SEPANG, May 30 – After a year, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) returns to shake the Petronas International Circuit in Sepang today.
The action of Round 2 Asia’s premier motorcycle championship kicked off today, with all riders beginning free practice sessions as preparation for Race 1 tomorrow and Race 2 on Sunday.
The 2025 season of this championship, promoted and organized by Two Wheels Motor Racing (TWMR), started with Round 1 at Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand, from April 25-27.
In Round 1, the national riders delivered impressive performances, notably achieving podium finishes through sensational rider Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi (Idemitsu Honda Racing Malaysia), who finished second in Race 1 in the ASB1000 class with fellow countryman Hafiz Syahrin Abdullah (JDT Racing Team) finishing third.
Zaqhwan maintained his consistency in Race 2 to continue to be on the podium, securing second overall in the rider category with 40 points. The overall standings in the ASB1000 class are led by Thailand’s Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda Racing Team Thailand) with 50 points following wins in both races.
Also showing outstanding performance in Round 1 was Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (Hong Leong Yamaha Racing), who emerged as the winner of Race 2 in the SS600 category despite failing to finish Race 1 the day before.
In the AP250 class, the competition was dominated by riders from Indonesia and Vietnam, while the Malaysian riders have yet to show their full potential.
The top contenders for Malaysia in the UB150 class are Ahmad Afif Amran and Md Akid Aziz (Pitsbike Superfast JRT Racing Team), but both are still not at their best pace from Round 1.
Will the Malaysian riders rise for Round 2 this week after their less convincing performance in Buriram two months ago?
What certain is that they never disappoint when racing on their home turf, especially with strong local fan support as shown in previous seasons.
However, success still depends on the performance of their bikes. If the machines are set up optimally and suit the riders’ riding styles, victory is definitely within reach.
Today’s opening session for Round 2 featured free practice and the Malaysian riders seemed to already send an early warning to their competitors, especially riders from Thailand and Indonesia who dominated Round 1.
Although just a warm-up session, the Malaysian riders performances demonstrated that they are ready to conquer the Petronas International Circuit Sepang this week.
In the ASB1000 class practice session today, Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Idemitsu Honda Racing Malaysia) stood out as the fastest rider with a lap time of 2:05.882 seconds.
The winner of Round 1 in Buriram, Nakarin finished the session as the second-fastest rider while Zaqhwan completed the top three with the third-fastest time.
In the SS600 class, three Malaysian riders performed well with Muhammad Helmi Azman (Idemitsu Honda Racing Malaysia) the fastest at 2:10.204 seconds followed by Kasma Daniel (Hong Leong Yamaha Racing) in second at 2:10.435 seconds per lap.
Another rider from Idemitsu Honda Racing Malaysia, Khairul Idham Pawi who made Malaysia proud at the 2016 Moto3 Argentina GP, finished today’s session in third place with a time of 2:10.574 seconds.
As expected, the practice sessions for the AP250 class continued to showcase dominance from Indonesian riders with Mohammad Murobbil Vitoni (Yamaha LFN HP969 Indonesia Racing Team) fastest at 2:23.346 seconds ahead of Malaysia’s Muhammad Irfan Amidi (Maetro NWN SCK Racing Team) who recorded 2:23.397 seconds.
The hope is that Irfan can maintain this excellent performance in his quest to break through to the podium.
In the UB150 class, Indonesia continued to dominate the top two spots in today’s second free practice session. However, Malaysian rider Ahmad Afif Amran was seen as the strongest contender after recording the fastest combined practice time.
Tomorrow’s action begins with qualifying sessions followed by Race 1 in the afternoon. Spectators can look forward to intense battles as riders chase their dreams of reaching the podium.
Besides the exciting on-track action in Round 2, visitors will also have the chance to participate in the ARRC Happy Bag lucky draw with a purchase of the bag priced at RM65. The bag worth over RM150 will be available at the Happy Bag booth at the championship promotion site starting tomorrow and Sunday.
Each bag contains a limited-edition T-shirt, Idemitsu IRG7 motor oil, Ranger energy drinks and a lucky draw coupon.
The grand prizes for this ARRC Happy Bag lucky draw are two motorcycles – a Honda RS-X and a Yamaha Y15ZR.
Besides the Happy Bag sales, visitors can also purchase various products such as T-shirts, caps and more at affordable prices.
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