Yuki Ito heads Supersports Field Under Hot and Sweltering Sepang

Japan’s Yuki Ito claimed the fastest lap on Day Two of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship pre-season test, topping the timesheet in 1’05.424s to snatch away the lead from compatriot Makoto Inagaki at the Sepang Circuit on Thursday.

The PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha rider posted the quickest lap on his 12^th lap in the fifth outing, and lapped consistently in the 1 minute 5 seconds bracket for the remainder of the session.

Malaysian rider, Zamri Baba (Musashi Boon Siew Honda) was second best with 1’05.600s while Makoto Inagaki (Akeno Speed Racing) was unable to mirror his Day One performance came in third with 1’05.926s

Tomoyoshi Koyama (T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS) registered fourth followed by M.Fadli (Astra Honda Racing Team) with 1’05.920s and 1’05.926s respectively.

“We had a better pace compared to yesterday but we are far from perfect. We targeted 1 minute 4 seconds but the track surface was not ideal as there was a lot of residue from last weekend’s F1 race. Most of the riders faced the same issue. Hopefully, the condition will improve tomorrow,” said Yuki who finished the 2014 season as runner-up behind reigning Champion, Zaqhwan Zaidi who has now moved to the Moto2 World Championship.

Meanwhile TRICKSTAR Racing’s Takehiro Yamamoto carried on his momentum to once again lead the Asia Production 250cc (AP250) field and improve his lap time almost a second faster.

Takehiro was the only rider to dip below 1 minute 16 seconds on the second day of testing, clocking in the best lap in 1’16.834s, edging out Yamaha Factory Racing Indonesia trio, Sigit Purno and Galang Hendra and Imanuel Putra who timed 1’17.301s, 1’17.757s and 1’18.620s.

T Pro Yuzy Honda’s Amirul Ariff Musa rounded off the top five with 1’18.381s.

Separately, reigning Underbone 130cc champion, Gupita Kresna returned to his true form as the Indonesian rider blazed to the top of the Underbone 130cc timesheets. The Manual Tech Rextor representative logged the quickest lap of 1’21.624s on his second lap in the sixth session.

His compatriot, Ferlando Herdian (BKMS Indonesia Racing Team) was second fastest overall with 1’21.836s while Azhar Abdul Jalil (Yamaha YY Pang) recorded 1’22.144s.

Lastly Patis Chooprathet ended Day Two on a high as the Thai native claimed the best lap on Day Two in the Suzuki Asian Challenge. Patis recorded his best lap of 1’28.067s in the morning session ahead of his Indonesian rivals, Adhi Chandra and Andreas Gunawan who timed 1’28.109s and 1’28.201s.

Thursday marks the end of the pre-season test for the Underbone 130cc, Asia Dream Cup and Suzuki Asian Challenge while the SuperSports 600cc and Asia Production 250cc will continue their test on Friday.

Day Two Results

SuperSports 600cc

1.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 1’05.424s 2.Zamri Baba (Honda) 1’05.600s 3.Makoto Inagaki (Yamaha) 1’05.628s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 1’05.920s 5.M.Fadli (Honda) 1’05.926s

Asia Production 250cc

1.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 1’16.834s 2.Sigit Purdno Harjono (Yamaha) 1’17.301s 3.Galang Hendra Pratama (Yamaha) 1’17.757s 4.Imanuel Putra Pratna (Yamaha) 1’18.260s 5.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 1’18.361s

Underbone 130cc

1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 1’21.624s 2.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 1’21.836s 3.Azhar Abdul Jalil (Yamaha) 1’22.144s 4.Sasitharen Sukumaran (Honda) 1’22.460s 5.Adib Rosley (Yamaha) 1’22.666s

Asia Dream Cup

1.Hiroki Nakamura (JPN) 1’20.952s 2.Ahmad Harith Farhan (MAS) 1’21.644s 3.Hafiz Nor Azman (MAS) 1’21.702s 4.Arsyad Rusydi (SIN) 1’21.795s 5.Koko Masaharu (PHI) 1’22.023s

Suzuki Asian Challenge

1.Patis Chooprathet (THA) 1’28.067s 2.Adhi Chandra (INA) 1’28.109s 3.Andreas Gunawan (INA) 1’28.201s 4.Jagan Kumar (IND) 1’28.339s 5. Zulhilmi Yazid (MAS) 1’29.380s

GILIRAN ITU CATAT MASA TERPANTAS UJIAN PRA MUSIM ARRC

Hari kedua sesi ujian pra-musim rasmi Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM (ARRC) menyaksikan giliran Yuki Ito pula mendahului pelumba-pelumba lain di dalam saingan SuperSports 600cc setelah mencatat masa terpantas 1’05.424s yang berlangsung di Litar Antarabangsa Sepang, hari ini.

Catatan pelumba PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha itu 0.176s lebih pantas berbanding catatan pelumba Malaysia, Mohd Zamri Baba dari pasukan Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing yang mencatat masa terbaik 1’05.600s. Sementara itu pencatat masa terpantas hari pertama, Makoto Inagaki (Akeno Speed Racing) kekal konsisten setelah berjaya mencatat masa ketiga terpantas, 1’05.628s.

“Walaupun aksi pada hari ini lebih baik berbanding semalam, namun ia masih jauh dari apa yang kami sasarkan. Kami meletakkan sasaran untuk mencatat masa sekitar 1’4 saat namun permukaan litar tidak begitu baik kerana banyak kesan daripada tayar sewaktu perlumbaan Formula 1 minggu lepas. Kebanyakan pelumba lain turut menghadapi masalah serupa,” jelas Ito. 

Tambah naib juara keseluruhan SuperSports 600cc musim 2014 itu, “Mudah-mudahan keadaan pada hari esok bertambah baik dan kami mahu mencapai apa yang kami sasarkan. Saya berharap cuaca juga baik kerana kami mahu mengumpul seberapa banyak data yang diperlukan sebelum kembali ke Jepun.”

Berada di kelompok lima pelumba terpantas pada hari ini ialah Tomoyoshi Koyama (T-Pro Yuzy Honda NTS), 1’05.920s dan M. Fadli (Astra Honda Racing Team), 1’05.926s.

Dalam saingan Asia Production 250cc (AP250), pelumba pasukan Trickstar Racing, sebuah pasukan cukup dikenali di Jepun,  Takehiro Yamamoto terus mendahului lain-lain pelumba apabila mencatat masa terpantas 1’16.834s hampir satu saat lebih pantas berbanding catatan 1’17.463s yang dicatatnya semalam.

Dua pelumba Yamaha Factory Racing Indonesia, Sigit Purdno Harjono dan galang Hendra Pratama mencatat masa kedua dan ketiga terpantas, masing-masing dengan catatan 1’17.301s dan 1’17.757s.

Saingan kelas Underbone 130cc pula menyaksikan juara bertahan dari Indonesia, Gupita Kresna (Manual Tech Rextor) mencatat masa terpantas 1’21.624s diikuti rakan senegara, Ferlando Herdian (BKMS Indonesia Racing Team) 1’21.836s dan pelumba Malaysia, Azhar Abdul Jalil (Y.Y. Pang Racing Team) ketiga, 1’22.144s.

Sementara itu, dalam saingan Asia Dream Cup (ADC), Hiroki Nakamura dari Jepun mencatat masa terpantas, 1’20.952s sambil diekori dua pelumba Malaysia, Ahmad Harith Farhan yang mencatat masa terbaik 1’21.644s dan Hafiz Nor Azman ketiga, 1’21.702s.

Saingan Cabaran Suzuki Asia (SAC), Patis Chooprathet dari Thailand muncul pelumba terpantas dengan masa 1’28.067s, Adhi Chandra (Indonesia) kedua, 1’28.109s dan Andreas Gunawan juga Indonesia ketiga, 1’28.201s.

Keputusan

SuperSports 600cc

1.Yuki Ito (Yamaha) 1’05.424s 2.Zamri Baba (Honda) 1’05.600s 3.Makoto Inagaki (Yamaha) 1’05.628s 4.Tomoyoshi Koyama (Honda) 1’05.920s 5.M.Fadli (Honda) 1’05.926s

Asia Production 250cc

1.Takehiro Yamamoto (Kawasaki) 1’16.834s 2.Sigit Purdno Harjono (Yamaha) 1’17.301s 3.Galang Hendra Pratama (Yamaha) 1’17.757s 4.Imanuel Putra Pratna (Yamaha) 1’18.260s 5.Amirul Ariff Musa (Honda) 1’18.361s

Underbone 130cc

1.Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki) 1’21.624s 2.Ferlando Herdian (Yamaha) 1’21.836s 3.Azhar Abdul Jalil (Yamaha) 1’22.144s 4.Sasitharen Sukumaran (Honda) 1’22.460s 5.Adib Rosley (Yamaha) 1’22.666s

Asia Dream Cup

1.Hiroki Nakamura (JPN) 1’20.952s 2.Ahmad Harith Farhan (MAS) 1’21.644s 3.Hafiz Nor Azman (MAS) 1’21.702s 4.Arsyad Rusydi (SIN) 1’21.795s 5.Koko Masaharu (PHI) 1’22.023s

Suzuki Asian Challenge

1.Patis Chooprathet (THA) 1’28.067s 2.Adhi Chandra (INA) 1’28.109s 3.Andreas Gunawan (INA) 1’28.201s 4.Jagan Kumar (IND) 1’28.339s 5. Zulhilmi Yazid (MAS) 1’29.380s

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