season and have garnered a lot of attention. But we've also further developed the YZF-R25 with a focus on its engine, and we saw today that it doesn't lose out in performance on the track. I think that's validated by Sarmoon standing on the podium in both races. But that's still not enough, because our other two riders did not make it to the podium. To aim for the top, I believe both the riders and the machine need solid improvement. We don't have much time, but we'll show up in Thailand with a stronger package so please look forward to it."