Yuki Takahashi memulakan saingan Pusingan 3 Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM (ARRC) dengan cemerlang setelah muncul pelumba terpantas SuperSports 600cc setelah mencatatkan masa terbaik 2’13.866s di Litar Suzuka, Jepun, hari ini.
Catatan yang dilakukan oleh pelumba Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing itu hampir memadamkan catatan terbaik litar milik Katsuaki Fujiwara, 2:13.725s namun kibaran bendera kuning setelah Rafid Topan (Team Kagayama Suzuki Asia) terjatuh menjadi penghalang apabila pelumba-pelumba terpaksa memperlahankan aksi mereka pada penghujung sesi latihan kedua.
Terdahulu, Makoto Inagaki (YellowCorn Akeno Speed Racing) mengungguli sesi latihan pertama dengan masa 2’16.216s dengan Yuki sekadar mencatat masa kelima terpantas.
Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) menebus aksi kurang bertenaga pada sesi latihan pertama dengan mencatat masa ketiga terpantas keseluruhan, 2’14.104s ketika sesi latihan bebas kedua pada penghujung sesi latihan sambil diikuti
Tomoyoshi Koyama (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) keempat, 2’15.037s dan Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) kelima dengan masa 2’15.237s.
“Kami bermula dengan baik pada hari ini malah turut hampir memadam catatan rekod litar. Jika kami dapat meningkatkan lagi aksi pada hari esok, saya percaya mampu mengatasi catatan tersebut tidak kira pada sesi latihan bebas ketiga ataupun sewaktu sesi kelayakan,” jelas Yuki.
Mengulas lanjut, Yuki berkata, “Sasaran kami adalah untuk mendapatkan masa terbaik dari sesi latihan pertama lagi namun faktor cuaca banyak mempengaruhi aksi pada sebelah pagi, jadi kami memilih menggunakan sesi tersebut untuk mendapatkan pelarasan yang sepatutnya memandangkan cuaca dijangka hujan pada kedua-dua hari esok.
“Keadaan pada sesi latihan kedua bertambah baik dan cuaca juga tidak begitu panas di mana saya berjaya mendahului pelumba-pelumba lain sepanjang 40 minit sesi tersebut. Ketika cuba untuk mengatasi masa milik Fujiwara setelah jurutera pasukan mencuba sesuatu yang baru ke atas jentera, saya sekadar berpeluang melakukan satu pusingan penuh sahaja kerana terpaksa memperlahankan jentera setelah bendera kuning dikibarkan.”
Bercakap tentang pusingan kelayakan, Yuki menjelaskan “Saya beraksi di halaman sendiri jadi sudah tentu saya mahu mendapatkan keputusan yang terbaik bukan sahaja buat ahli keluarga dan penyokong di sini, sebaliknya juga buat pasukan dan rakan sepasukan saya, Mohd Zamri Baba. Namun sudah tentu saya perlu bekerja lebih keras untuk merealisasikan impian tersebut.”
Kelebihan beraksi di halaman sendiri turut memberi kelebihan buat Takehiro Yamamoto apabila muncul pelumba terpantas dalam kelas Asia Production 250cc dengan catatan masa 2’34.185s.
Rakan sepasukan Nakarin yang juga pendahulu keseluruhan, Apiwat wongthananon ketiga dengan masa 2’36.687s diikuti Masaharu Ono (Faito Factory Racing) dan Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) masing-masing dengan 2’36.950s dan 2’37.514s.
“Saya mahu menghadiahkan kemenangan kepada peminat-peminat di sini,” jelas Yamamoto.
Tambahnya,”Keputusan di Indonesia tidak begitu baik memandangkan itu kali pertama saya beraksi di Indonesia manakala pelumba lain mempunyai pengalaman beraksi di sana. Namun kali ini ia agak berbeza memandangkan saya sudah biasa dengan litar ini dan saya juga begitu inginkan kemenangan untuk merapatkan jurang dengan pendahulu, Apiwat di dalam senarai keseluruhan.”
Apiwat yang berpengalaman beraksi dalam saingan Asia Dream Cup dan SuperSports 600cc sebelum ini mendahului kedudukan dengan 70 mata, 16 mata di hadapan Yamamoto.
Sementara itu, saingan Underbone 130cc dikuasai oleh Ferlando Herdian (BKMS Indonesia Racing Team) setelah mencatat masa terpantas 2’47.777s yang dilakukan pada sesi latihan bebas kedua manakala Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Faito Factory Racing) kedua dengan masa 2’48.298s.
Ahmad Fazrul Sham (HORSE OIL William Racing Team) muncul pelumba ketiga terpantas, 2’48.326s diikuti juara musim 2014, Gupita Kresna (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) dan Affendi Rosli (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha).
Keputusan Latihan Bebas
SuperSports 600cc
1.Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 2’13.866s 2.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 2’14.104s 3.Ratthapong Wilairot (Honda) 2’14.980s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 2’15.037s 5.Ahmad Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 2’15.237s
Asia Production 250cc
1.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 2’34.185s 2.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) 2’36.326s 3.Apiwat Wongthananon (Honda) 2’36.687s 4.Masaharu Ono (Honda) 2’36.950s 5.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 2’37.514s
Underbone 130cc
1.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 2’47.777s 2.Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Yamaha) 2’48.298s 3.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) 2’48.326s 4.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 2’48.517s 5.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 2’49.959s
YUKI TAKASHI LAYS DOWN SUZUKA MARKER
Yuki Takahashi couldn’t have hoped for a better start for his home race at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan as he topped the opening practice with a scorching 2’13.866s in Round 3 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship on Friday.
The Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider appeared quickest on the combined SuperSports 600cc timesheet based on his dominant performance in FP2.
He even came close to erasing Katsuaki Fujiwara’s 2’13.725s lap record towards the end of the session but was slowed down by a yellow-flag after Rafid Topan (Team Kagayama Suzuki ASIA) crashed at the final turn.
Earlier today, Makoto Inagaki (YellowCorn Akeno Speed Racing) topped FP1 that was held under damp conditions in 2’16.216s with Yuki only managing fifth.
Meanwhile Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) bounced back from an uneventful morning practice to secure the next best effort on the combined timesheet in 2’14.104s, after overtaking Thai rider, Ratthapong Wilairot (AP Honda Racing Thailand) in the dying minute.
Tomoyoshi Koyama (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) was fourth fastest 2’15.037s while Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) rounded up the top five in 2’15.237s.
“We had a very positive run today and came very close to breaking the circuit record. If we can keep or increase the pace, I am quite sure we can set a new benchmark tomorrow either in FP3 or the qualifying,” said Yuki.
He went on to elaborate on his performance today and said, “We hoped for a stronger start but the track was quite damp in FP1 so the engineers took the opportunity to fine tune our wet settings because it is expected to rain in the next two days.
“FP2 took place under dry conditions but not too hot which was ideal and we managed to get ahead of our rivals for most part of the 40-minute session. I wanted to break the record after the engineers gave me something new to try in the final pit stop but could complete just one full lap before the yellow-flag came up.”
Speaking about his expectations for the final practice and qualifying tomorrow, Yuki commented, “This is my home race and naturally I want to get really good results here not just for my fans and family, but for the team and partner, Zamri Baba as well. But no doubt, I have to work really hard for that.”
Similarly, Takehiro Yamamoto is hoping to cash in on home advantage as well after setting the benchmark in the Asia Production 250cc class.
The Trickstar Racing rider who has finished all three previous races on the podium asserted dominance at his home track by posting 2’34.185s in FP2, more than two seconds ahead of Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (AP Honda Racing Thailand) who clocked in 2’36.326s.
Nakarin’s teammate and current championship leader, Apiwat Wongthananon was third quickest on the timesheet with 2’36.687s with Masaharu Ono (Faito Factory Racing) and Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) trailing behind with 2’36.950s and 2’37.514s respectively.
Yamamoto’s teammate, Ryunosuke Hyodo came in sixth.
“I want to win both races here and make my home crowd proud,” said Yamamoto
He added, “We did not have a good race in Indonesia partly because it was my first time racing at Sentul and my rivals have more experience racing there. But this time it’s different. Suzuka is my home track and I am well versed here and I intend to make the best of this race to either win or try to close the point gap with Apiwat in the standings.”
Apiwat who has competed in the Asia Dream Cup and the SuperSports 600cc class in the past leads the standings with 70 points, 16 points ahead of Yamamoto.
Lastly Ferlando Herdian enjoyed a competitive start to the mid-season round when the BKMS Indonesia Racing Team rider delivered the fastest lap time for the Underbone 130cc class.
Ferlando posted the quickest lap in FP2 with 2’47.777s to hold off compatriot, Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Faito Factory Racing) who recorded his best lap in 2’48.298s.
Ahmad Fazrul Sham (HORSE OIL William Racing Team) was third quickest with 2’48.326s followed by reigning Underbone 130cc champion, Gupita Kresna (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) and Affendi Rosli (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha).
Practice Results
SuperSports 600cc
1.Yuki Takahashi (Honda) 2’13.866s 2.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 2’14.104s 3.Ratthapong Wilairot (Honda) 2’14.980s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 2’15.037s 5.Ahmad Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 2’15.237s
Asia Production 250cc
1.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 2’34.185s 2.Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) 2’36.326s 3.Apiwat Wongthananon (Honda) 2’36.687s 4.Masaharu Ono (Honda) 2’36.950s 5.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 2’37.514s
Underbone 130cc
1.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 2’47.777s 2.Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Yamaha) 2’48.298s 3.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) 2’48.326s 4.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 2’48.517s 5.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 2’49.959s
