19 Mar 2012 New lap record! 2012 Pan Delta Super Racing Festival race 1

At 9:30am on 18 March, Zhuhai Interntaional Circuit launches the 2012 Pan Delta Super Racing Festival with the ZIC Superbike Championship's first race of the year.

According to yesterday's qualifying results, Japanese rider Takuya Fujita will start from pole position. Second is Dan Kruger on a Kawasaki ZX6R. The familiar Chinese riders Li Zheng-Peng and Huang Shi-Zhao are third and fourth. This quartet have set similar 1:40 lap times in practice and are most likely to win today.

The morning temperature at ZIC is cool without too much sunshine. A good number of fans have already got into the grandstand bright and early for the first race of the year, with plenty more on the way in.

At the start, Li Zheng-Peng makes a good get away and goes down the inside lane to take to the front at turn 1. But his rivalis quick to fight back, no. 37 Fujita re-takes the lead at turn 4. By turn 9 the leading quartet have already made a break from the rest.

The quartet maintain their speed and formation throughout the race, in the end Takuya Fujita wins from no. 71 Dan Kruger. Li Zheng-Peng and Huang Shi-Zhao finish third and fourth. The two Chinese riders' battle have allowed the leading duo to get away from them.

Takuya Fujita rides faster and faster in the race and on lap 3 he makes a 1:37.816 to set the new motorcycle lap record for ZIC Superbike Championship. The old record was 1:38.262 and Fujita has set a time a full half a second faster.

On lap 5, maybe frustrated by the distance from the leaders, Li Zheng-Peng goes off the track at turn 12 and falls off his bike. He is able to get himself and his bike back up and with the help of the marshals,  resumes. But by now he is outside the top 10 positions. He gets himself up to 9th place in just two laps, offering some exciting overtaking moves to the spectators.

On lap 8, Fujita continues to lead and enjoys a 10 second lead. In the end, Takuya Fujita wins his first ever race at ZIC, also the first race of the year of the Pan Delta Super Racing Festival. No. 71 Dan Kruger is second, Huang Shi-Zhao takes third place and Li Zheng-Peng finishes in eighth place after his accident.