barrygrussell
Senior Member
Ticket prices waived for the ARRC Season opener
In an initiative to draw crowds to the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) opening round at Sepang this coming weekend, the promoter is waiving ticket prices for spectators and car parking. If it works as well as the reduction in prices at Estoril’s MotoGP round last week, where crowd numbers doubled to almost 50,000, the circuit owners will be more than please with the results.
The ARRC has grown progressively in recent years to become the region’s main proving ground for racers with the potential to reach the world stage. One of the sensations of this year’s MotoGP Moto3 championship, Malaysia’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin, 21, is a graduate of ARRC’s Underbone series. His fellow countryman, Hafiz Syharin, 18, moved into the ultra-competitive Supersport 600 championship in 2011, building up his results through the year and winning the final race in Qatar. After being pursued for his signature by a top MotoGP Moto2 team for 2012, he is riding for Petronas Raceline Malaysia in the prestigious CEV Buckler Moto2 championship (Spain’s famous MotoGP world champion ‘production line’), running in the leading group during the first two rounds. It is surely only a matter of time and money before Hafiz steps onto the Moto2 world stage.
There is a rich mixture of established international stars and hungry young racers in ARRC Supersport 600. Of the seniors, last year’s champion, Katsuake Fujiwara put down a marker in testing that he will be the man to beat again in 2012 on his Manual-Tech BEET Kawasaki, while three times British Superbike Champion Ryuichi Kiyonari will be spearheading MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda’s stated “All-Kill” assault on all three ARRC classes. The likeable ‘Kiyo’, now 30, will need time to adjust his riding style after a decade on 1000cc superbikes, but there is no doubt that his presence in the championship will set a new internationally recognized benchmark for the series. His three Supersport teammates include last year’s championship runner-up Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.
Thailand’s AP Honda brings two young guns to the series, with ‘Tingnote’ Thitipong Warakorn, 23, and Ratthapong Wilairot, 19. Tingnote was Thailand’s Superbike champion in 2010 and runner-up in 2011 after injury and mechanical failure foiled his chances of retaining the title. However, he has been in a class of his own in his home country, so moving into ARRC Supersport is a shrewd career move for him. Ratthapong will be the third Wilairot to have competed in the series, after his late father, Christmas and Gresini MotoGP Moto2 rider, Ratthapark. Having finished second in the 2010 Malaysian Super Series, Ratthapong knows Sepang well and is regarded by many insiders as being equally as talented as his older brother, but more aggressive.
Malaysia’s Petronas Yamaha will be looking for glory after finishing third and fourth in last year’s championship and after sending Hafiz to Europe. They retain Zamri Baba for 2012, who scored five podium finishes on his way to third in last year’s championship and bring in three new riders.
Three out of four Indonesians will be on Yamahas in this year’s Supersport line-up. The popular Doni Tata Pradita is not on the list, but the three new riders include the highly rated underbone star, Sudarmono. The fourth Indonesian racer is Fujiwara’s Kawasaki teammate, Fadli Imannuddin.
Suzuki Pilipinas field the only Suzuki in the 600cc category, for Tadahito ‘Dashi’ Watanabe, who has a Filipina mother and Japanese father. Yoshimura will be on the tools and providing a useful skills transfer for the team’s Filipino mechanics.
Notable absentees from the opening round will be Yamaha Thailand’s dynamic duo of Decha Kraisart and Chalermpol Polamai, who already have three Supersport 600 titles between them and the proven ability to run consistently with and get the better of Fujiwara. The team has decided to follow up its one-two triumph in round one of the All Japan Supersport Championship, by competing in the second round, which clashes with ARRC’s season opener.
As the Blue Riband class in the ARRC series, Supersport 600 has two races at each event. However, two support series can be expected to provide thrilling racing and a cost-effective academy for Asia’s elite junior riders.
The Underbone class is long established, but the large gap between this and the 600s is filled for the first time this year by the Asia Dream Cup, a Honda one-make championship for the CBR 250. The series was effectively pioneered last year by Thailand’s FMSCT and AP Honda in the form of its Moto3 Production class, the rules for which emulate MotoGP Moto3 regulations, but with modifications limited to homologated production components to control costs. The series provided the most exciting racing seen in Thailand in 2011 and AP Honda are fielding two of their young stars in the Asia Dream Cup, including 18 year-old ‘Stamp’ Apiwat Wongthananon, who is also the 2011 Thailand Superbike Champion.
Fans wishing to follow the series can watch it live on TV in most participating countries - Thailand is currently an exception - and can also track the action through live timing on http://www.asiaroadracing.com/. Races are also uploaded to http://www.youtube.com/user/AsiaRoadRacing after each event.
Asia Road Racing Championship 2012 Calendar
Round 1 ~ MALAYSIA ~ May 11 to 13
Round 2 ~ INDONESIA ~ June 13 to 17
Round 3 ~ CHINA ~ August 2 to 5
Round 4 ~ JAPAN ~ September 7 to 9
Round 5 ~ TAIWAN ~ October 11 to 14
Round 6 ~ QATAR ~ November 21 to 24
In an initiative to draw crowds to the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) opening round at Sepang this coming weekend, the promoter is waiving ticket prices for spectators and car parking. If it works as well as the reduction in prices at Estoril’s MotoGP round last week, where crowd numbers doubled to almost 50,000, the circuit owners will be more than please with the results.
The ARRC has grown progressively in recent years to become the region’s main proving ground for racers with the potential to reach the world stage. One of the sensations of this year’s MotoGP Moto3 championship, Malaysia’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin, 21, is a graduate of ARRC’s Underbone series. His fellow countryman, Hafiz Syharin, 18, moved into the ultra-competitive Supersport 600 championship in 2011, building up his results through the year and winning the final race in Qatar. After being pursued for his signature by a top MotoGP Moto2 team for 2012, he is riding for Petronas Raceline Malaysia in the prestigious CEV Buckler Moto2 championship (Spain’s famous MotoGP world champion ‘production line’), running in the leading group during the first two rounds. It is surely only a matter of time and money before Hafiz steps onto the Moto2 world stage.
There is a rich mixture of established international stars and hungry young racers in ARRC Supersport 600. Of the seniors, last year’s champion, Katsuake Fujiwara put down a marker in testing that he will be the man to beat again in 2012 on his Manual-Tech BEET Kawasaki, while three times British Superbike Champion Ryuichi Kiyonari will be spearheading MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda’s stated “All-Kill” assault on all three ARRC classes. The likeable ‘Kiyo’, now 30, will need time to adjust his riding style after a decade on 1000cc superbikes, but there is no doubt that his presence in the championship will set a new internationally recognized benchmark for the series. His three Supersport teammates include last year’s championship runner-up Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.
Thailand’s AP Honda brings two young guns to the series, with ‘Tingnote’ Thitipong Warakorn, 23, and Ratthapong Wilairot, 19. Tingnote was Thailand’s Superbike champion in 2010 and runner-up in 2011 after injury and mechanical failure foiled his chances of retaining the title. However, he has been in a class of his own in his home country, so moving into ARRC Supersport is a shrewd career move for him. Ratthapong will be the third Wilairot to have competed in the series, after his late father, Christmas and Gresini MotoGP Moto2 rider, Ratthapark. Having finished second in the 2010 Malaysian Super Series, Ratthapong knows Sepang well and is regarded by many insiders as being equally as talented as his older brother, but more aggressive.
Malaysia’s Petronas Yamaha will be looking for glory after finishing third and fourth in last year’s championship and after sending Hafiz to Europe. They retain Zamri Baba for 2012, who scored five podium finishes on his way to third in last year’s championship and bring in three new riders.
Three out of four Indonesians will be on Yamahas in this year’s Supersport line-up. The popular Doni Tata Pradita is not on the list, but the three new riders include the highly rated underbone star, Sudarmono. The fourth Indonesian racer is Fujiwara’s Kawasaki teammate, Fadli Imannuddin.
Suzuki Pilipinas field the only Suzuki in the 600cc category, for Tadahito ‘Dashi’ Watanabe, who has a Filipina mother and Japanese father. Yoshimura will be on the tools and providing a useful skills transfer for the team’s Filipino mechanics.
Notable absentees from the opening round will be Yamaha Thailand’s dynamic duo of Decha Kraisart and Chalermpol Polamai, who already have three Supersport 600 titles between them and the proven ability to run consistently with and get the better of Fujiwara. The team has decided to follow up its one-two triumph in round one of the All Japan Supersport Championship, by competing in the second round, which clashes with ARRC’s season opener.
As the Blue Riband class in the ARRC series, Supersport 600 has two races at each event. However, two support series can be expected to provide thrilling racing and a cost-effective academy for Asia’s elite junior riders.
The Underbone class is long established, but the large gap between this and the 600s is filled for the first time this year by the Asia Dream Cup, a Honda one-make championship for the CBR 250. The series was effectively pioneered last year by Thailand’s FMSCT and AP Honda in the form of its Moto3 Production class, the rules for which emulate MotoGP Moto3 regulations, but with modifications limited to homologated production components to control costs. The series provided the most exciting racing seen in Thailand in 2011 and AP Honda are fielding two of their young stars in the Asia Dream Cup, including 18 year-old ‘Stamp’ Apiwat Wongthananon, who is also the 2011 Thailand Superbike Champion.
Fans wishing to follow the series can watch it live on TV in most participating countries - Thailand is currently an exception - and can also track the action through live timing on http://www.asiaroadracing.com/. Races are also uploaded to http://www.youtube.com/user/AsiaRoadRacing after each event.
Asia Road Racing Championship 2012 Calendar
Round 1 ~ MALAYSIA ~ May 11 to 13
Round 2 ~ INDONESIA ~ June 13 to 17
Round 3 ~ CHINA ~ August 2 to 5
Round 4 ~ JAPAN ~ September 7 to 9
Round 5 ~ TAIWAN ~ October 11 to 14
Round 6 ~ QATAR ~ November 21 to 24
