Tag Archives: 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship

Broc Parkes extends ASB 1000 lead in China | ARRC Round 5

Asia Road Racing Championship 2019

Round 5 – Zhuhai International Circuit, China

With Barry Russell

Broc Parkes extends ASB 1000

Broc Parkes had another successful weekend on Asia Superbike duty for Yamaha Racing ASEAN at a baking hot Zhuhai International Circuit, situated just across the Chinese border with Macao.

The endurance racing exponent built on the 27-point lead he took into ARRC round five with a fourth place and a win, to leave with a 35 point lead over Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa’s Zaqhwan Zaidi. From 10 starts in the series, Broc has finished every race, notching up three wins, four podiums, two fourths and a fifth. Championship winning form, indeed.

ARRC Round China ARRC Zhuhai Ambient
Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

There was one other high profile Australian on the entry list at Zhuhai. Mark Aitchison, who lives in China and competes in the national superbike series, was one of six wildcards to join ARRC’s premier class this season. Other noteables included Lee Zheng Peng and Canadian street racer, Dan Kruger.

In a region sometimes referred to as China’s Gold Coast because of its immaculate beaches, parks and modern, luxury accommodation, Zhuhai’s summer weather was hotter than usual due to a passing typhoon.

ARRC Round China Li Zheng Peng ARRC Zhuhai
Lee Zheng Peng – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Teams and officials arriving from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore were all shocked by the intense, dry heat they had to contend with for all three days of competition, despite early forecasts of rain.

The 2019 championship has widely been viewed as a contest between the consistency of Parkes and the mercurial brilliance of Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, who began round five in second position in the standings, but the story ran much deeper than that.

ARRC Round China ARRC Zhuhai Ambient
Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Zhuhai International Circuit, with its long straights and tight corners is a fairly simple, stop-go track with plenty of mechanical and physical challenges. It’s 4.3 kilometres long and runs clockwise with nine right and five left turns.

ARRC Round China Azlan Shah ARRC Grid Zhuhai
Azlan Shah – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Free Practice

It had been seven years since ARRC had visited Zhuhai, so track knowledge was effectively neutralised. Broc and Zaqhwan were the first and fastest to acclimatize. Zaqhwan won the game of cat and mouse between the two in each of the three sessions, posting a best time of 1:34.482 in FP2 to Broc’s 1:32.530.

ARRC Round China Broc Parkes ARRC FP Crash
Broc Parkes’s crash in FP – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Broc’s indomitable team-mate, Yuki Ito, was third on combined times, just nine thousandths slower than the Australian.  Azlan was fourth fastest, though more than half-a-second adrift of Yuki and Li Zheng Peng was fifth from Thitipong Warakorn, who was appearing for the first time since round one following a near career ending crash back in March when he crashed as a WSBK wildcard and was run over by Leon Camier.

ARRC Round China Thitipong Warakorn Comeback ARRC
Thitipong Warakorn made his comeback in China – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Qualifying

Broc managed to turn the tables on Zaqhwan in Saturday morning’s 40 minute qualifying session. On his last flying lap he became the only rider to dip under 1:34, stopping the clock at 1:34.994, 0.037s quicker than Zaqhwan. Azlan lopped almost a second off his best free practice time, to put himself into the frame with a 1:34.258.

ARRC Round China Zaqhwan Zaidi Yuki Ito Thitipong Warakorn ARRC
Zaqhwan Zaidi and Yuki Ito – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Yuki led row two from Thitipong and Yamaha Thailand’s Apiwat Wongthananon. The third row was Ratthapong Wilairot, Mark Aitchisonon the YSS China Yamaha and Kawasaki Thailand’s Chaiwichit Nisakul.

Race One

Broc wasted his pole position, letting Zaqhwan take the lead and getting passed by Yuki Ito, Thitipong  Azlan and Apiwat.

ARRC Round China Zaqhwan Zaidi ARRC Zhuhai
Zaqhwan Zaidi – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Yuki stuck close to the leader in the early laps, but found himself increasingly under pressure from Thitipong Warakorn, who looked as strong as ever on his comeback, and Azlan, who low-sided out of proceedings on lap seven at turn seven. Just behind them, Parkes kept the pressure on Apiwat before moving through to fourth and tried to catch the front three.

ARRC Round China Thitipong Warakorn ARRC Zhuhai
Thitipong Warakorn – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Zaqhwan fast and inch-perfect at the front, stretched his advantage to around a second by mid-distance as Yuki and Thitipong tussled over second. Another sequence of quick laps saw Zaqhwan open up the gap to 1.7 seconds.

ARRC Round China ASB Race Podium
ASB1000 Race 1 podium – 1) Zaqhwan Zaidi 2) Yuki Ito, 3) Thitipong Warokorn – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Parkes, struggling with front brake and rear grip problems, kept the three riders in front of him in his sights and got clear of Apiwat, but was unable to get close enough to pass Thitipong and settled for fourth, 2.35 seconds behind the winner.

ARRC Round China Zaqhwan Zaidi Makoto Tamada Parc Ferme ARRC
Zaqhwan Zaidi – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Azlan’s mistake let Zaqhwan through to second in the standings, 23 points behind Broc, whose total moved up to 166. Azlan stayed third, while Yuki moved up one place to fourth.

ARRC Round China Thitipong Warakorn Zaqhwan Zaidi Parc Ferme
Zaqhwan Zaidi and Thitipong Warakorn – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Race Two

While air and track temperatures continued to scorch machines and riders on Sunday, there was a very different look to ASB 1000 race two. Broc, who had been out of sorts on Saturday, got his Yamaha Racing ASEAN R1 hooked up perfectly for race two to take a relatively comfortable win.

ARRC Round China Broc Parkes ARRC Zhuhai
Broc Parkes – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Zaqhwan meanwhile, who had been peerless in race one, had a real fight on his hands, as Azlan also turned things around after the previous day’s DNF. Yuki Ito followed up his race one P2 with third place after edging Zaqhwan off the podium and Thitipong continued his recovery from injury by finishing fifth, just 2.9 seconds behind the winner.

Zaqhwan got off to a good start, as did Azlan, who looked confident on the ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW. He harrassed the Honda Asia Dream Racing by Showa rider while keeping Broc, Thitipong, Yuki and Apiwat at bay behind him. Apiwat’s challenge ended on lap three when a fading front brake forced his retirement. Yuki passed Thitipong for fourth and Broc passed Azlan for second.

ARRC Round China Zaqhwan Zaidi ARRC Zhuhai
Zaqhwan Zaidi – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Broc took the lead on lap five and did what he does best, putting a series of fast, consistent laps together to open a gap of more than a second at the front. Zaqhwan and Azlan grappled for second behind him, shadowed by Yuki and Thitipong.

A forced error by Zaqhwan let Azlan through to second and Yuki through to third. He fought back, briefly recovering to second before running wide again to let Azlan and Yuki through again.

ARRC Round China Azlan Shah ARRC Zhuhai Wheelie
Azlan Shah – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

Having open up a lead of 2.5 seconds, Parkes eased up on the last two laps to take the chequered flag by 1.4 seconds from Azlan. A further one second back, Yuki held off Zaqhwan for third and Thitipong followed closely into fifth. Nine seconds behind the Thai Kawasaki, Mark Aitchison was the first of the wildcards home in sixth in front of Ahmad Yudhistira and Ratthapong Wilairot. Kawasaki Thailand’s Chaiwichit Nisakul was ninth and Li Zheng Peng completed the top ten.

ARRC Round China Yuki Ito ARRC Zhuhai
Yuki Ito – Zhuhai International Circuit – 2019 ARRC Round 5

It was a good weekend’s work for Broc, finishing fourth when he had problems in race one and taking his third win of the season when everything came together. His tally at the top of the standings is now 188, 35 clear of Zaqhwan and 45 from Azlan. Yuki is now in a solid fourth position with 131 points.

Source: MCNews.com.au

Broc Parkes victorious at Suzuka | ARRC Round 4

Asia Road Racing Championship 2019

Round 4 – Suzuka Circuit

By Barry Russell & Nathan Russell

Of the 100 riders competing at Suzuka this year in the Asia Road Racing Championship, 17 were wildcards, from young Japanese riders looking for international experience to tough veterans of the All Japan series intending to teach the regular stars a lesson or two.

ARRC Rnd Japan Wet pits
Wet conditions added a further challenge -Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Broc Parkes of Yamaha Racing ASEAN arrived at Suzuka leading the ASB 1000 Championship after retaining his position with second and fourth place finishes at Chang International in Round 3. Behind the Australian, Azlan Shah Kamuruzaman of ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team was heading to Japan on a wave of momentum after his double win at Buriram.

ARRC Rnd Japan Broc Parkes Grid ARRC Suzuka
Broc Parkes on the grid

Bryan Staring made his third appearance for Kawasaki Thailand, once again replacing the injured Thitipong Warakorn. Staring placed seventh in both ASB 1000 races in the previous round.

14-year-old Travis Hall was returning to Suzuka for his second year in the Underbone 150 class, riding a Hi Rev SCK Honda Racing Team machine.

The premier ASB 1000 class was making its first appearance at the legendary Japanese track, having been announced there just one year ago.

ARRC Rnd Japan wet weather
Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

The full motorcycle circuit is 5.8 kilometres long, with 18 bends for the riders to manoeuvre. Suzuka has one of the most notable elevation changes in motorsport, with the highest point being at the infamous Spoon Curve, and the lowest 40 metres under it at turn 2, following the 900 metre, downhill straight. Uneasy weather looked set to play a part over the weekend, with rain forecast for all three days of racing.


Asia Superbike 1000

Broc Parkes’s experience and endurance racing credentials made this the closest thing to a home race for him in the ARRC calendar. With the far less familiar Zuhai, Sepang and Chang International circuits coming up for the last three rounds, Yamaha Racing ASEAN were aiming for nothing less than a double to set up his title run for the second half of the season.

By contrast, ASBK championship leader, Bryan Staring, was making his racing debut at the Suzuka Circuit, and therefore leaning on the advantage of superbike experience he held over most of the field.

ARRC Rnd Japan P Bryan Staring ARRC Suzuka
Bryan Staring – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Parkes’s main title rival, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, arrived at Suzuka with plenty of track time too in the 8 Hours and holding the Supersport qualifying lap record, which he set in 2018.

Despite forecasts of rain and an overnight typhoon on Thursday, threatening clouds made way for blue skies on Friday, leaving a dry track and a sense of relief with teams and riders.

Honda Asia Dream Racing’s Zaqhwan Zaidi posted a strong 2:09.874 in free practice two to record the fastest time of the day, pipping Apiwath Wongthananon of Yamaha Thailand who stopped the clock at 2:09.893, and Yamaha ASEAN’s Yuki Ito who was less than a tenth further back.

ARRC Rnd Japan P Azlan Shah ARRC Suzuka
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Zaqhwan used track experience and skill to post the fastest time despite a heavy tumble in the third practice session, escaping unscathed. Similarly, Ito also crashed heavily in second practice but without injury.

Championship frontrunner Broc Parkes of Yamaha ASEAN placed fifth with a steady ride, under half a second off pacesetter Zaidi. Azlan Shah fared less well, placing seventh with a fastest lap time of 2:10.849 set in the third session of practice.

Kawasaki Thailand stand-in Bryan Staring ultimately finished twelfth, after wrecking his Kawasaki in FP1 and having to sit out FP2. Koji Teramoto of Teramoto@J-Trip was the best of the wildcards, recording the sixth fastest lap of the day in 2:10.84, under a second behind Zaidi.

ARRC Rnd Japan P Zaqwan Zaidi ARRC Suzuka
Zaqwan Zaidi – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Suzuka, as ever, had her say in free practice, claiming 28 fallers, the worst of which belonged to Yuki Ito, who broke an ankle and skinned his left little finger. However, Yuki’s well-tested lionhearted nature ruled out any suggestion him going home early. While podiums seemed unlikely, he resolved to ride for as many points as possible.

Despite continuing rain forecasts, qualifying on Saturday also went ahead on a dry track.

Zaqhwan continued his imperious run through to securing pole, improving his practice time by a hundredth of a second, relegating Yamaha Thailand teammates Ratthapong Wilairot and Apiwath Wongthananon to second and third.

Broc Parkes grabbed fourth spot, having been unable to better his practice time after losing much of the session due to a nasty crash on the spoon curve. The incident also caused plenty of damage to his Yamaha, placing his spot on the starting grid in jeopardy. His rival Azlan placed fifth, three hundredths of a second down.

Asia Superbike Race 1

The Suzuka veteran Broc Parkes claimed victory in his first race of the weekend, but he had to dig deep and use every morsel of his track knowledge to earn it following some mechanical issues.

ARRC Rnd Japan Azlan Shah Zaqhwan Zaidi ARRC Suzuka
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Broc Parkes was quick out the blocks, quickly overtaking Apiwath Wongthananon and Azlan Shah Kamarusaman and slotting in nicely to second place behind poleman Zaqhwan Zaidi, as Ratthapong Wilairot fell backwards through the field, uncomfortable on a new Dunlop medium compound rolled out for Suzuka.

As pressure on Parkes mounted on lap three, he seemed to find a false neutral under braking the Spoon corner, causing him to run wide and dropping back behind Apiwat and Azlan. Suzuka debutant Bryan Staring overcame a difficult start to the weekend to carve through to forth in the opening scramble. Staring slipped down into fifth shortly after, succumbing to a determined Broc Parkes.

ARRC Rnd Japan ASB whole pack
Asia Superbikes – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Zaqhwan dropped back following a mistake of his own, yielding first place to Azlan and second and third to Apiwat and Parkes. Broc Parkes moved into second as Azlan’s BMW struggled with his soft compound tyre choice, and then into the lead with a blistering drive around the outside onto the start-finish straight.

Meanwhile, there was an ongoing battle behind the top three for fifth place between Kawasaki Thailand’s Bryan Staring and Yuki Ito.

After momentarily regaining the lead Azlan was swiftly passed by Broc, who rode two fast laps to create an impregnable three second lead.

ARRC Rnd Japan Broc Parkes Win ARRC Suzuka
Broc Parkes celebrates the win – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

In the meantime, Zaqhwan recovered from his losses to take second place from Azlan, and wrestle Apiwat off the podium. Bryan Staring claimed fifth place from a threatening Yuki Ito, whilst Ratthapong trailed a further eight seconds back in seventh place in front of the weekend’s best Superbike wildcard, Belgian Bastien Mackels.

Broc further entrenched his lead with this win to 130 points, 17 in front of his nearest rival Azlan, who held on to second place over Zaqhwan.

ARRC Rnd Japan Broc Parkes Zaqhwan Zaidi Azlan Shah ARRC Suzuka
Broc Parkes topped the Race 1 podium – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Asia Superbike Race 2

Despite an eventful afternoon interrupted by torrential rain, wildcard Shinichi Nakatomi of HiTMAN RC-KOUSHIEN Yamaha took a brilliantly judged win on a wet track in the second ASB 1000 race of the weekend.

ARRC Rnd Japan Broc Parkes Bryan Staring ARRC Suzuka
Broc Parkes – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

Sitting on pole position was Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia Dream Racing, who got off to a solid start, but was soon passed by Yamaha Thailand’s Ratthapong Wilairot, followed by Nakatomi, who astonishingly shot up the standing after starting ninth on the grid, championship leader Broc Parkes, and the injured, but not broken Yuki Ito. Azlan Shah slipped to eighth despite a fifth place start. Yamaha Thailand’s Apiwat who also fell down the places after a weak start.

Ratthapong gripped on to the lead until lap three, when Nakatomi stormed through, spraying water from the damp track as he went. The courageous Yuki Ito claimed second place from Ratthapong, who slipped back to fourth.

ARRC Rnd Japan Yuki Ito Shinichi Nakatomi Ratthapong Wilairot
Yuki Ito leads Shinichi Nakatomi and Ratthapong Wilairot – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

At mid distance Broc Parkes sat in fourth place, with a sizeable gap between himself and Ratthapong in third, but progressively wound him in and claimed the third spot. At the front of the race meanwhile, Nakatomi was fleetingly passed by Ito, before regaining his place and heading away through the spray to victory.

With two laps remaining, Broc began closing in on his teammate, the second placed Ito. On the last lap he got a good drive out of Spoon and carried past Ito.

ARRC Rnd Japan Broc Parkes ARRC Suzuka
Broc Parkes – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

While remaining close, Ito had to settle for second. Ratthapong ultimately finished fourth, five seconds behind the podium finishers, with a similar gap between himself and the fifth place Zaqhwan Zaidi. Azlan found his way past Apiwat and Victor Racing’s Ahmad Yudhistira to claim sixth. Apiwat placed eighth, winning a battle for the place with Victor Racing’s Kazuma Tsuda and Chaiwichit Nisakul and Bryan Staring of Kawasaki Thailand.

Broc Parkes had played his home advantage well, gaining 45 points, and extending his points total to 150, 27 clear of his nearest rival, Azlan who came away with 26.

ARRC Rnd Japan Shinichi Nakatomi Broc Parkes Yuki Ito ARRC Suzuka
Broc Parkes took runner up in Race 2 behind Nakatomi, with Vito third – Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 – Round 4, Suzuka

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Source: MCNews.com.au