ARRC RD02:QUALIFYING REPORT

Yamaha contenders, Yuki Ito and Ahmad Fuad Baharudin will start Sunday’s SuperSports 600cc race from fifth row while Ahmad Fazli Sham and Mohd Affendi Rosli secured a front row and sixth row start respectively in the Underbone 130cc following the Indonesian PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship qualifying sessions at the Sentul Circuit on Saturday.

SUPERSPORTS 600CC

Ito and Fuad qualified for their start positions having posted their quickest lap time 13th and 15th quickest in the 40-minute session. Walking wounded Ito timed his best lap 1’31.071s while Fuad did his in 1’31.249s. Rookie, Ahmad Afif Amran came in 24th fastest with 1’32.522s.

Pole position went to Mohd Zamri Baba with 1’30.128s with Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi and Dimas Ekky Pratama locking out the front with 1’30.228s and 1’30.596s respectively.

SuperSports 600cc heavyweight, Katsuaki Fujiwara occupies second row alongside Makoto Tamada and Yudhistira with M.Fadli, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Ratthapong Wilairot will take off from third.

“We struggled a bit with the setup in the qualifying but the race weekend is far from over. We still have time to make some changes to the bike in the Warm Up tomorrow and hopefully we can have a good start in both Race 1 and Race 2. I have good memories winning here at Sentul and I am confident we can bag a strong finish on Sunday,” said Fuad.

UNDERBONE 130CC

Ahmad Fazli Sham continues to impress in the Underbone 130cc to secure a front row start. The seasoned contender who was promoted from a wildcard entry to a full season rider earned third place on the grid having posted his quickest lap at 1’54,179s.

Fazli will start the race alongside local rider, Gupita Kresna and Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa who logged in 1’53.367s and 1’53.494s respectively.

Mohd Affendi Rosli who seem to be struggling to match the pace of his rivals is set to take off from grid 16 with 1’56.827s, lining up besides Indonesians, Hokky Krisdianto and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana.

“We had a good run in the qualifying. However it doesn’t mean much in underbone racing because the riders will eventually group together but it shows that we have the pace to be in front. I target to finish on the podium tomorrow,” said Fazli Sham.