On 10-11 September, PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) SuperSports 600cc at the Autopolis International Racing Course, Japan.
Azlan Shah (Boon Siew Honda Racing) was 2nd podium and Hafizh Syahrin was 3rd podium at the race 1 on 10 Sep(Sat), 
Nobuyuki Osaki (Petronas Yamaha) was 2nd podium and Hafizh Syahrin was 3rd podium again! at the race 2 on 11 Sep(Sun).

Race 1 -

The race was far from easy for the 30 year old. Having qualified for seventh grid, Decha could only leap to third behind Nobuyuki Osaki (PETRONAS Yamaha Malaysia), poleman Katsuaki Fujiwara (Manual Tech BEET Kawasaki Racing) and wildcard Yuki Ito (Dog Fight Racing Yamaha) when the lights went off.

But three laps into the race Osaki crashed at the final turn leaving Fujiwara who was second to take lead. Unfortunately, technical complications took a toll on the Championship leader's pace and from there Decha assumed control and held the lead to the finish line.

Decha completed the 12 lap race with total time 23:32.585s, 1.419s faster than Malaysian, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Boon Siew Honda Racing Malaysia) in second place with 23:34.004 followed by rookie, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha Raceline) with 23:37.428s.

"I am very happy to win here. The last time I raced here I crashed and injured myself. The feeling is great to be back on top," said Decha who was forced to sit out Round 2 in Indonesia after crashing here in Autopolis while participating in the MFJ All Japan Championship.

Decha went on to evaluate the race and commented, "It was a very hard race because I had to start from third row. This was mainly due to my poor performance during the practice and qualifying where I could not set fast lap times because of engine problems. So what I did was focus on a good start. I knew with a good start, I have a bright chance of getting on the podium. I'm very grateful everything went accordingly," he added.

When asked about his targets for Race 2, Decha hopes for another good run now that he is feeling more confident.

"Winning today brings back my confidence racing here. Hopefully I can win Sunday's race," said Decha.

Meanwhile, Azlan's target to finish on the podium was achieved. He said, "It was a tough and challenging race for me but on the other hand, I had a lot of fun too. I hope to keep up the good run for tomorrow's race and hopefully be will able to collect more points to bridge the gap between Fujiwara and me."

Hafizh who was extremely happy to make his mark on the podium commented, "It has always been my dream to get on the podium since I started racing in the SuperSports 600cc category. This is a dream come true for me. Furthermore the race was very challenging with many fast riders so getting on the podium makes it all the sweeter," said the 17 year old.

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Race 2 -

The race took off with wildcard, Mitsunori Okamura (RSG PHOEBE & DREAM Kitakyushu) stealing the lead trailed closely by Nobuyuki Osaki (PETRONAS Yamaha Malaysia),
Fujiwara and Decha Kraisat (Yamaha Thailand Racing).

But three laps into the race Okamura lost his position to Osaki and he gradually dropped down as each lap passed.
It was in the same lap, Saturday's winner, Decha retired following technical complications.

Osaki went on to lead in the next three laps but soon fell victim to Fujiwara's eager determination half way through the race.
There onwards the latter held his line strong denying his compatriot even the slightest opportunity to overtake eventually completing the 12-lap race with total time 23:34.830s while Osaki came second with 23:34.839s.

Complimenting his fifth win for the season, the 37 year old Fujiwara replaced the new race lap record with 1:56.206s in Race 1 yesterday while Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah continued to impress with another podium finish, third with 23:35.533s. This will be his second podium finish since the young Malaysian started his career in the highly-competitive SuperSports 600cc last season.

Read more ...
http://www.arrc.com.my/indexnews.php

Issued by Global PR Sdn Bhd
Copyright to Two Wheels Motor Racing Sdn Bhd