Qatar: Asia Road Racing Championship finals close the 2010 season in Losail

DECHA CLAIMS 2010 SUPERSPORTS 600CC TITLE

18 December 2010 – The 2010 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) drew down its curtains at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar hailing Thai rider, Decha Kraisat as the SuperSports 600cc Champion for the second time.

The PETRONAS Yamaha Thailand rider who only needed 15 more points to secure the title put an early end to the chase as he finished second in Race 1 and picked up 20 points which was more than what he needed, With that, Decha concludes the season with 178 points on top of the overall standings.

To come in second was last year’s Champion and teammate; Chalermpol Polamai who won both races today with 176 points and third comes in Malaysian ace, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman with 123 points.

“It’s a great relief to be crowned SuperSports 600cc Champion. When I first came to Qatar I was really nervous and scared the title would slip from my hands. But I remained patient and luckily no bad incidents happened throughout the race. It feels good to step up the podium and clinch the title despite up against new challenges racing at night.

“It is a great occasion and I would like to thank the crew of PETRONAS Yamaha Thailand, sponsors and everyone who played a role in it,” said an elated Decha who had previously won the SuperSports 600cc series in 2007.

In the Team Award, PETRONAS Yamaha Thailand tops the chart with 229 points while second and third place belongs to PETRONAS Yamaha Malaysia and Moto-Rev India with 169 and 108 points respectively.

Race 1

Race 1 was a nail-biting battle between the Thai riders. Chalermpol who started second on the grid did not waste any time to take control of the race surpassing wildcard and pole placer, Ricard Cardus of QMMF Racing as soon the red lights went off closely pursued by Decha.

Known for their consistency, both riders maintained a 1 2 position in the first five laps before Moto Rev India rider and six times SuperSports 600cc Champion, Toshiyuki Hamaguchi applied pressure.

Determined to win the title, Decha put up a good fight and was seen switching positions with Hamaguchi. Unfortunately, due to technical complications the latter retired in lap 11 together with Azlan who crashed duoe to a collision with Doni Tata Pradita (Yamaha INDOPROM). PETRONAS Yamaha Indonesia rider, M.Fadli took the opportunity to move up third.

Chalermpol completed the 15 lap race with total time 32:29.801s followed by Decha second with 32:30.267s while Fadli timed 32:36.926s.

“I tried very hard to win this race. When I first came to this circuit I had no idea what’s it like in terms of the layout and environment. So throughout the week I collected as much data and focused really hard each time I ran the course,” he said.

Race 2

In Race 2, Chalermpol continues to display impressive performance to win the race as he stopped the clock at 32:27.759s first place while Decha was disqualified from the race after failing to obey a ride through penalty for a jump start.

Estatic to add another chequered flag to his collection, Chalermpol commented, “I’m very happy to have won two times here at Losail Circuit,” he said.

Even so, Chalermpol could not hide the face he was a bit disappointed he failed to defend his title. “I’m a bit down the  Champion’s trophy is not mine because that was my aim this season.Unfortunately, I made mistakes in several rounds and this allowed Decha to overtake me in the overall standings. Nevertheless, I am happy for Decha,” he said.

Hailing from Japan, Tatsuya Yamaguchi would be a newcomer to the PETRONAS ARRC and a first-timer at the Losail Circuit much alike rivals. Even so, this did not stop China Zongshen Racing’s newest addition to put up a good fight and beat seasoned rider and compatriot Toshiyuki Hamaguchi for second place. He timed 32:28.140s- 0.381s slower than Chalermpol while Hamaguchi of Moto Rev India came in third and timed 32:29.009s.

HADI TAKES HOME UNDERBONE 115CC CHAMPION’S TROPHY
18 December 2010 – Despite his veteran status, Indonesian rider Hadi Wijaya proves he still has what it takes to be called a Champion as he claimed the 2010 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) Underbone 115cc winner’s trophy at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar yesterday.

The Kawasaki NHK Rextor MTR Manual Tech rider snatched lead  position in the overall standings to surpass former Championship leader, Denny Triyugo of Yamaha TOP 1 FDR Racing by coming in second for both races.

Picking up 40 points, Hadi Wijaya puts an end to the title chase with 154 points- a 10 point advantage over the latter in second place with 144 points followed by Rafid Topan Sucipto of CKJ Motorsports third 125 points.

Overwhelmed to be crowned Champion, Hadi fell short of words to express his feelings. “I am proud and extremely happy to be crowned Champion today. I would like to thank the whole team and its sponsors for without their trust and confidence in me, none of this could have been possible, Thank you very much,” said the 31 years old rider.

Meanwhile, the Team Award went to Kawasaki NHK Rextor MTR Manual Tech with 195 points, followed by Yamaha TOP 1 FDR with 171 points and third was CKJ Motorsports (135 points).

Race 1

In Race 1 Rafid bagged his third chequered flag for the season. The Indonesian rider who started fourth on the grid played his game smart to reserve his Yamaha until the final moments of the race to where he went hard on the throttle to cross the finish line first place with total time 19:30.010s.

Short by 0.209s, comes in Hadi in second place with 19:30.219s followed by teammate, M.Reza Fahlevi third 19:30.274s.

Topan commented, “The race was very challenging seeing that this is our first time racing here. Therefore, in order to get on the podium I laid out a plan to maintain a consistent pace and slowly make my way up from there. It’s great everything went as planned.”

Meanwhile, compatriots, Gilang Pranata Sukma of Bikers BRT Indonesia Racing came in fourth (19:31.255s) followed by Denny Triyugo of Yamaha TOP 1 FDR Racing fifth (19:31.267s).

Sixth came in Denny’s teammate, Hokky Krisdianto (19:31.349s) followed by PETRONAS Yamaha Thailand rider Chanon Chumjai (19:31.386s), Mohd Rozaiman Mohd Said from Motul Yamaha YY Pang (19:31.407s) and Sasitharen Sukumaran of Suzuki M-Seki Liberty Racing (19:31.408s).

Failing to qualify for the race were Prawat Yannawut (PETRONAS Yamaha Thailand), Fitriansyah Kete (Bikers BRT Indonesia Racing), Mohd Affendi Rosli and Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro SCK Honda Racing).

Race 2

The battle intensifies in race 2 as it decides the final overall standings.

Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli who was disappointed to retire from Race 1 due to technical complication made full use of pole to break away from rivals rather than the conventional style of underbone racing where riders in the field stick together till the final lap.

His strategies proved to work in the first three laps to where he created a massive gap but unfortunately the 14 years old lost traction and crashed in lap 4- ending all hopes for him to improve his position in the Underbone 115cc overall standings.

From there, closest rival Reza took control of the race and was seen battling with Hokky, Denny and Topan for lead. For a brief moment he lost it in lap 6 but fortunately, he was able to retrieve it in the last lap.

Reza completed Race 2 with total time 19:10.684s in first place followed by Hadi second with 19:10.728s and Kete third 19:10.855s.

Reza commented, “Race 2 was more challenging than Race 1 but and it became really hard after Ramdan crashed as it was hard to anticipate who will take steal the lead.

“Though worried , I still did my best to finish the race and I would like to thank the team for doing a great job setting up my machine.”

To finish fourth was Hokky with 19:10.930s followed by Prawat with 19:11.005s, Denny sixth with 19:11.129s, Sasitharen with 19:11.197s, Rozaiman and Race 1 winner Topan eighth and ninth with 19:11.218s and 19:11.315s respectively.

Issued by Global PR Sdn Bhd
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