KUALA LUMPUR: Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Showa Team rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi dominated the first race of the Asian Superbikes 1000 (ASB1000) category of the 2022 Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC) in Thailand.
The 27-year-old rider topped the race of 13 laps (dist: 59,202 kms) with a winning time of 21 minutes 04.947 secs at the Chang International Circuit.
Zaqhwan, who started first on the grid, left host rider Anupab Sarmoon in second spot (21:05.471s) and Haruki Nogochi of Japan in third place with a time of 21:05.480s.
“At first I had difficulty keeping it (motorbike) steady because the temperature was blazing hot and I tried to maintain a close distance behind them. I then took it step by step to pass one rider after another,” he told ARRC media after the race.
Meanwhile, the country’s young rider Mohd Izzat Zaidi Mohd Salehan from the Pitsbike JRT Oneway team also managed to seal victory in the Underbone 150cc (UB150) class with a time of 16mins 43.348secs over the eight-lap race of the 2022 ARRC season.
He edged two Indonesian riders, Muhammad Yordan Badaru second adrift with a time of 16:43.588s and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (16:43.942s), third.
The Supersport 600 (SS600) category saw Muhammad Helmi Azman of the Boon Siew Honda Racing team finishing second in 20:03.234s.
Muhammad Ibrahim Norrodin of Sepang International Circuit Racing (20:03.742s) took third place, while Andi Farid Izdihar of Indonesia (20:02.754s) pipped them to emerge champion on the Chang Circuit. - Bernama
