06 Aug 2012 Six winners across the board in Zhuhai

An all out battle across the board saw six different winners lift the Champion's trophy as Round 3 of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) came to a conclusion at the Zhuhai International Circuit, China today.

 

In the hotly-contested SuperSports 600cc, sheer determination saw Mohd Zamri Baba chalk-up his maiden win for the season in Race 1 having prevailed in a close fight against defending Champion, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Manual Tech BEET Kawasaki Racing) who's run was marred by technical malfunctions five laps before the race ended, Ryuichi Kiyonari (MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing) and local wildcard, Yuki Ito.

The PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha rider completed the intense 18-lap race with a total time of 29'40.562s while Kiyonari had to settle for second place with 29'40.935s. Meanwhile, Ito impressed the ARRC contingent with a strong performance to finish third on the podium with 29'47.511s.

Disappointed to miss the podium, Fujiwara returned strong for Race 2. A flawless take-off saw the 38-year old dominate the race and claim his third win for the season within 29'38.581s while Zamri and Ito finished on the podium second and third with a total time of 29'39.236s and 29'39.656s respectively while Kiyonari came in 13th having run off course in the 14th lap.

Even so, it was enough for Kiyonari to remain in power on the SuperSports 600cc standings. The 30-year old leads with 113 points, one-point ahead of compatriot, Fujiwara with 112 points and Malaysian, Zamri third, 100 points.

"I did not have a good start in Race 1 and my focus was not so strong because I was overly concerned about finishing the race and was thinking too much. Only after seeing Fujiwara slow down I realized it was actually possible to win so I started pushing and tried to close the gap with Zamri. As for Race 2, the brakes malfunctioned and I overshot. All in all I really enjoyed racing here in Zhuhai. The strong opponents and talented riders make my first time racing here a great experience. What's more, I'm still in control of the standings. Thanks to everyone on the team for their support," he said.

 

Meanwhile Indonesian, Hadi Wijaya concluded Round 3 on a high-note as the Yamaha Yamalube KYT R9 Tunggal Jaya rider appeared Champion for Race 1 with a total time of 22'19.713s to successfully hold off Ahmad Afif Amran (CKJ Yamaha Racing) in second place with 22'19.686s and Denny Triyugo (Astra Motor Racing) third, 22'19.713s.

Hadi Wijaya was hoping to repeat similar success in Race 2 but instead it was compatriot, Yudhistira (Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech) who stole the show. Yudhistira kept a low profile for most parts of the 10-lap race before going hard on his throttle for the final sprint and claim the chequered flag with a total time of 22'17.715s. Second came in Denny with 22'17.729s and third Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (Pachie Yuzy Honda Racing), 22'17.748s.

Even so Hadi Wijaya finished fifth, he continues to lead the Underbone 115cc standings with 122 points followed by Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) second and Rey Ratukore (Nissin R9 KYT Federal Oil BRT) third with 88 points and 76 points respectively.

 

Finally, Hikari Okubo leads the Asia Dream Cup overall standings to Japan with a one-point advantage over compatriot, Hikari Ono having finished second in Race 1 with 21'08.221s while Indonesian, Iswandi Muis won the 10-lap race with 21'08.193s. Third came in Thai rider, Apiwat Wongthananon with 21'08.432s.

Okubo who started the race from pole had all the intentions to further extend his lead but a crash in Race 2 denied him the opportunity. Nevertheless, Okubo was able to resume with the race to finish eighth while Ono who crashed in Race 1 went on to win the race with 21'18.204s followed by Apiwat in second place with 21'19.031s and Singaporean, Jazil Juraimi third, 21'19.113s.

Okubo now leads the Asia Dream Cup standings with 113 points followed by Ono second and Apiwat third, 100 points and 88 points respectively.

Round 4 of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) will commence at the Autopolis International Race Course, Japan on the 6th to 9th of September.

Race Results

SuperSports 600cc

Race 1

  1. Mohd Zamri Baba (Yamaha) 29'40.562s
  2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 29'40.835s
  3. Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 29'47.511s
  4. M.Fadli (Kawasaki) 29'52.146s
  5. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Honda) 29'57.499s

Race 2

  1. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) 29'38.581s
  2. Mohd Zamri Baba (Yamaha) 29'39.236s
  3. Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 29'39.656s
  4. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Honda) 29'52.963s
  5. Ahmad Fuad Baharudin (Kawasaki) 29'54.432s.

Overall Standings

  1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 113 points
  2. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) 112 points
  3. Mohd Zamri Baba (Yamaha) 100 points
  4. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Honda) 76 points
  5. Dimas Ekky Pratama (Yamaha) 48 points

Team Standings

  1. Manual Tech BEET Kawasaki Racing (Katsuaki Fujiwara/M.Fadli) 124 points
  2. MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda Racing (Ryuichi Kiyonari/Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman) 123 points
  3. PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha (Mohd Zamri Baba/Mohd Farid Badrul) 100 points
  4. Yamaha Indoprom TJM Yamalube KYT (Dimas Ekky/Rafid Topan) 49 points
  5. Bike A.R.T - Kawasaki Racing (Ahamd Fuad Baharudin/Ahmad Nashrul Baharudin) 42 points

Underbone 115cc

Race 1

  1. Hadi Wijaya (Yamaha) 22'19.686s
  2. Ahmad Afif Amran (Yamaha) 22'19.686s
  3. Denny Triyugo (Honda) 22'19.713s
  4. Norizman Ismail (Honda) 22'19.788s
  5. Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 22'19.812s

Race 2

  1. Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 22'17.715s
  2. Denny Triyugo (Honda) 22'17.729s
  3. Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 22'17.748s
  4. Norizman Ismail (Honda) 22'17.775s
  5. Hadi Wijaya (Yamaha) 22'17.916s

Overall Standings

  1. Hadi Wijaya (Yamaha) 122 points
  2. Norizman Ismail (Honda) 88 points
  3. Rey Ratukore (Yamaha) 76 points
  4. Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 75 points
  5. Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 68 points

Team Standings

  1. Yamaha Yamalube KYT R9 Tunggal Jaya (Hadi Wijaya/Ferlando Herdian) 122 points
  2. Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech (Gupita Kresna/Yudhistira) 94 points
  3. Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing (Norizman Ismail/Affendi Rosli) 88 points
  4. Nissin R9 KYT Federal Oil BRT (Rey Ratukore) 76 points
  5. CKJ Yamaha Racing (Ahmad Afif Amran/Akira Kumoro) 56 points

Asia Dream Cup

Race 1

  1. Iswandi Muis (INA) 21'08.193s
  2. Hikari Okubo (JPN) 21'08.221s
  3. Apiwat Wongthananon (THA) 21'08.432s
  4. Denny Triyugo (INA) 21'08.491s
  5. Joshua Frederick Hook (AUS) 21'24.703s

Race 2

  1. Hiroki Ono (JPN) 2'18.204s
  2. Apiwat Wongthananon (THA) 21'19.031s
  3. Jazil Juraimi (SIN) 21'19.113s
  4. Denny Triyugo (INA) 21'19.178s
  5. Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS) 21'19.466s

Overall Standings

  1. Hikari Okubo (JPN) 104 points
  2. Hiroki Ono (JPN) 100 points
  3. Apiwat Wongthananon (THA) 88 points
  4. Denny Triyugo (INA) 72 points
  5. Iswandi Muis (INA) 64 points