Australian racer Anthony West astride his Yamaha emerged victorious in the first race of SuperSport 600cc category at MMRT today. This is his third win in the 600cc class in this season. Despite starting from pole position, West dropped down two places. However, he snaffled the lead from Md Zaqhwan Zaidi and Taiga Hada in the last two laps and went on win the race. Zaidi finished second in the 16-lap race while Taiga Hada(Honda Racing) took the third position. Earlier in the day, West had set the fastest qualifying time of 1:40.585 for pole position. West kept his cool to bag the race win in a day that witnessed light showers.
After the victory, Anthony West who is racing for the first time at MMRT, said, “It was a very difficult race. It took me a few laps to get used to the conditions due to the drizzle before we started. But as the race progressed, I was able to generate more power and then took my opportunities to pass the riders in front.”
In the Asia Production 250cc class, Rheza Danica Ahrens won the race, while teammate Mario Suryo Aji from Astra Honda took the second position. Reynaldo Chrisantho (Indonesia, ONEXOX TKK Yamaha) rounded off the podium. This is Rheza Danica Ahrens’ fifth consecutive victory in this category. Rajiv Sethu from Honda Racing finished 13th in the race after having a bad start. His teammate Anish unfortunately crashed out in the eighth lap of the 12-lap race.
This is Anish’s maiden ARRC season. At the post-race briefing, Anish said, “There was an issue regarding the suspension and also my being too aggressive on the throttle which led to the crash. I damaged the left toe which is swollen, but I should be fine for tomorrow’s second race.”
In the Underbone 150cc class, Ahmed Fazli Sham emerged victor in a last lap thriller after he took the lead from Md Helmi Azman, who had to settle for second place in the ten-lap race. Thailand’s Peerapong Luiboonpeng rounded off the podium.
Rajiv Sethu, who is hoping for a better finish tomorrow, said, “I had a bad start, but I gave my best, but other riders too were aggressive and better. However, today, I clocked my best ever time (01:50.555) on this track. Hopefully, I will perform better tomorrow.”
The Honda and TVS one make races were called off due to the heavy downpour that started soon after the SuperSport 600cc race was over.
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Here are the provisional results:
SuperSport 600 (Race-1, 16 laps): 1. Anthony West (Australia, Webike Ikazuchi, Yamaha) (27mins, 35.304secs); 2. Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia, Musashi Boon Siew Honda) (27:35.629); 3. Taiga Hada (Japan, Idemitsu Honda Racing India) (27:36.885).
Asia Production 250 (Race-1, 12 laps): 1. Rheza Danica Ahrens (Indonesia, Astra Honda) (21:53.4); 2. Mario Suryo Aji (Indonesia, Astra Honda) (21:53.5); 3. Reynaldo Chrisantho (Indonesia, ONEXOX TKK Yamaha) (22:01.9).
Underbone 150 (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Ahmed Fazli Sham (Onexox TKKR Racing Team, Malaysia) (19:02.205); 2. Md. Helmi Azman (SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing team, Malaysia) (19:02.460); 3. Peerapong Luiboonpeng (Team One For All, Thailand) (19:02.502).