Yuki Takahashi menghadiahkan kemenangan buat rakan sepasukan, Mohd Zamri baba yang kini masih menjalani rawatan di Indonesia sebaik menjuarai Perlumbaan 2 SuperSports 600cc Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM (ARRC) di Litar Suzuka, Jepun, hari ini.
Pelumba Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing itu turut menebus kekecewaan setelah terjatuh dan gagal meneruskan perlumbaan pada Perlumbaan 1 semalam. Takahashi menamatkan 13 pusingan perlumbaan dengan masa 29’04.409s.
Sementara itu, Tomoyoshi Koyama (T. Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) sekali lagi bergelar naib juara dengan ketinggalan 1.450s kepada Takahashi manakala juara Perlumbaan 1, Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) terpaksa berpuas hati di kedudukan ketiga setelah dipintas Koyama pada selekoh terakhir sebelum ke garisan penamat dengan masa 29’06.219s.
“Saya hadiahkan kemenangan ini buat pasukan dan juga khususnya buat rakan sepasukan, Zamri. Kami bekerja keras untuk memastikan kemenangan menjadi milik kami di sini sebagai tanda sokongan kepada Zamri yang masih menjalani rawatan,” jelas Takahashi.
Tambahnya, “Semalam saya telah melakukan kesilapan apabila cuba untuk menjarakkan lagi kedudukan antara saya dan Ito sehingga menyebabkan saya terjatuh akibat litar yang licin. Saya tidak mahu mengulangi kesilapan serupa dan hanya menetapkan matlamat untuk menang sahaja, tidak kira bagaimana dengan jarak pelumba di belakang.
“Pada permulaan perlumbaan, keadaan agak sukar dan Ito juga begitu pantas. Saya hanya berupaya mengekorinya di belakang sebelum melihat tayar belakang Ito mula bermasalah pada pertengahan perlumbaan. Saya menggunakan kesempatan untuk memintas Ito dan kemudiannya mengekalkan kedudukan sehingga ke garisan penamat,” jelasnya.
Kemenangan ini meletakkan Takahashi di kedudukan kedua keseluruhan dengan 77 mata manakala kedudukan pendahulu kini milik Koyama dengan 81 mata. Ito di kedudukan ketiga dengan 67 mata.
Bercakap mengenai perlumbaan pusingan akan datang di Buriram, Thailand, Ogos depan, Takahashi berkata, “Saya pernah beraksi di sana ketika menjadi pelumba wildcard Kejuaraan Superbike Dunia di sana, jadi ia memberi sedikit kelebihan kepada saya meskipun ketika itu bukan menggunakan tayar Dunlop.”
Sementara itu Takehiro Yamamoto meraih kemenangan kedua di Suzuka apabila sekali lagi mengungguli perlumbaan kelas Asia Production 250cc setelah menamatkan lapan pusingan perlumbaan dengan masa keseluruhan 20’47.538s.
Pelumba Trickstar Racing itu sekali lagi menewaskan gandingan pelumba AP Honda Racing Thailand, Nakarin Atiratphuvapat dan Apiwat Wongthananon. Nakarin yang dibatalkan kedudukan kedua pada Perlumbaan 1 semalam muncul naib juara dengan masa 20’52.474s dan Apiwat di kedudukan ketiga, 20’52.534s.
“Saya gembira kerana meraih dua kemenangan di halaman sendiri kali ini, di mana memang dari awal lagi saya meletakkan sasaran untuk memenangi kedua-dua perlumbaan di hadapan penyokong sendiri. Malah saya gembira kerana dapat menewaskan kedua-dua pesaing sengit dari Thailand, Apiwat dan Nakarin. Cuma untuk perlumbaan akan datang di Thailand, mungkin akan memberi kelebihan kepada mereka pula namun saya akan bekerja keras untuk meraih kemenangan di Thailand pula.
Dua kemenangan di Suzuka membantu Yamamoto untuk merapatkan jurang kedudukan pendahulu kepada dua mata setelah mengumpul 104 mata manakala Apiwat di tangga teratas dengan 106 mata. Nakarin di kedudukan ketiga dengan 69 mata.
Dalam saingan Underbone 130cc, Ferlando Herdian menebus kecewa terjatuh pada Perlumbaan 1 semalam dengan mengungguli Perlumbaan 2 hari ini setelah menamatkan enam pusingan perlumbaan dengan masa keseluruhan 16’55.718s.
Pelumba BKMS Indonesia Racing Team itu mengatasi pelumba Malaysia, Mohd Affendi Rosli (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) yang berada di kedudukan kedua dengan masa 16’56.153s manakala Gupita Kresna Wardhana (Manual Tech KYT Rextor) di kedudukan ketiga dengan masa 16’56.384s, hanya 0.001s di hadapan Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Faito Factory Racing).
“Perlumbaan tadi sangat sengit. Saya cuba untuk menjarakkan diri dari awal perlumbaan namun gagal. Masuk ke pertengahan perlumbaan, saya mengekalkan kedudukan di kelompok besar pelumba dan menyimpan kuasa enjin untuk digunakan pada penghujung perlumbaan. Strategi saya berjaya dan saya gembira kerana dapat memenangi perlumbaan, menebus kekecewaan semalam.”
Gupita bagaimanapun terus mendahului kedudukan keseluruhan dengan 106 mata sementara Norizman di kedudukan kedua dengan 87 mata dan Ferlando ketiga, 81 mata.
Keputusan
SuperSports 600cc
Perlumbaan 2
1.Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 29’04.409s 2.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 29’05.859s 3.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 29’06.219s 4.Makoto Inagaki (Yamaha) 29’13.166s 5.Noriyuki Haga (Suzuki) 29’24.284s
Kedudukan Keseluruhan
1.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 81 mata 2.Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 77 mata 3.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 67 mata 4.Dimas Ekky Pratama (Honda) 66 mata 5.M.Fadli (Honda) 63 mata
Anugerah Berpasukan
1.Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing 93 mata 2.Astra Honda Racing Team 91 mata 3.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 81 mata 4.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 67 mata 5.Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki 58 mata
Asia Production 250cc
Perlumbaan 2
1.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 20’47.538s 2.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) 20’52.474s 3.Apiwat Wongthananon (Honda) 20’52.534s 4.Ayumu Tanaka (Yamaha) 20’52.828s 5.Ryunosuke Hyodo (Kawasaki) 20’53.122s
Kedudukan Keseluruhan
1.Apiwat Wongthananon (Honda) 106 mata 2.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 104 mata 3.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) 69 mata 4.Vorapong Malahuan (Honda) 58 mata 5.Ryunosuke Hyodo (Kawasaki) 56 mata
Anugerah Berpasukan
1. AP Honda Racing Thailand 110 mata 2.TRICKSTAR Racing 104 mata 3.Yamaha Factory Racing Indonesia 47 mata 4.Akeno Speed Racing 44 mata 5.Yamaha Finson Racing 23 mata
Underbone 130cc
Perlumbaan 2
1.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 16’55.718s 2.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 16’56.153s 3.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 16’56.384s 4.Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Yamaha) 16’56.385s 5.Anggi Permana Putra (Yamaha) 16’56.597s
Kedudukan Keseluruhan
1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 106 mata 2.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 87 mata 3.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 81 mata 4.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 47 mata 5.Abdul Muhaimin Roslan (Yamaha) 41 mata
Anugerah Berpasukan
1.Manual Tech KYT Rextor 106 mata 2.Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing 87 mata 3.BKMS Indonesia Racing Team 81 mata 4.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 62 mata 5.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 54 mata
YUKI TAKAHASHI DEDICATES SUNDAY SUPERSPORTS WIN TO ZAMRI
Yuki Takahashi and Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing dedicated their Race 2 SuperSports 600cc win to comrade, Zamri Baba, currently recuperating from injuries as Round 3 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship wrapped up at the Suzuka Circuit, Japan on Sunday.
Yuki took victory in a difficult wet and dry race after a face-off with Race 1 winner, Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) and compatriots, Noriyuki Haga (Team Kagayama Suzuki ASIA) and Makoto Inagaki (YellowCorn Akeno Speed Racing).
The former Moto2 rider was seen trailing Yuki Ito in the first half of the 13-lap race before passing him at the famous Dunlop corner with six laps to go.
From there it was home run for the Honda rider as he romped to his second win after Sepang in 29’04.409s, making up for his DNF in Race 1 yesterday.
Tomoyoshi Koyama (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) recovered from a botched start pulled off an impressive maneuver and overtook Yuki Ito in the final lap, completing the race in 29’05.859s and 29’06.219s respectively.
“This is a very special race for the team – firstly because this is my home race and secondly because of Zamri. I dedicate this win to him and pray that he has a speedy recovery,” said Yuki Takahashi.
He went on to reflect on the weekend and said, “We have some advantage racing here because this is my home-track but it was far more challenging. In Race 1 I wanted to win so bad and was leading comfortably. But because I wanted it so bad, I did not let go of the gas and crashed. That was an error that shouldn’t have happened and I regret it.
“As for Race 2 I had to fight with Yuki Ito. He was very strong and I could not find room to overtake him. But midway through the race I noticed his tyres had worn out and he had difficulties controlling his bike and I took that opportunity to pass him. Once ahead I didn’t think about anything else and just focused on winning,” he said.
Yuki now sits in second overall with 77 points while Koyama leads the championship standings with a four point advantage.
Separately Trickstar Racing’s Takehiro Yamamoto capped off a perfect weekend by winning Race 2 of the Asia Production 250cc, making it the first back-to-back win for the newly introduced class and the Japanese rider.
Similar to Saturday’s race, Yamamoto battled Nakarin Athiratphuvapat and Apiwat Wongthananon at the start but eventually got the best of the AP Honda Thailand Racing duo, taking the chequered flag in 20’47.538s.
Unable to close the gap on Takehiro, Nakarin and Apiwat took the runner-up positions in 20’52.474s and 20’52.534s respectively in a hard fought battle with Ayumu Tanaka (YellowCorn Akeno Speed) and Ryunosuke Hyodo.
“I’m very happy to make it a double win here at my home track. Although track conditions were better, I pushed too hard in the beginning and made a mistake, losing several positions. I had to muscle through the field to close in on Apiwat and Nakarin. Once ahead, I faced some technical issue with the bike but luckily I overcame it. Thank you everyone for the support, especially the team, sponsors and fans,” said Takehiro.
Picking up 50-points from this round, Takehiro moves up to second overall in the standings just two points behind championship leader, Apiwat.
Race 2 of the Underbone 130cc was not without drama as Ferlando Herdian outwitted his rivals in the dying minutes of the race to secure victory and bounce back from the DNF he suffered in Race 1 yesterday.
In a closely fought battle that lasted the entire race, the BKMS Indonesia Racing Team rider waited until the final lap to commence his attack at the last chicane, surpassing five other riders at one go before sprinting to the finish line in 16’55.718s.
Meanwhile Affendi Rosli (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) perhaps delivered one of the best races of his career to recover from a pit-lane start and finish second behind Gupita with 16’56.153s with reigning champion, Gupita Kresna (Manual Tech KYT Rextor) completing the podium 0.231 seconds adrift.
“The plan was to pull and build an early gap but that was impossible because the track was dry, meaning everyone was grouped together. So I matched pace with the group and attacked at the last minute where everybody was going to squeeze in. I’m glad my strategy worked out,” said Ferlando.
Gupita continues to lead the Underbone 130cc standings with 106 points followed by Race 1 winner, Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 87 points and Ferlando third, 81 points.
Round 4 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will take place at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand this 27 to 30 August.
Race Results
SuperSports 600cc
Race 2
1.Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 29’04.409s 2.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 29’05.859s 3.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 29’06.219s 4.Makoto Inagaki (Yamaha) 29’13.166s 5.Noriyuki Haga (Suzuki) 29’24.284s
Overall Standings
1.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 81 points 2.Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 77 points 3.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 67 points 4.Dimas Ekky Pratama (Honda) 66 points 5.M.Fadli (Honda) 63 points
Team Awards
1.Musashi Bon Siew Honda Racing 93 points 2.Astra Honda Racing Team 91 points 3.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 81 points 4.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 67 points 5.Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki 58 points
Asia Production 250cc
Race 2
1.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 20’47.538s 2.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) 20’52.474s 3.Apiwat Wongthananon (Honda) 20’52.534s 4.Ayumu Tanaka (Yamaha) 20’52.828s 5.Ryunosuke Hyodo (Kawasaki) 20’53.122s
Overall Standings
1.Apiwat Wongthananon (Honda) 106 points 2.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 104 points 3.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) 69 points 4.Vorapong Malahuan (Honda) 58 points 5.Ryunosuke Hyodo (Kawasaki) 56 points
Team Awards
1. AP Honda Racing Thailand 110 points 2.TRICKSTAR Racing 104 points 3.Yamaha Factory Racing Indonesia 47 points 4.Akeno Speed Racing 44 points 5.Yamaha Finson Racing 23 points
Underbone 130cc
Race 2
1.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 16’55.718s 2.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 16’56.153s 3.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 16’56.384s 4.Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Yamaha) 16’56.385s 5.Anggi Permana Putra (Yamaha) 16’56.597s
Overall Standings
1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 106 points 2.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 87 points 3.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 81 points 4.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 47 points 5.Abdul Muhaimin Roslan (Yamaha) 41 points
Team Awards
1.Manual Tech KYT Rextor 106 points 2.Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing 87 points 3.BKMS Indonesia Racing Team 81 points 4.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 62 points 5.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 54 points
