The local riders were the pace setter on the first day of the ARRC Official Tyre Tests as eight riders set about laying down some rubber in preparation for the 2019 launch of the ASB1000 class (Superbike).
Anupab Sarmoon holds the Stk1000 lap record at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit – a time of 1’35.3 – which is also the target time set by Dunlop for the first day of tests.
The weather had been ideal for the test and most of the riders, especially those from teams with existing race data at the Chang International Circuit, had been able to get on pace quickly. It came as no surprise that the Thai riders were the quickest group on the first day.
Anupab astride the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team’s R1 was consistently the fastest rider of the day but Thitipong Warokorn came closest to hitting the target time when he clocked 1’36.167s on Practice 4. Anupab logged the second fastest time of the day, 1’36.391s followed by Thitipong’s Kawasaki team mate, Chaiwichit Nisakul with 1’36.460s.
Young Indonesian rider Andi Farid Izdihar, filling in for an injured Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi, gave good account for himself. With a bike that is fresh out of the box, Andi had to complete the hard work of running in the engine before he could put in any laptimes. Regardless, Andi was able to get the Honda Asia Dream Racing bike home in fourth fastest with 1’36.703s.
Malaysian seasoned campaigner Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman clocked in for his first day of work with his new team, ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team. Now racing on a BMW, Azlan was the fifth quickest rider of the day with 1’37.060s.
Newly crowned SuperSports 600cc rider Ratthapong Wilairot was sixth fastest (1’37.498s). Glenn Allerton from Next Gen Motorsports and Access Plus Ducati Philippines’ TJ Alberto rounded up the day’s practice with 1’37.543s and 1’37.749s respectively.
For full results: http://hostgua.com/asiaroadracing.com//results-2018/#tyretest