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Source: Marc Márquez on Facebook
Official reception for MotoGP™ takes place in Indonesia
Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) President Director, Abdulbar M Mansoer: “I want to thank Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta for coming here and meeting with our president, and directly stating to the president that we are going to have a MotoGP in 2021. In return, our president extends his credit that Mandalika will host MotoGP and, most importantly, the last statement the president said to Mr Carmelo is that the country will support this; the infrastructure will be supported. We, as a state owned company, own the land and are building the infrastructure, but around the area there will be support for the airport, a longer runway, and also a terminal for ferries, high speed boats, that will bring people from Bali to Lombok. Bali is our most visited destination and it’s only half an hour by plane, 2 hours by speedboat. We will rely on Bali for the supply of rooms and hotels, so from day 1 we don’t have to build tens of hotels, we will use part of Bali. That was promised by our president.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Right from the start – triumph for triumph
Many people feel that this magnificent sport actually started at 10am on the cold cloudy morning of 28 May 1907. At that moment Frank Hulbert and Jack Marshall fired up and pointed their single cylinder Triumph motorcycles up a dusty track towards Ballacraine to start the very first TT race on the Isle of Man. The two Triumphs spluttered into life to begin a 158 mile journey around the St Johns course and motorcycle racing was born. Twenty three other riders joined the pioneers and just 12 returned to the finish. The two Triumphs finished second and third respectively behind the matchless of Charlie Collier who took four hours 8m8.02s to complete the race at an average speed of 61.47 km. A year later Marshall reversed the result over Collier to bring Triumph their first TT win.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Fuell Is More Than An Electric Motorcycle Company, Part 2
In the previous installment of our profile on urban mobility company Fuell, we got the backstory on how the company came to be from CEO Francois-Xavier Terny. Now, we turn to the new electric motorcycle itself, the Flow, which will mark one of two brand-new models from the brand-new company.
The Flow was never intended to be a high-performance electric motorcycle or race-capable machine. From the outset, founders Erik Buell, Fred Vasseur, and Terny agreed that a more sensible and successful plan would be to create electric vehicles that met the needs of city-dwellers, commuters, those faced with extreme urban congestion. This is why Fuell simultaneously announced an electric bicycle, the Fluid, alongside the Flow. It’s about creating a company that provides a wide range of mobility solutions that tap into the sustainability zeitgeist of the moment while accessing a variety of markets worldwide.
“What we’re trying to express in an understandable way is freedom,” Terny explains. “Discovering the city, getting something that is going to move you around you’ll feel good about it. It’s an emotion we want to put into the machine instead of saying, ‘Hey here’s a new machine, we don’t know what they’ll be worth or how you’re going to use them, but here they are.’ ”
Understandably, Buell played a huge role in the engineering design of the Flow, drafting the earliest sketches of what a machine like this could be down to the mechanical function and design of the hub motor. According to Terny, there was never an inkling to create an electrified EBR or Buell-brand bike. This was all about the new and different; a purposeful design from the ground up.
“The initial brainstorm with Erik and the engineering team was about dimensions that would be constant. Things like the volume of the battery, the wheelbase and frame, the geometry, ergonomics.
“I worked with the designer and told him to first ignore the constants and show me some ideas. We talked about design direction in terms of modern, almost looking futuristic, in the sense that it should be very polished with flush surfaces because that’s the way new objects are. And so we started with a few conceptual designs which we shared with the team and once we had agreement on the overall design direction, that’s when we actually said to the designer, ‘Alright, same spirit but you’ve got to put all those constraints into the design so you have a conceptual design that includes some engineering feasibility items.’ ”
This led to a lot of back and forth between the mechanical engineering team led by Buell and the designer in Russia, but the objective to create a visually striking machine that was also reliable and easy to manufacture kept the project moving ahead at a remarkable pace. As we mentioned in the previous installment, it took just about one year from concept drawing to physical prototype.
“What is amazing about Erik is that we don’t lose any time. There’s such a wealth of experience and knowledge that they know where to go, how to go, and what will work, what won’t work. We knew from the onset for both products (Fluid and Flow) what we needed to do and get as far as parts and suppliers and levels of engineering and technical choices so we get both reliability and low cost. Which you know is key in addressing the market.
“And that is, I think, a competitive advantage. A double competitive advantage. It’s a competitive advantage compared to young, talented kids just out of college. They have amazing ideas but you can’t replace 40 years of engineering experience. And the other competitive advantage is that you have Erik Buell and three other guys in a room, with like tons of computers and a workshop next door and you say Erik, just do it, and the competitive advantage is there’s no internal politics. He’s not at Harley, Yamaha, or KTM. We need something done, you just do it. You have an idea, just draw it and your team is a yard away from your desk. These are two aspects of things that made us work on an incredibly low budget and with incredible speed.”
And without the need for things like fuel systems, transmission, or traditional drive systems, Buell and the design team were able to use three times fewer parts to build the Flow than the last motorcycle produced by EBR. Terny also explains that Fuell has its assembly process established and stations in place and that it will take 40 percent less effort to produce the Flow than the 1190RS.
As for the full specs of the Flow, we’ll have to wait until the prototype is officially launched later this year. But Terny did talk a bit about the battery setup and hub motor.
RELATED: RMK E2 Electric Motorcycle Revealed
“On the battery, there is no invention in battery in the sense that everybody uses a stack of cells coming from very large producers. There are four major cell manufacturers and a standard set by the industry. So you decide on a cell model and a capacity. Then the arrangement of the cells, the way they’re linked, and the electronics put on it is completely bespoke. There’s no magic in the battery.
“From the raw material we have our own design for stacking, linking, and all the electronics around it. We work with a combination of three suppliers that each have a specialty.
“The wheel motor is a different thing. Erik is at the forefront of that; it’s his pet project and he’s so excited about that. It’s about creating a powerful yet very light wheel motor that will address the issues of weight, torsion, and suspension. Fundamentally, one of the reasons for the wheel motor is that Erik has thought a lot about the wheel motor invention. The problem with the wheel motor is that it’s super heavy usually, so it can imbalance the riding of the motorcycle. Our hub motor has an incredible weight-to-power ratio.”
This also opens up the storage capacity of the Flow, which Terny says offers 13 gallons of space. That’s enough room to fit a computer bag and full-face helmet with room to spare.
RELATED VIDEO: Ural Shows Off All-Electric Sidecar Motorcycle
Once the final details are confirmed and the prototype ready for production, Fuell plans at the moment to go direct to consumer. That’s a fairly common way to go with the Fluid (e-bicycle) but will present some challenges for the flow. Ensuring that legal aspects for each market are abided by, and that channels are established to respond to customer needs promptly and effectively.
“The idea in today’s society is that the manufacturer is in direct contact with the customer. No more excuses. If something doesn’t go the way you want with your iPhone, you call Apple, for example. We have a product that’s going to be reliable and requires very low maintenance and we have to have a direct link to the customer and bank on our responsibility to be extremely quick to answer to the customer. At the same time it’s a physical product and needs physical relay. So in the major cities we’re targeting, there may be partners that can take care of the basic maintenance that would happen on the Fluid and the Flow.”
It’s still a fledgling endeavor at the moment, with the full reveal of the Flow and Fluid scheduled for April 23 of this year. We’ll be covering the company’s progress as new details are revealed, so stay tuned.
Source: MotorCyclistOnline.com
Matching Milner’s intensity key for E2 contender Green
Yamaha pilot earns E2 runner-up on Saturday and Sunday in Toowoomba.
Image: Foremost Media.
Josh Green has acknowledged matching Daniel Milner’s (KTM Enduro Racing Team) intensity will be key to overcoming the AORC, ISDE and A4DE champion this year in the Yamaha bLU cRU Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC).
Green wound up with a pair of runner-up finishes in the E2 category of Toowoomba’s first and second rounds at the weekend, setting the fourth and fifth fastest outright times on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Piloting the all-new WR450F prepared by the Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing operation, the New South Welshman has firmly set his target bridging the gap to Milner in the rounds to come.
“On the podium both days and inside the top five outright so it was a pretty good start for me to the championship,” Green commented. “The new WR450F went exceptionally well all weekend and we had no issues with it whatsoever. I can’t fault the bike at all as its power and handling were impressive in terrible conditions.
“For me, I still need to work on bridging the gap between myself and Daniel. He is riding really well at the moment, but I have to chip away at the extra speed he has and try and match his race intensity for longer at each round. He is a world champion so it’s a tough ask but I want to improve, and he is certainly the guy to chase at the moment.”
The Australian Off-Road Championship returns to action on 6-7 April in Dungog, New South Wales, for rounds three and four.
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
2019 ARRC Round 1 Report | Sepang | With Barry Russell
ARRC 2019 kicks off at Sepang with new Asian Superbike class
Broc Parkes second to Warokorn in Asian Superbike standings
Words & Images by Barry Russell
For the first time in five years the Malaysia-based Asia Road Racing Championship held a round at Sepang and for the first time ever used the 5.542 kilometre full track. This was also the start of a new era for ARRC. Having run with Supersport 600 as the premier class since 2000, it has taken its long-awaited step up to superbikes.
The move began with a tyre test at Buriram in December and continued with an official test for two days ahead of the weekend’s 2019 season opener. Rules for Asian Superbike (ASB) 1000 are essentially FIM Superstock, but with specially developed control tyres from Dunlop and the ability to fit bigger radiators to cope with hot weather at several of the countries ARRC visits. Those are, in fact, the only significant differences from ASBK regs, too.
Australian interest in the series received a boost when it held its second round of 2018 at Tailem Bend as a double bill with ASBK Round 3. It also had Anthony West as a championship contender until the Queenslander was sidelined by a still unresolved dope testing controversy with the FIM.
There had been high hopes that Glen Allerton would join ASB 1000, following his participation in the Buriram test, but these faded, leaving Broc Parkes and Patrick Li as Australia’s Superbike representatives. Broc adds this to his World Endurance Championship duties with YART for 2019, while Patrick will also race in ASBK.
New Zealander, Liam Taylor MacDonald, who rode as a wildcard in West’s former team in 2018, is contesting the Supersport 600 championship. The team has re-grouped as Victor Racing, which is named after the former team owner who died suddenly in December. Liam joins Patrick and Indonesian star, Ahmad Yudhistira, for this season.
14-year-old Travis Hall also returned to the mad and bad Underbone 150 class with Hi Rev SCK Honda, after acquitting himself well in 2018.
Sepang Testing
Asian Superbikes Testing
Joining series regular Yuki Ito in the Yamaha Racing Asean team, Broc Parkes put down an unmissable marker for Asia’s fastest riders by topping test times in all but the first of five sessions at Sepang during last week’s official pre-season test on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Showing the speed and consistency expected of one of the world’s top endurance racers, Parkes put in his best time of 2:06.075 in the relative cool of Wednesday’s early morning session, leaving his team-mate to fend off the rest of the field.
Ito was able to get within seven tenths of the Australian to claim the second fastest time, ahead of Kawasaki Thailand’s Thitipong Warakorn and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, who, having changed from last season’s supersport Kawasaki, quickly got the hang of the ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW S1000RR to record a best lap of 2:06.950.
While test times pointed to Round 1 glory being decided between these four riders, there was plenty of room for improvement elsewhere in the field. The CBR1000RR of Honda Asia Dream’s Zaqwan Zaidi did well at such a fast circuit to record a fifth best overall time of 2:07.107, while Yudhistira was sixth, and the fastest privateer on the Victor Racing Yamaha.
Yamaha Thailand’s pairing of 2018 Supersport 600 champion, Ratthapong Wilairot, and 2016 AP 250 champion, Apiwat Wongthananon, both looked well short of their potential. Chaiwichit Nisakul took his first steps on the international stage for Kawasaki Thailand after good showings in the last two seasons in the Thai Superbike series and made good progress.
European manufacturers had never joined ARRC before, so there was plenty of interest being shown in the ONEXOX BMWs and in a distinctive pair of Ducati Panigales being campaigned by Access Plus Racing Philippines for Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto and Swiss rider, Jonathan Serrapica.
A nasty crash for Patrick Li in the final session, which left him with two upper left arm fractures, ruled him out of the opening round and Victor Racing looking for a replacement rider.
Supersport 600 Testing
With ASB 1000 replacing SS 600 as ARRC’s premier class, a field of ambitious under-25s began a fight for supremacy at Sepang during the test. Yamaha Thailand’s Peerapong Boonlert, another endurance racing exponent, with two Suzuka 4 Hour wins to his name, put in a best lap of 2:11.105, which was 0.279 faster than Malaysia’s Helmi Azman, the 2018 UB 150 champion, was able to manage for Musashi Boon Siew Honda.
Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, Andi Farid Izdihar, Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Adam Noroddin were all within one second of Peerapong, while Ramdan Rosli led another five riders, including 2018 AP 250 champion, Rheza Danica Ahrens, who got within two seconds around the 5.542 kilometres of Sepang’s full circuit.
With Peerapong and Helmi already showing the swagger of potential champions and Andi, Azroy, Kasma Daniel and Ramdan Rosli having already proved their SS 600 mettle when it was the senior class, podium places promised to be be as hard fought as ever.
ARRC Round 1
Free Practice
After a rest day on Thursday, business for 2019 got underway with free practice on Friday. With rubber from the official test still fresh on Sepang’s abrasive asphalt, there were relatively few disruptions to rankings, though times generally improved and the differences between contenders got smaller.
Asian Superbikes – Round 1
The pace advantage enjoyed by Yamaha Racing Asean’s Broc Parkes during the test shrank to a few hundredths come practice at Round 1, as Azlan Shah continued to get the measure of his ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW. The Malaysian posted his best time of the day in FP1, becoming the first rider to dip below 2:06 with a lap of 2:05.688. Although Parkes topped FP2 after a tumble by Azlan, it was not until the final outing of the day that the Australian edged back to the top by clocking 2:05.608.
Thitipong Warakorn showed strongly for Kawasaki Thailand to finish the day third, while his long-time Thai sparring partner, Apiwat Wongthananon, improved through the day to record 2:06.387, which was good enough for fourth. Rider of the day, though, was Ahmad Yudhistira, who showed strongly in each session to end up fifth on Victor Racing Team’s privateer Yamaha.
Zaqwan Zaidi toiled hard all day for Honda Dream Asia to finish sixth from an out-of-sorts Yuki Ito, Ratthapong Wilairot, Farid Badrul Hisham on the second ONEXOX BMW and Chaiwichit Nisakul. Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto was the better of the two Access Plus Ducatis, while Rajini Krishnan, standing in for the injured Patrick Li, managed a best lap of 2:09.978 to leave the second Ducati of Jonathan Serrapica in 13th.
Qualifying
In qualifying under conditions that were blisteringly hot, even by Sepang’s standards, Thitipong for Kawasaki Thailand and Azlan on the XOXO TKKR SAG BMW were strong from the get-go. As they approached the all important final ten minutes, Thitipong went 0.266 clear of early leader Azlan with a lap of 2:05.505.
Parkes, whose practice pace had been eluding him due to a chatter problem, crashed into the gravel with seven minutes left, while down in sixth place. Azlan pushed again, but was unable to get closer to the Thai rider. Zaqwan Zaidi made the best of his Honda Asia-Dream machine to record 2:06.323.
Another impressive session by Ahmad Yudhistira on the Victor Racing Yamaha saw him lead row two from Chaiwichit Nisakul and Parkes, while Yuki Ito was seventh ahead of Apiwat Wongthananon and Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto on the Access Plus Ducati.
Race 1
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman won a titanic race long duel with Thitipong Warakorn to take the first win in the new ASB 1000 class and the first ever win for a BMW motorcycle in the 23-year history of the Asia Road Racing Championship. Broc Parkes opened his 2019 ARRC account by finishing third.
Thitipong managed to get every one of his Kawasaki’s horses into the rear Dunlop’s contact patch and rocketed into turn one clear of Azlan, managing to stretch his lead to a few bike lengths. Behind Azlan, Yamaha Thailand’s Apiwat got the better of Parkes and Zaqwan to move into third.
Zaqwan broke down and Ito crashed on lap five and Parkes, having found his rhythm, got back in front of the Thai. By the seventh lap of 12, Thitipong and Azlan were separated by half a second with a 2.7 second buffer back to Parkes.
Apiwat subsequently dropped back and was caught and passed by Yudhistira. Azlan closed up on Thitipong and passed him cleanly into turn 15 on lap 10. The Thai rider had no answer for the late pace of the BMW and dropped back to finish just short of two seconds behind.
Another 5.5 seconds back, Parkes came home in a safe third, seven seconds ahead of Yudhistira who continued an excellent weekend’s work for Victor Racing by taking fourth place from Apiwat. Farid Adrul Hisham was sixth, well clear of the two Access Plus Ducatis of Alberto and Serrapica.
Asian Superbikes – Race 1
- Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman MAS BMW 23:21.172
- Thitipong Warokorn THA KAWASAKI +1.965
- Broc Parkes AUS YAMAHA +5.616
- Ahmad Yudhistira INA YAMAHA +8.134
- Apiwath Wongthananon THA YAMAHA +0.370
- Farid Badrul Hisham MAS BMW +6.683
- Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto PHI DUCATI +18.899
- Jonathan Serrapica SUI DUCATI +29.163
- Ratthapong Wilairot THA YAMAHA +21.762
Race 2
Zaqwan Zaidi took full advantage of rain in ASB 1000 Race 2 that neutralised his Asia Dream Honda’s power deficit to take a cleverly earned victory.
Apiwat Wongthananon and Yuki Ito were the boldest riders at the start, getting away as most of the others took their time to acclimatise to the first rain of the 2019 season. Azlan, Thitipong and Parkes were notably judicious in the opening laps.
Zaqwan moved towards the front steadily as the ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW of Farid Badrul Hisham shot past everyone and took a lead of around four seconds before the wet track overcame his ambition and dumped him into the gravel. Ahmad Yudhistira looked as though he had got the measure of the Victor Racing Yamaha before he too made a horizontal entry to the DNF roster.
Race 1 winner, Azlan Shah, looked unhappy from the start and retired to the pits at half distance. By then, Zaqwan was within striking distance of Ito and Apiwat had faded to fifth, having been passed by Kawasaki Thailand’s Chaiwichit Nisakul and Thitipong. A cautious Broc Parkes was circulating in sixth.
Zaqwan pulled closer to Ito on Lap 9, passed him cleanly at the end of the tenth lap and made his way towards the horizon. Thitipong passed his team-mate and then on past Ito. Chaiwichit threw away what had been a commendable day’s work moments later by crashing out.
Zaqwan cruised to the win by 3.6 seconds, Thitipong took another second place and Ito held on for third. 20 seconds further back, Apiwat held off Parkes to finish fourth, while a further half lap behind, Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto, Ratthapong Wilairot and Rajini Krishnan were the only other finishers.
Thitipong’s brace of second places give him 40 points and means that he will go to round 2 in Australia as the early championship leader, 13 clear of Parkes and 15 clear of the two race winners, Azlan and Zaqwan.
Asian Superbikes – Race 2
- Md Zaqhwan Zaidi MAS HONDA 27:20.147
- Thitipong Warokorn THA KAWASAKI +3.559
- Yuki Ito JPN YAMAHA +3.654
- Apiwath Wongthananon THA YAMAHA +21.238
- Broc Parkes AUS YAMAHA +0.784
- Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto PHI DUCATI +36.801
- Ratthapong Wilairot THA YAMAHA +0.175
- K. Rajini Krishnan IND Yamaha +1.470
Asian Superbikes following Round 1
- T Warokorn – 40
- B Parkes 27
- A S Kamaruzaman 25
- Md Z Zaidi – 25
- A Wongthananon – 24
- T Alberto – 19
- Y Ito – 16
- R Wilairot – 16
- A Yudhistira – 13
- F B Hisham – 10
Supersport 600 – Round 1
Like other riders on the first day, Yamaha Thailand’s Peerapong Boonlert made the best of cooler conditions in FP1 to post a best time of 2:10.610. That was good enough to keep him clear of a determined group of Malaysian riders who were able to edge closer to the Thai as the day went on.
It was SIC Junior Team’s local hero, Adam Norrodin who got closest with 2:10.934 that put him top in FP3. Next best overall was Ramdan Rosli on 2:11.0027, who finished ahead of Azroy Anuar, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin and the much fancied Helmi Azman, who found himself sixth at the end of the day, just in front of Astra Honda’s Andi Farid Izdihar.
Qualifying
In Supersport 600 qualifying SIC Junior Team’s Adam Norrodin got around Sepang’s full circuit in 2:10.021 to take pole position by 79 hundredths from Peerapong, as the Thai made his first mistake of the campaign with a crash towards the end of the session. Hong Leong Yamaha’s Kasma Daniel was another 0.213 slower and completed the front row.
Behind them, five hundredths of a second separated Kritchporn Kaewsonthi, Ahmad Afif Amran and Andi Farid Izdihar on the second row. Mushashi Boon Siew Honda’s Azroy Hakeen Anuar and Helmi Azman were joined on row three by Hong Leong’s Ramdan Rosli.
Race 1
Yamaha Thailand’s Peerapong Boonlert showed maturity well beyond his 20 years to win the first race of the season, despite being chased hard for eight out of ten laps by Hong Leong Yamaha’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin. Adam Norrodin made it an all Yamaha podium by finishing third.
Peerapong got away well from the middle of the front row, but was out-dragged into turn one on the outside by Kasma Daniel. The Thai rider took the lead under braking first time around at turn 15 and the two blue Yamahas opened up a slight gap to Adam, who found himself having to deal with urgent advances from Andy Farid and Helmi.
Andy highsided out of the contest at half distance and Adam took advantage to open up a gap on Helmi who was being caught by his Musashi Boon Siew stablemate, Azroy.
Peerapong kept his head and started to stretch away from the Malaysian on lap eight and began the tenth and final time around with a 1.3 second advantage. With Adam some 3.5 seconds adrift in third, Azroy sensed he could get the better of Helmi and slipped past his team-mate into fourth, a further three seconds back.
Hong Leong Yamaha’s Ramdan Rosli finished sixth from AP Honda’s Kritchaporn , Astra Honda’s Rheza Danica Ahrens, Ahmad Afif Amran and Liam Taylor MacDonald, who was the last of the ten finishers for Victor Racing.
Supersport 600 – Race 1
- Peerapong Boonlert THA YAMAHA 21:53.239
- Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin MAS YAMAHA +1.255
- Muhamad Adam Mohd. Norrodin MAS YAMAHA +3.695
- Azroy Hakeem Anuar MAS HONDA +2.272
- Md. Helmi Azman MAS HONDA +0.087
- Md. Ramdan Rosli MAS YAMAHA +5.187
- Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi THA HONDA +2.607
- Rheza Danica Ahrens INA HONDA +6.82
- Ahmad Afif Amran MAS YAMAHA +0.963
- Liam Taylor MacDonald NZL YAMAHA +26.004
Race 2
Yamaha Thailand’s Peerapong Boonlert crowned a week during which he had set the pace for ARRC’s new-look Supersport class during pre-season testing and practice by winning Race 2 with a margin of two seconds. There was plenty to take in behind him, with heated battles for the remaining podium places.
Adam Norrodin got away well from pole position to lead into turn one from Kasma Daniel and Peerapong, but ran off and dropped to last place. Hong Leong Yamaha’s Kasma Daniel tried to give chase, but was distracted by pressure from the Hondas of Andi Farid Izdihar and Helmi Azman. Meanwhile Adam commenced his charge back through the field.
By lap eight of ten, Kasma was just ahead of Helmi and Andi, who was coming within range of the recovering Adam. Kasma ran wide at the exit to turn 14, to let all three of them through and Adam went past Helmi into third at the end of lap nine.
Andi held on in second, while Kasma came back to drop Helmi to fifth and then got past Adam at the final corner to finish third. Helmi claimed his second fifth place of the weekend, four seconds clear of Ramdan Rosli and Azroy Hakeem Anuar.
The 50 points Peerapong collected gives him an advantage of 16 over Kasma Daniel to take to Australia at the end of April.
Supersport 600 – Race 2
- Peerapong Boonlert THA YAMAHA 21:57.152
- Andi Farid Izdihar INA HONDA +1.986
- Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin MAS YAMAHA +0.333
- Muhamad Adam Mohd. Norrodin MAS YAMAHA +0.185
- Md. Helmi Azman MAS HONDA +0.434
- Md. Ramdan Rosli MAS YAMAHA +4.046
- Azroy Hakeem Anuar MAS HONDA +0.149
- Kritchaporn Kaewsonthi THA HONDA +7.929
- Passawit Thitivararak THA HONDA +0.417
- Rheza Danica Ahrens INA HONDA +3.915
- Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam MAS YAMAHA +8.995
- Liam Taylor MacDonald NZL YAMAHA +17.694
Supersport 600 standings following Round 1
- P Boonlert – 50
- K D Kasmayudin – 36
- M Norrod – 29
- Md Azman – 22
- A Anuar – 22
- A Izdihar – 20
- Md Rosli – 20
- K Kaewsonthi – 17
- R Ahrens – 14
- L MacDonald – 10
Asia Production 250 – Round 1
Nobody told Astra Honda’s latest prodigy, Lucky Hendriansia, that it’s difficult to race in ARRC’s AP 250 class. At the start of his first outing in the series, the young Indonesian finished ahead of championship favourites, Andy Fadly and Muklada Sarapuech, as well as his two senior team-mates, Irfan Ardiansyah and Awhin Sanjaya.
Lucky set his best time of 2:25.530 in the relative cool of the first morning session, just ahead of Irfan, Muklada and Fadly, who later topped FP2 with a time of 2:25.617. The pace of these four was around half a second beyond the chasing pack which was led by Fadly’s Manual Tech KYT team-mate, Aiki Ayoshi, another rider who was making an impressive debut.
Just behind the Japanese was Awhin and, impressively, Sethu Rajiv, who was finding some form at the start of his third season in the class for Idemitsu Honda India. Rajiv was seventh on combined times, ahead of Rey Ratukore, Muzzakir Mohamed and Yamaha Thailand’s Suttipat Patchaeetron.
Qualifying
AP Honda’s Muklada took ownership of 250 qualifying posting a best lap of 2:24.783 to secure pole by 0.105 from Astra Honda’s Irfan Ardiansyah. Andy Fadly qualified third from Awhin Sanjaya, Lucky Hendriansia and Suttiporn Patchaeetron.
Race 1
Astra Honda’s Lucky Hendriansia won his first ever AP 250 race after a fierce battle with Manual Tech KYT’s Andy Fadly. With Muklada Sarapuech breaking down early in the race, the pace of these two was beyond what his team-mates or anyone else out there could manage.
Andy Fadly made the best of his outside front row position, pouncing on a mistake by Irfan Ardiansyah to lead out of turn one and maintain his position to the end of the opening lap, chased by Muklada and Irfan.
Lucky Hendriansia moved up and took the lead on lap two as Muklada and the other two Astra Hondas joined Fadly in a group of five that was well clear at the front. Moments later, Muklada’s Honda spluttered as she exited turn 14 and her race was over.
The pace of Lucky and Fadly was too much for Irfan and Awhin, who fell back and settled down to contest the third step of the podium, which eventually went to Irfan. A further ten seconds back, Faerozi Toreqotullah, Rey Ratukore, Aiki Iyoshi and Muzzakir Mohamed contested fifth position, finishing in that order.
With nothing between the Honda and the Kawasaki at the front as they started the last lap, the final corner was to prove decisive. Lucky had a wheel in front as they squeezed the brakes and held his line as Fadly tried to go around the outside, only to get out of shape as he found there was no space for him to cut back into. Lucky powered through to the chequered flag to take the win at the first time of asking.
Asia Production 250cc – Race 1
- Lucky Hendriansya INA HONDA 19:34.655
- Andy Muhammad Fadly INA KAWASAKI +0.184
- Irfan Ardiansyah INA HONDA +3.537
- Awhin Sanjaya INA HONDA +0.550
- Muhammad Faerozi Toreqottullah INA YAMAHA +11.688
- Aiki Iyoshi JPN KAWASAKI +0.002
- Reynaldo Chrisantho Ratukore INA YAMAHA +0.109
- Md Muzakkir Mohamed MAS YAMAHA +0.019
- Rafid Topan Sucipto INA HONDA +9.817
- Nazirul Izzat Md Bahauddin MAS YAMAHA +0.084
Race 2
AP Honda’s Muklada Sarapuech bounced back from the disappointment of her Race 1 DNF to overcome a determined Andy Fadly and win Race 2.
Starting from pole position, Muklada slotted in behind Astra Honda’s Lucky Hendriansia and the Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki of Fadly. Just behind them, Astra’s Irfan Ardiansyah crashed at turn one in a four-bike pile-up, while Awhin Sanjaya attempted to hang on to the front three, before falling back.
Some way behind Awhin, Rey Ratukore, Faerozi Toreqotutullah, Suttipat Patchaeetron and Izzat Bahauddin fought over fifth place.
Fadly began to lose contact with the two Hondas on lap four, but on lap five Lucky ran wide at turn one. He recovered to stay in front of Fadly, who used his fellow Indonesian to tow him back up to within reach of Muklada.
Lucky got in front of the Thai rider on lap six, while Fadly vainly tried some wide, sweeping lines to keep himself in contention for the win. With two laps remaining Lucky got turn 15 wrong to let Muklada and Fadly through and the Thai set her sights on the clear track in front of her.
Fadly fought back and outbreaked Muklada into the last turn, as Lucky crashed out. Despite coming out of the corner behind the Indonesian, Muklada got the best drive and took the win by a wheel.
Awhin claimed third by a whisker from Aiki Iyoshi and Faerozi. Muzzakir was sixth from Izzat Bahauddin. Izam Ihmal was eighth, Angi Setiawan ninth and Cao Vietnam was tenth in front of a remounted Lucky.
Fadly’s 40 points gives him a 10 point lead over Lucky, while Awhin is third on 29.
Asia Production 250cc – Race 2
- Muklada Sarapuech THA HONDA 19:36.510
- Andy Muhammad Fadly INA KAWASAKI +0.068
- Awhin Sanjaya INA HONDA +8.267
- Aiki Iyoshi JPN KAWASAKI +0.073
- Muhammad Faerozi Toreqottullah INA YAMAHA +0.078
- Md Muzakkir Mohamed MAS YAMAHA +2.374
- Nazirul Izzat Md Bahauddin MAS YAMAHA +0.129
- Muhammad Izam Ikmal MAS KAWASAKI +11.540
- Anggi Setiawan INA YAMAHA +2.824
- Cao Viet Nam VIE HONDA +6.105
Asia Production 250cc Standings
- A Fadly – 40
- L Hendriansya – 30
- A Sanjaya – 29
- M Sarapuech – 25
- A Iyoshi – 23
- M Toreqquot – 22
- Md Mohamed – 18
- R Ardiansyah – 16
- N Bahauddin – 15
- A Setiawan – 10
Underbone 150 – Round 1
There were 34 machines on track for UB 150 practice and qualifying on Friday, with riders that ranged from wily old hands like Ahmad Fazli Sham and Affendi Rosli to early teenagers like Gun Mie and Travis Hall.
2017 champion, UMA Racing Malaysia’s Akid Aziz, carried his form through from testing. Despite mechanical problems in FP1, he took back the top slot in the second session with a best lap of 2:32.738, just six hundredths clear of his Filipino UMA counterpart, McKinley Kyle Paz.
Other riders to distinguish themselves included Aldi Satya Mahandra, Affendi, Fazli Sham, Fernando Masato, Haziq Fairues, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana, Izzat Zaidi and Aiman Azman.
Friday also featured qualifying for the monos, in order to set up Saturday morning’s Superpole showdown for the first 15 places on the starting grid. With the aforementioned riders all featuring on the first page of the timing screens, it was the wily Fazli Sham who came out on top for ONEXOX TKKR SAG, clocking 2:32.984, which was 0.229 faster than Aldi, who was next best.
Wahyu Aji was third ahead of Fernando Masato, Akid and Kyle Paz. SND Factory Racing’s two-times champion, Gupita Kresna, qualified 15th thereby setting himself up to be first away for Superpole. Travis Hall scored a lap of 2:34.474, which missed the cut for Superpole and placed him 28th on the grid.
Qualifying
The whole point of Superpole for the underbone class is to isolate rider and machine performance from the effects of slipstreaming. Akid Aziz showed exactly how to do it with an inch-perfect lap of2:33.216 that was almost six tenths faster than his slipstream assisted qualifying time.
His UMA Yamaha Philippines counterpart, McKinley Kyle Paz was second, more than half a second slower and there was a similar gap back to Yamaha Racing Indonesia’s Aldi Satya Mahendra. Fernando Masato, Fazli Sham and Peerapong Luiboonpeng made up row three.
Race 1
Saturday afternoon’s racing began with a sensory assault by 34 highly tuned, evenly matched, 150 singles. Taking on Malaysia’s best underbone riders on their home turf, popular Filipino, McKinley Kyle Paz, snatched the Race 1 win from under their noses..
Akid made a clean start to convert pole into P1, leading a pack of nine bikes that got away from the rest of the field on the opening lap. Kyle Paz took turns in the lead with Peerapong, Masato, Aldi Satya Mahendra Wahyu Nugroho, Affendi and Wawan Wello. Hi Rev SCK’s 13-year-old Japanese rookie, Gun Mie, was also in the group with Haziq Fairues and Fazli Sham.
Akid let Kyle Paz through to the lead on the last lap, but immediately found himself in the clutches of Affendi, Fazli and others. The Filipino got cleanly through the last corner to take the win ahead of Team One for All’s Affendi Rosli, who led a tightly packed chasing group across the line consisting of Akid Aziz, Peerapong Luiboonpeng and Fernando Masato. Fazli crashed on the exit to the last corner and failed to score.
Underbone 150cc – Race 1
- McKinley Kyle Paz PHI YAMAHA 15:28.658
- Md Affendi Rosli MAS YAMAHA +0.212
- Md Akid Aziz MAS YAMAHA +0.016
- Peerapong Luiboonpeng THA YAMAHA +0.044
- Fernando Masato PHI YAMAHA +0.001
- Wawan Wello INA HONDA +0.350
- Aldi Satya Mahendra INA YAMAHA Racing Indonesia YAMAHA +6.211
- Md Haziq Md Fairues MAS YAMAHA +3.261
- Md. Amirul Ariff Musa MAS HONDA +0.257
- Gun Mie JPN HONDA +5.471
…11. Travis Hall – DNF
Race 2
It was all smiles in the UMA Yamaha Racing Philippines garage, as they celebrated their second win of the weekend, after Fernando Masata took his turn on the top step of the UB 150 podium after another incident-packed six lap contest.
Aldi Satya Mahendra got the best start to lead for most of lap 1, threatened mostly by Wawan Wello, until he ran wide and dropped back, albeit briefly. Mckinley Kyle Paz, Masato, Akid Aziz, Peerapong Luisboonpeng, Amirul Ariff Musa and a bunch of the usual suspects bumped and weaved their way close behind. Fazli Sham’s unhappy race weekend continued when he pulled into the pits at the end of lap two.
An attempt by the UMA Philippines duo to break away on lap 3 was foiled by the chasing peloton and, at the end of lap four, there were eight bikes in the leading group. Wawan had another moment when he almost highsided, but he scrambled straight back into contention. A last corner tangle at the end of lap five took out Aldi, leaving the Filipinos, Akid, Peerapong, Haziq Fairues, and Wawan to the final lap fight.
As the went into the final turn, Akid went down and it was Masato who came through to take the win from Ariff Musa, Kyle Paz, Wawan, Peerapong and Haziq.
Kyle Paz took 41 points and the championship lead away from Sepang, while Masato is second on 36.
Underbone 150cc – Race 2
- Fernando Masato PHI YAMAHA 15:32.583
- Md. Amirul Ariff Musa MAS HONDA +0.108
- McKinley Kyle Paz PHI YAMAHA +0.017
- Wawan Wello INA HONDA +0.635
- Peerapong Luiboonpeng THA +3.017
- Md Haziq Md Fairues MAS YAMAHA +0.018
- Wahyu Aji Trilaksana INA YAMAHA +0.359
- Md Affendi Rosli MAS YAMAHA +0.037
- Gun Mie JPN HONDA +6.580
- Gupita Kresna INA YAMAHA +0.136
- Travis Hall AUS HONDA +1.809
Underbone 150cc Standings
- M Paz – 41
- F Masatao – 36
- Md Rosli – 28
- Md Musa – 27
- P Luiboonpeng – 24
- W Wello – 23
- Md Fairues – 18
- Md Aziz – 16
- G Mie – 13
- W Trilaksana – 9
…13. Travis Hall – 5
Asia Road Racing Championship 2019
- Round 2 – The Bend Motorsport Park – Australia – 25-28 April 2019
- Round 3 – Chang International Circuit – Thailand – 31 May-2 June 2019
- Round 4 – Suzuka Circuit – Japan – 28–30 June 2019
- Round 5 – Korea International Circuit – South – Korea 9–11 Aug 2019
- Round 6 – Sepang International Circuit – Malaysia – 19–22 Sep 2019
- Round 7 – Chang International Circuit – Thailand – 29 Nov–1 Dec 2019
Source: MCNews.com.au
Tanti primed for Serco Yamaha debut at home Appin venue
Starts to play critical role this Sunday says the New South Welshman.
Image: iKapture.
Aaron Tanti is primed to make his Serco Yamaha debut in the Pirelli MX Nationals this weekend at Appin in New South Wales, the popular venue serving as his home round of the series.
Tanti experienced a breakout season in 2018, stunning the field as he captured victory at the season-opener before recording a number of podiums throughout the year, ultimately earning him a seat at the title-winning Serco Yamaha squad.
Now residing in Queensland, Tanti grew up racing and riding the Macarthur Motorcycle Complex, and has expressed the key role that strong starts will play in being successful at the technical circuit.
“As a junior rider, I raced Appin a lot although the track is never the same and develops a lot differently when it comes to the MX Nationals,” said Tanti. “It is ploughed much deeper with a lot more water put on it and as a result, it gets super rutty and can be very technical to ride.
“But like any track, starts are important and will play a huge part in the result this weekend. Since coming to Serco and getting back on the Yamaha, my riding as been good and I have had some good results at some local races I have contested. But the intensity always goes up a level at a national and its awesome to race in such atmosphere with the best riders in Australia.”
A serious title threat this season, the number 18 will be joined at Serco Yamaha by regular Nathan Crawford, who’s also set to the challenge for the title on return from an injury-riddled 2018.
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
Zarco trusts top 10 is possible with KTM RC16 package
Frenchman 15th in maiden race aboard KTM machine.
Image: Supplied.
Johann Zarco trusts his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16 package is capable of finishing inside the top 10 after completing his maiden race aboard the Austrian machine at Qatar’s opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship.
The Frenchman, who wound up 15th in Sunday’s 22-lap encounter, has acknowledged the current state of the RC16 will prevent him from chasing victories and even top fives, however he’s confident top 10s are achievable – reinforcing that is the goal for this season.
“The beginning of the race was pretty good,” said Zarco. “I was controlling the bike well and the others were not much stronger than me. It was a good way to analyse the performance of the others.
“I’m happy because I expected to have some struggles but I saw other riders were also having problems – I know at the moment we don’t have the package for winning, not even for the top five but with good work and good control I really trust that a top 10 is possible and that is the target throughout the year.
“Let’s see in Argentina if I can catch it. I wanted it here but because of the up-and-down of Friday and Saturday finally I was not ready. That is part of experience, and doing 22 laps in a row was really important and the first time we do it. I have a factory team and I know they have the quality to make a strong analysis of this race.”
Qatar’s opener marks the beginning of KTM’s third season in the prestigious championship, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team manager Mike Leitner highlighting the significant improvements the manufacturer has made since entering the series in 2017.
“Both Pol and Johann were quite happy with the performance of the bike and we know we have to improve our package and continue to grow,” Leitner commented. “When we first came here we were 30 seconds from the race winner and we have to be realistic.
“This was never an easy track for us but in the middle of the race we were only 5-6 seconds away and this is very motivating for everybody in the team to keep pushing. We have eighteen more races now and we will try often as possible to get into these top 10 positions.”
The MotoGP World Championship now heads to Argentina on 31 March for round two of the series.
Source: CycleOnline.com.au
2019 AORC Opener Overview | With John Pearson
Dust and Bones
Words and Pics by John Pearson Media
With one of the hottest summers on record sweeping across Australia it was no doubt that the opening rounds of the AORC were going to be a dry affair. A late venue change from the forgiving location of Miva, near Gympie meant an alternative needed to be found.
Enter stage left – Toowoomba Motorcycle Club. With a purpose built facility at Murphy’s Creek just north of Toowoomba it breathed new life into the national series as it stumbled to get a start in 2019.
After what seems like a thousand years since we’ve been treated to a wet (or even slightly damp) race venue, the hot topic upon arrival was how the steep, hilly country would stand up to the brutal punishment dished out by around 250 riders considering the dry conditions.
Early on the Saturday morning it was clear that air filters were going to earn their keep this weekend. The parade lap was an exercise in riding by feel, as in many cases there was little reference to go off.
With no breeze to shift the wind most of the track turned into a foggy, asphyxiating haze. Thankfully the gaps between riders once racing started were enough to support a level of safety deemed fair by all involved.
As far as riders went, not much changed in the off-season. Michael Driscoll was added to the team roster at the ThreeSix Motorsports Offroad team of AJ Roberts’ with the loss of Lachie Stanford from the Husqvarna team being the only major changes over the break.
Matty Phillips and Beau Ralston made long awaited returns to the field however. Matty in a mentoring role for the up and coming Kyron Bacon, both being KTM mounted and Ralston running his own show backed by Schwarz Excavation on a Husqvarna in the E3 class.
It was evident that the break had done nothing to dull the competition between the two fastest riders in the country in Daniel Milner and Daniel Sanders with only fractions of a second separating them over tests during the entire day.
Milner was king of the E2 class with Sanders showing ominous form in E3. It’s clear to see that both riders are committed to conquering others in their respective classes but the thrill of beating each other still reigns supreme.
The Women’s competition again showed strong promise with the likes of Yamaha mounted Jess Gardiner battling it out with Emelie Karlsson for the top step of the podium with Danielle Foot on a Sherco and Emma Milesevic making up the minor placings. True to her recent form, Jess came away victorious both days in the horrid conditions.
On Saturday the tracks deteriorated quickly. Not only for the pros but also the Women’s, Vets and Juniors to the point where they became almost unrideable with some sections ending as a half-metre deep rut filled with powder.
At the conclusion of racing, most riders ventured out to walk tracks they would ride the following day for Round 2. After some suggestions were made regarding track changes, some of the pro track was realigned in the interest of safety.
Sunday morning saw the heat return to further dry out the surface (if that was possible) with the temperatures soaring to around 38 degrees during the hot part of the day. As racing got underway it was clear the track wasn’t going to last.
As each lap wore on the surface became more treacherous and after three laps a group of riders brought their concerns to the course officials who in turn, after some deliberation, agreed it was unsafe to continue. It was a shame for the Toowoomba club that the racing ended prematurely but it was entirely out of their control.
Considering they only had around 6 weeks notice to facilitate a national event, the fact it even went ahead was a credit to the club and all involved. Despite the amount of speed carried by the top riders, it was in the end the weather that won the day.
Unfortunately earlier in Round 2, while showing some blistering speed considering his time off the bike, Matty Phillips sustained a leg injury and had to be taken from the track to have it assessed. Without knowing the full extent of the issue it’s hard to make an informed guess as to when he’ll be back but let hope it’s soon.
Rounds 3 & 4 will be held at Dungog on the April 6-7 with an Enduro event being run both days to test not only the pace of the riders but also the fitness and endurance needed to spend the whole day in the saddle.
With reports that there has been some good rain in the area I’m hopeful the tracks will only partially dry out but I don’t think the chances of a dust free event are good. Here’s to hoping though…
For full results and class breakdowns check out the race reports:
Milner & Sanders claim wins at AORC Rounds 1 & 2 (link)
Source: MCNews.com.au
Asia Road Racing Championship plans put on hold by Next Gen
Maxima BMW team of Allerton to focus on ASBK throughout 2019 season.
Image: Foremost Media.
The planned entry of Next Gen Motorsports into the 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) has been halted, with a lack of funding being cited as the reason despite an encouraging test in Thailand during the pre-season.
Next Gen Motorsports was aiming to enter triple Australian champion Glenn Allerton in the high-profile ARRC series this year, but will instead focus on the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) as Maxima BMW.
“We were able to get some great test results under the hot and humid conditions and we were confident that we could run at the front of the field,” explained team manager Wayne Hepburn. “Unfortunately, due to latter developments, we haven’t been able to secure the funds to enable us to compete at the level we want and are known for.”
Allerton recorded the fifth-fastest lap in the official ARRC test late last year at Chang International Circuit, his 1m36.713s just 0.710s from the top of the charts on debut aboard the ASB1000 Dunlop control tyre. That experience left Hepburn impressed with the professionalism of the Asian championship.
“The level of professionalism we saw from the promoter and teams was first class,” he added. “We know this is going to be a world-class championship category and will be working throughout this year to be on the ARRC grid for 2020. My apologies to all involved, I know you tried to make it work but this year was not to be.”
The ARRC series will make its second appearance in Australia alongside the ASBK championship round at The Bend Motorsports Park in South Australia between 26-28 April. It’s uncertain at this point whether any top-level domestic regulars will pull double-duty across the ARRC and ASBK categories next month.
Source: CycleOnline.com.au