Zaqhwan Zaidi onboard his Honda in the ARRC season finale in Qatar

  • ·      Zaqhwan Zaidi wins the 2014 SuperSports 600cc title beating runner-up, Yuki Ito by one point with Zamri Baba’s assistance
  •        Katsuaki Fujiwara slipped from the title having finished both races outside top 10 due to technical issues
  • ·      Zaqhwan’s victory marks Honda’s third consecutive year winning the SuperSports 600cc rider and team standings
  • ·      At 19-years old, Zaqhwan is the third Malaysian to win the premire class title after Chia Tuck Cheong and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and the youngest to do so at 19-years old

 

Zaqhwan Zaidi snatched the SuperSports 600cc crown from the grasp of Katsuaki Fujiwara and Yuki Ito to become the youngest rider to win the premiere class in a thrilling PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship season finale at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on Sunday.

The Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider was third in the standings with a 22-point disadvantage heading into the final round but was able to secure the title having finished second in Race 1 and Race 2 as champion thanks to teammate, Zamri Baba who held off his immediate title rivals.

Retiring Katsuaki Fujiwara (BEET Kawasaki Racing) who initially led the standings missed out on what could have been his second Asian title after he completed both races outside top-10 following technical difficulties with his front-end suspension.

It was a dramatic end to an enthralling season and gave Honda, who sealed the SuperSports 600cc team awards with Zaqhwan’s victory at the floodlit desert circuit, their third riders’ title after Ryuichi Kiyonari (2012) and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (2013).

The final standings had Zaqhwan on top with 170 points, one point ahead of Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) in second and 15 above retirement-bound Katsuaki Fujiwara (BEET Kawasaki Racing) in third place.

“You dream about being champion and dedicate your whole life to it, so when it comes true it is very special and amazing! I’m just really happy to make my country proud,” said an emotional Zaqhwan after the race.

He added, “Honestly we did not expect to win because this is only my third year racing in the premiere class. But when we saw Yuki and Fujiwara finish outside top five in Race 1, it became clear we actually stood a chance so Zamri and I cooked up a strategy together.”

“I owe it to Zamri, Without him holding Yuki and the rest of the field back, it would have been impossible to win and personally I think he is the man of the match. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the team, sponsors, family, friends and fans for believing and supporting me all this while.”

In an intense battle that saw the leaders swap positions on multiple times, Zamri aced Race 1 in 31’37.305s followed by Zaqhwan second and Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) third with 31’37.371s and 31’37.529s respectively. 

Zaqhwan signed off the season with his second premiere class victory to secure the SuperSports 600cc title in Race 2, wrapping up the grueling 15-lap battle in 31’24.717s while Yuki fought courageously to finish second with 31’25.097s. 31-year old Zamri came in third with 31’25.119s.

Meanwhile Gupita Kresna became the first Asian Underbone 130cc Champion.

The poleman secured the intermediate crown having finished Race 1 in 13th position following a huge collision with Kazuki Masaki (Team Honda RSC) on the front straight in the final lap. Both riders escaped the horrific crash uninjured and picked up their bikes to complete the race with Gupita pushing his Kawasaki to the finish line.

Fortunately for the Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech rider, closest title rival, Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) retired from the race following a broken exhaust pipe and the three points he picked up was enough for him to clinch the title.

Gupita’s compatriot, Reza Fahlevy (Faito Factory Racing) won Race 1 in 18’04.320s with Ahmad Fazrul Sham and Rusman Fadil completing the podium steps in 18’04.330s and 18’04.338s respectively.

Boosted by his championship win, Gupita went on to secure his maiden victory for the season in a hectic Race 2. In a breathtaking photo-finish, Gupita crossed the line in 18’04.860s, 0.118 seconds ahead of Fazrul Sham with Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) 0.002 seconds behind.

It was a superb display of clever race craft by Gupita, who battled a persistent pack. He started the final lap in 15th place, in the slipstream of his rivals and passed Amirul on the fast, sweeping back section and timed his flying finish to perfection.

Picking up 28 points from this round, Gupita puts an end to the 2014 Underbone 130cc title chase with 176 points, while T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS’ Taiga Hada and Amirul Ariff rounded up top three with 127 points and 126 points respectively.

T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS won the Underbone 130cc team award with 180 points followed by Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech second and Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing third with 176 points and 163 points.

Khairul Idham Pawi bids farewell to the Asia Dream Cup on a high as he chalked up another set of double win.

Having already wrapped up the championship title in Thailand (Round 5), Khairul could afford to relax in Qatar, but it would simply see him perform better as the poleman snatched lead at the first corner and disappeared into the distance in Race 1, completing the nine-lap race in 17’53.697s. 

Aditya Pangestu of Indonesia came in 10 seconds later with 18’03.502s beating Japan’s Teppei Nagoe by 0.034s while Taiwan’s Chuang An-Yu and Harith Farhan Baharin rounded up top five.

Race 2 was a much difficult outing for Khairul as he was forced to battle it out with his rivals for lead. Even so that did not stop the 16-year old from pulling away from the pack in the final three laps to take his ninth win for the season in 17’56.280s.

Sarath Kumar turned in the best performance of his career as he bagged his first podium in the Asia Dream Cup in second place with 17’58.666s, 2.386 seconds adrift Khairul while Syunya Mori came in third, 17’58.700s.

Collecting 50 points, Khairul takes his total championship haul for the season to an unassailable 285 points with Aditya and Nagoe as runner-ups with 179 points and 175 points.

Results

SuperSports 600cc

Race 1

1.Zamri Baba (Honda) 31’37.305s 2.Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) 31’37.371s 3.Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 31’37.529s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 31’37.682s 5.Ratthapong Wilairot (Honda) 31’38.187s

Race 2

1.Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) 31’24.717s 2.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 31’25.097s 3.Zamri Baba (Honda) 31’25.119s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 31’28.354s 5.Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 31’28.434s

Overall Standings

1.Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) 170 points 2.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 169 points 3.Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) 155 points 4.Zamri Baba (Honda) 151 points 5.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 144 points

Team Standings

1.Musashi Boon Siew Honda 246 points 2.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 171 points 3.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 171 points 4.BEET Kawasaki Racing 154 points 5.Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki 112 points

Underbone 130cc

Race 1

1.Reza Fahlevy (Yamaha) 18’04.320s 2.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Honda) 18’04.330s 3.Rusman Fadil (Yamaha) 18’04.338s 4.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 18’04.413s 5.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 18’04.415s

Race 2

1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 18’04.860s 2.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Honda) 18’04.978s 3.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 18’04.980s 4.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 18’04.990s 5.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 18’05.011s

Overall Standings

1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 176 points 2.Taiga Hada (Honda) 127 points 3.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 126 points 4.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 125 points 5.Kazuki Masaki (Honda) 123 points

Team Standings

1.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 180 points 2.Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech 176 points 3.Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing 163 points 4.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 150 points 5.Faito Factory Racing 139 points

Asia Dream Cup

Race 1

1.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 17’53.697s 2.Aditya Pangestu (INA) 18’03.502s 3.Teppei Nagoe (JPN) 18’03.536s 4.Chuang An Yu (TPE) 18’03.547s 5.Harith Farhan Baharin (MAS) 18’03.558s

Race 2

1.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 17’56.280s 2.Sarath Kumar (IND) 17’58.666s 3.Syunya Mori (JPN) 17’58.700s 4.Aditya Pangestu (INA) 17’58.758s 5.Harith Farhan Baharin (MAS) 18’02.268s

Overall Standings

1.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 285 points 2.Aditya Pangestu (INA) 179 points 3.Teppei Nagoe (JPN) 175 points 4.Syunya Mori (JPN) 143 points 5.Chuang An-Yu (TPE) 130 points

Musashi Boon Siew Honda celebrating their third consecutive SuperSports 600cc rider and team title
ZAQHWAN JUARA TERMUDA ARRC
Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi menamatkan musim 2014 dengan penuh gemilang apabila dinobatkan selaku juara keseluruhan SuperSports 600cc Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia PETRONAS (ARRC) sekaligus meletakkan namanya sebagai juara termuda kategori tersebut dalam aksi yang penuh mendebarkan di Litar Antarabangsa Losail, Doha,Qatar, semalam.
Tanpa meletak harapan tinggi, pelumba Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing itu hadir ke pusingan terakhir musim 2014 dengan 22 mata ketinggalan kepada pendahulu, Katsuaki Fujiwara (BEET Kawasaki Racing) namun segalanya berubah apabila Zaqhwan muncul naib juara pada Perlumbaan 1 manakala Fujiwara sekadar di tangga ke-11 untuk merapatkan jurang hanya kepada tujuh mata.
Aksi Perlumbaan 2 lebih mendebarkan di mana Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) hadir sebagai pencabar utama untuk merebut gelaran juara bersama Zaqhwan namun dengan strategi berpasukan, Zaqhwan berjaya memenangi perlumbaan menewaskan Ito hasil bantuan Mohd Zamri Baba yang akhirnya menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat ketiga manakala Ito di tempat kedua.
Gelaran juara membantu Zaqhwan mengumpul 170 mata keseluruhan, hanya satu mata mengatasi Ito di tangga kedua dengan 169 mata manakala juara musim 2011, Fujiwara yang telah mengumumkan persaraannya daripada aksi ARRC di tangga ketiga dengan 155 mata setelah aksi mengecewakan gagal menempatkan diri di kedudukan 10 terbaik dalam kedua-dua perlumbaan akhir setelah mengalami masalah teknikal jentera manakala Zamri di kedudukan keempat.
Kemenangan dramatik ini turut meletakkan pasukan Musashi Boon Siew Honda meraih gelaran buat kali ketiga berturut-turut kategori SuperSports 600cc selepas kemenangan Ryuichi Kiyonari (2012) dan Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (2013) selain turut mencipta hatrik meraih gelaran pasukan terbaik.
“Kemenangan ini amat istimewa bagi saya. Saya telah mendedikasikan hidup saya untuk mengejar impian sebagai juara selama ini dan apabila ia berjaya, sudah tentu ia merupakan sesuatu yang sangat istimewa. Saya juga sangat gembira kerana berjaya mengharumkan nama negara,” jelas Zaqhwan penuh emosi selepas menamatkan perlumbaan.
Tambahnya, “Kemenangan ini memang tidak dijangka memandangkan baru tiga musim saya beraksi dalam kelas perdana ini. Namun keyakinan semakin tinggi setelah pendahulu, Fujiwara dan Ito gagal menempatkan diri di kelompok depan pada Perlumbaan 1. Kami sepasukan terutama diantara saya dan Zamri sedar kami perlu menggunakan peluang ini sebaik mungkin.”
“Saya sangat-sangat berterima kasih kepada Zamri kerana membantu saya dan menghalang Yuki di belakang memandangkan mungkin agak sukar untuk saya melakukannya bersendirian dan secara peribadi, saya fikir dia merupakan pelumba terbaik dalam perlumbaan terakhir ini. Saya juga berterima kasih kepada seluruh pasukan, keluarga, rakan-rakan dan peminat yang meletakkan kepercayaan kepada saya selama ini.”
Dalam aksi penentuan gelaran juara keseluruhan, Zaqhwan berjaya menjuarai Perlumbaan 2 dengan masa 31’24.717s, juga kemenangan kedua pada musim ini manakala Yuki muncul naib juara dengan masa 31’25.097s manakala Zamri ketiga, 31’25.119s.
Sementara itu, aksi sebelum itu menyaksikan saingan Perlumbaan 1 dimenangi oleh Zamri dengan masa 31’37.305s manakala Zaqhwan kedua, 31’37.371s manakala H A Yudhistira (Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki) ketiga, 31’37.529s.
 
Dalam pada itu, kemalangan yang menimpa sebelum ke garisan penamat pada Perlumbaan 1 tidak menghalang pelumba Indonesia, Gupita Kresna Wardhana untuk dinobatkan selaku juara keseluruhan kategori Underbone 130cc.
Pelumba Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech itu memulakan saingan Perlumbaan 1 dengan kelebihan 30 mata selaku pendahulu namun ketika bersaing menuju ke garisan penamat, Gupita terlibat dalam perlanggaran bersama Kazuki Masaki (Team Honda RSC) namun kembali bangkit dan menolak jenteranya melintasi garisan penamat untuk menamatkan saingan di kedudukan ke-13 dan tiga mata tersebut sudah cukup untuk menobatkan pelumba itu sebagai juara keseluruhan.
Perlumbaan 1 menjadi milik Reza Fahlevy (Faito Factory Racing) dengan masa 18’04.320s diikuti Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) kedua, 18’04.330s dan Rusman Fadil (JRA R7 IRC NHK Jatim Racing) ketiga, 18’04.338s.
Sekalipun sudah ditabalkan selaku juara keseluruuhan, Gupita meneruskan aksi cemerlang apabila berjaya menjuara Perlumbaan 2 dengan masa 18’04.860s, 0.118 saat dihadapan Fazrul Sham manakala Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS), 0.002 saat dibelakang Fazrul.
 
Gupita menamatkan musim 2014 dengan mengumpul 176 mata, manakala duo T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS, Taiga Hada dan Amirul Ariff di kedudukan kedua dan ketiga, masing-masing dengan 127 mata dan 126 mata.
 
Pasukan T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS pula memenangi gelaran Pasukan Terbaik Underbone 130cc dengan 180 mata diikuti Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech kedua dengan 176 mata dan Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing ketiga, 163 mata.
  
Sementara itu, pelumba muda meningkat naik, Khairul Idham Pawi menamatkan saingan musim 2014 dengan bergaya apabila berjaya menjuarai kedua-dua perlumbaan terakhir saingan Asia Dream Cup sekalipun telah dinobatkan selaku juara keseluruhan pada Pusingan 5 di Thailand, November lepas.
Khairul menamatkan Perlumbaan 1 dengan masa 17’53.697s, 10 saat dihadapan pelumba Indonesia, Aditya Pangestu dengan 18’03.502s manakala Teppei Nagoe ketiga, 0.034s.
Pada Perlumbaan 2, Khairul Idham muncul juara dengan masa 17’56.280s manakala pelumba India, Sarath Kumar meraih podium pertamanya pada musim ini dengan menamatkan saingan di tempat kedua dengan 17’58.666s dan Syunya Mori ketiga, 17’58.700s.
 
Dengan 50 mata yang diraih, Khairul menamatkan musim dengan 285 mata manakala Aditya dan Nagoe kedua dan ketiga, 179 mata dan 175 mata.
 
Keputusan
SuperSports 600cc
Perlumbaan 1
1.Zamri Baba (Honda) 31’37.305s 2.Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) 31’37.371s 3.Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 31’37.529s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 31’37.682s 5.Ratthapong Wilairot (Honda) 31’38.187s
 
Perlumbaan 2
1.Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) 31’24.717s 2.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 31’25.097s 3.Zamri Baba (Honda) 31’25.119s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 31’28.354s 5.Yudhistira (Kawasaki) 31’28.434s
 
Kedudukan Keseluruhan
1.Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) 170 mata 2.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 169 mata 3.Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) 155 mata 4.Zamri Baba (Honda) 151 mata 5.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 144 mata
 
Kedudukan Berpasukan
1.Musashi Boon Siew Honda 246 mata 2.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 171 mata 3.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 171 mata 4.BEET Kawasaki Racing 154 mata 5.Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki 112 mata
Underbone 130cc
Perlumbaan 1
1.Reza Fahlevy (Yamaha) 18’04.320s 2.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Honda) 18’04.330s 3.Rusman Fadil (Yamaha) 18’04.338s 4.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 18’04.413s 5.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 18’04.415s
 
Perlumbaan 2
1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 18’04.860s 2.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Honda) 18’04.978s 3.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 18’04.980s 4.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 18’04.990s 5.Affendi Rosli (Yamaha) 18’05.011s
 
Kedudukan Keseluruhan
1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 176 mata 2.Taiga Hada (Honda) 127 mata 3.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 126 mata 4.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 125 mata 5.Kazuki Masaki (Honda) 123 mata
 
Kedudukan Berpasukan
1.T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS 180 mata 2.Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech 176 mata 3.Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing 163 mata 4.PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha 150 mata 5.Faito Factory Racing 139 mata
Asia Dream Cup
Perlumbaan 1
1.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 17’53.697s 2.Aditya Pangestu (INA) 18’03.502s 3.Teppei Nagoe (JPN) 18’03.536s 4.Chuang An Yu (TPE) 18’03.547s 5.Harith Farhan Baharin (MAS) 18’03.558s
 
Perlumbaan 2
1.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 17’56.280s 2.Sarath Kumar (IND) 17’58.666s 3.Syunya Mori (JPN) 17’58.700s 4.Aditya Pangestu (INA) 17’58.758s 5.Harith Farhan Baharin (MAS) 18’02.268s
 
Kedudukan Keseluruhan
1.Khairul Idham Pawi (MAS) 285 mata 2.Aditya Pangestu (INA) 179 mata 3.Teppei Nagoe (JPN) 175 mata 4.Syunya Mori (JPN) 143 mata 5.Chuang An-Yu (TPE) 130 mata
 
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