Poor outing for our riders in Race 2 at ARRC meet in Suzuka

PETALING JAYA: It was a bad day at the office for Malaysian riders as none made the podium in Race 2 of the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).

Race 1 winner Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (pic) managed only a fifth-place finish with a time of 22:22.477 when his bike could not cope with the soaring track temperature in the SuperSports 600cc at the Suzuka track.

Australian Anthony West won the race in 22:22.002 yesterday.

Thai rookie Keminth Kubo celebrated his first ARRC podium in second place clocking 22:22.379 while Azlan’s Indonesian teammate Ahmad Yudhistira was third with 22:22.408.

Despite the poor outing, the 33-year-old Azlan has done enough in Suzuka to move up the championship ladder as the Kawasaki rider is now second with 74 points.

“I did my best, but I was just unable to get the same response from the bike as I did in Race 1. Race 2 ran under much hotter temperatures than the previous day and it caused my engine to lose power,” explained Azlan.

Team CKJ Yamaha Racing’s Ahmad Afif Amran was the best Malaysian performer in the Asia Production 250cc category as he crossed the finish line in fourth place with 20:02.642, missing out on a podium by half a second.

The unstoppable Rheza Danica Ahrens picked up his fourth consecutive win of the season with 19:53.378. Mario Suryo Aji also clinched his fifth podium of the year, coming home second with 20: 02.030. Kawasaki’s Andy Muhammad Fadly was third clocking 20:02.228.