16 Oct 2011 ARRC Underbone 115cc Race Report: Topan extends lead with double win

Still in recovery from a broken collar-bone did not stop Rafid Topan Sucipto from winning both Underbone 115cc races and extend his lead in the overall standings here at the Zhuhai International Circuit, China, host to Round 5 of the 2011 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).

The Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing having collected 50 points from this leg now only needs a single point from the season finale at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar to seal the Underbone 115cc title.

Race 1 was a miracle race for Topan. Despite starting the race from the last row, the 16-year managed to muscle his way through to join the frontrunners and ultimately steal the cheqeured flag from Mohd Affendi Rosli (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) in the final moments of the race.

Topan concluded Race 1 with a total time of 21:57.692s, 0.0011s ahead of Affendi who finished second with 21:57.703s followed by poleman, Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki NHK Rextor Manual Tech) third, 21:58. 069s.

Where else Race 2 was a much challenging outing for the Indonesian rider. Not only he had to battle it out with Affendi and Kresna again but this time around, Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM) was in the picture as well having missed Race 1 due to mechanical failure.

Despite the heated competition, Topan prevailed and bagged his second chequered flag by completing the 10 lap race in first place with 22:03.998s followed by defending Champion, Hadi Wijaya with 22:04.112s and Ramdan third, 22:04.331s.

Happy to bag another double win, Topan commented, "I am very happy to win both Race 1 and Race 2 today. I really did not expect it because my collar-bone is still not 100 percent recovered. Much thanks to the team and sponsors."

When asked to review his weekend at the Zhuhai International Circuit, Topan added, "It was a mixed outing for me. In the qualifying I could not clock in good lap times because of my shoulder and we faced some troubles with my machine as well. Hence I started the race from the last grid. But the team mechanics did a good job rectifying all the issues before the race. From there I just focused on doing the best without putting too much strain on my injury," he said.

Upon conclusion of this leg, Topan now leads the standings with 211 points followed by Hadi Wijaya second. 162 points and Mohd Rozaiman Mohd Said (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) third, 79 points.

As for the team overall, Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing leads with 218 points. Second and third comes Kawasaki NHK Rextor Manual Tech and PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM with 172 points and 147 points respectively.