Asia Road Racing Race 1 I UB 150 Sepang Malaysia #motogp #asiaroadracing

Danger it's a wide track so you should be able to keep out of danger as we go through Pittsburgh. What a qualification for them earlier on. Amadafi Famran on pole position. Aki Dazees the championship leader this time last year in P2 alongside him. Hosni Zainal hopes to be crowned champion today he's in P3. Hosni's main rival sorry Dimash Juliet Moko next to him Then you've got Wajid Jalikzana alongside Amad Fajrul Samqoob, Peter Kresna, Wardina. And then Shahrul Shahzad, he leads row four from April King Muscato and Shiret Sauki. Yamaha racing team will move down a little bit on to row number five I think where Daniel Dammar is going to emerge. There he is on the Yamaha LFN team. It is a strong team isn't it. Amad Darwisi from Estrema Yuzi Asia racing team. Team owner there was part of the inaugural ARRC back in 1996. Izzat Zahidi back after a long injury. Welcome back Izzat Zahidi back number 98. So happy to see Izzat back. Musato Fernando leads row six from Afizi Simpat. Highest qualifying I think for the Vosges and Shafiq Rasol outside of him. Good call on the Vosges indeed. P17 Izzat Zahidi. Kiki Sudirman from JPNWSND factory racing on the Honda is in P19 alongside Mohamed Fabriancha for team OneFall in 2021. Adib Arsyad for UMA Racing Yamaha in Malaysia. We've got Tenku Amarul Hapuruddin next to him. Trivi Emmanuel Pagania and Enej Sobratodo from the Philippines outside of him. They'll be making his debut here. Hafiz Faril for 4SM Evo Yamaha is on P25. Aditya Fauzi a long way down. Penalty of course. Yes yeah those those two riders both suffering penalties for slow riding during practice yesterday. So they start said at the back of the grid. According to the notice they'll start from pit lane. Race control getting a little bit antsy with some of the activities going on that we've seen in qualification recently. We've seen good good practice and qualification. No dawdling around on the track. So it's working. So yeah that wasn't a criticism it was a case of the riders have got to take this professionally and seriously. Very much credit where it's due. Anyway this is the warm-up lap. As usual it'll be chaos. 26 starters today. Nazrul Izzat. Nazrul had an engine failure yesterday that threw him over the high side and he's recovering from a broken collarbone and shoulder blade. No word how fortunes change. Virtually unbeatable a couple of years ago. Yeah 2023 champion but luck has eluded him since then. Mechanical Gremlin. Gremlin is really plaguing him. There's a message there for all sports people. Enjoy the great times while you've got them. Because they can disappear very very quickly and that might be a useful message to hand out to the potential champion Hosni Zaynal. You're in such a great position. Ram home the advantage while you possibly can. So yeah they will be starting from pit lane. That's Hafiz coming back in. Just rumbling past our commentary position. Aditya Fauzi will be there too. Aditya's fifth in the championship standings. We'll talk about the championship but to get into the top three is a is very useful as well and Fahmi Bassam, Dimas Juli, Ahmad Afif Amran, Aditya Fauzi, Aki Dazees and even Gopita Krezna are all in that race. Maybe even you go down far as Wajih Trilixana and until his injury Nazrul Izzat for a place in the top three. There's still a hundred points to race for. So everybody getting on to it. It is a real riot of color isn't it? It's fantastic yeah. Late coming to the line as he often does is Fazrul Sham on the number 11 for Cardinals factory racing. Pittsburgh were magnificent in qualification this morning. They've clearly got something right around this circuit. They know this circuit so well. Underbone at 150cc is underway. Those two Pittsburgh bikes are flying off the line. They sure did. Let's see how this pans out as they go into turn one. That's Afif Amran going to the outside. Now they peel in and he holds it. That was a remarkable start from those two bikes as the the two late comers Hafiz Faril and Aditya Fauzi. They are now on the circuit with some work to do but there's time and they will get back up with the pack. I'm sure they're just gonna have to work a lot harder in the early stages. But how about this? Ahmed Afif Amran bike 50 and Akira Ziz going away and the guy who stuck with them, Leslie Zainal. Well what a surprise. What a purple patch he's having as he takes a very early lead. Zainal bike number 143. A quite nominal season. Four wins in a row followed by two podiums and that was after a win in race number one. He had a double win here at Sepang last time he was here. For me the form rider this weekend so far is the rider who's now back in front and started from his first underbone pole position amazingly, Afif Amran. Ponglopoinpeng also making an impression. Oh look at this. We've got a little group of one, two, three, seven who pulled away. Maybe, maybe we're gonna see something unusual in underbone. Not the chaos that we're used to. Well let's see. I think Piripong just, oh no, there he is. Piripong is part of that group. It was seven. It's now grown as underbone tends to. Yeah, there's Dimas Juli just behind them. I think this group might close up. The race tech, okay, it was five. It's now back up to 55. 26 though. Well we'll get a better picture after they've come around the next turn, turn 15. They're on the back straight right now and what a sight that is. Two wildly different lines being taken. Potential champion, Leslie Zainal. He's the one of course who just takes the inside line. He'll drop into P3 at the moment. Afif Amran leading the way also in that group. Ahmad Hajralsham, four cardinals racing. It's going to be bike number 24, Piriponglopoinpeng alongside Ahmad Afif Amran who crossed the line in P1 and P2 respectively. Miten Krezna up there as well. Piripong very much overdue an appearance on the podium. That's the number 24 there with the orange nose just behind the championship leader. Scampri into the lead there. I do believe I saw Fajralsham. Indeed, of course. He always makes a statement every race. It's part of his DNA, particularly here at Sepang. He likes to get involved. As we were saying, the last time we saw him on top of the box, he was here at Sepang in 2024. Same weekend. April King Muscado also making a little move. Bike number 43, Pride of the Philippines. One of the Prides. Naughty boys. Aditya Fauzi. He's six, nearly seven seconds adrift of the leader. So that's catchable. What a quality of Aditya Fauzi. So well for JPNW, the Honda this season. He was partnering YYG in Racetech 60 last season. Racetech, of course, will be involved as well. Like 202, Dimitrijs Juliat-Moko in the luminous lime green. That's it, there's luminous lime green. Kaleidoscope, that is, and the Vone 150. National blue of April King Muscado. Happily tucked in in P4 now. I've been looking forward to see April King getting back to some form. He's not been out of form, but he hasn't picked up enough points throughout this season. A couple of DNFs don't help. Best position, a P5, Mandelika. Yeah, the number 23, Uzaya LFN. Gopalakrishnan making his presence felt there. Oh, a little bit of contact. Somebody's got a problem. It is 24. It is Piripong Loboingpang and Piripong, well, not a great season and it's going to end his race here. Looked like mechanical problem for Piripong. Arm was raised. He came to a near sudden stop by the pit wall. Unfortunate for the tie. He lived to fight another day, but over the line goes our bowman in first place, Afif Amran. Peter Krejner and Shirat alongside him. April King Muscado in there and Husny. Of course, Husny, bike number 143, just holds on. Right position as always. You've got to keep an eye on Husny. Bike 143, a victory today or a finish ahead of the man who's in P2, Fahmy Bassam. And we've got a champion three races before the end of the season, three quarters of the way through the season. Yeah, incredible stuff. There is Fahmy Bassam, still the defending champion. He needs to finish. Somehow he needs to finish in front of Husny's Arnolf Fautzi. Damar's got himself up there as well, 144. And there's the poor old Piripong. In that heat, I wouldn't fancy having to push a bike, but Piripong will just have to dawdle back into the pit lane, coming under our commentary box as we speak. Yeah, but look at the leaderboard now. April King Muscado, haven't seen much of him this weekend really in terms of at the front. Let's just have a look at YUIG for Oksana. You can see leading that gaggle at the moment. It is a gaggle. 70 shutout in the all black leathers. Could be a guy just to spoil things. Oh, a little bit of a problem there. The rider's just having to stand up. It can get very congested, particularly going up the hill at nine. You get that line wrong and you can be forced out quite an awful lot. And April King Muscado is making a break for it here. And he's taking the pit bike boy with him. He's taking Ahmed Afif Amran with him. Very difficult though in underbone to make a break. Very difficult indeed. And you and I remember well, Des, the last time we saw it, it was Afif Amran at Buriram, maybe three seasons or so ago. But we have a very big group at the front now. All getting a pull from the slipstream. 43, April King still leads the way. Ahmed Afif Amran is in there. The pit bikes are looking to make a statement. Oh, and April King just manages to correct that. But he loses 15 places as a result as April King Muscado. Yeah, back to the front. It's Afif Amran. 145 is Daniel Damar. Yeah, it's Daniel Damar. He's looked good this morning. He looked good yesterday. Probably by Sam has made a mark as well. April King Muscado, that mistake on that hairpin corner cost him 15 positions, Barry. It is, you just cannot make a mistake in this class without losing positions. That makes the achievement so far of Leslie Zarno Fauzi all the more incredible. So there the race tech bikes just going off the wrong line. Dimitri Liatmoko and Maya Dutrileksana. They're still at the front. They're having a good race. Shirat Sauki on the Yamaha, the Indonesian, the man in black. These engineers have got something right today. Yeah, one of the Hondas there. That's a fantastic shot. Race tech getting in good position. Dimitri Liatmoko. Daniel Damar is the number 70. He's the one to watch out for throughout this weekend. 23 in the chasing group. Sharan Shahzras is up there. There's the number 61. He gets his nose chopped off by Gupta Krishna. We have got 1.6 seconds between P1 and P18. Who is Aki Dazees? Aki Dazees is somebody who knows this track very well and we've seen numerous times by Russell. He just waits until the final lap and a half or so to work his way up to the top. I can't think of another rider who is happy enough to stay that far back until late in the race and then come through. He left it late as well today in terms of qualification. He got himself onto P2 ahead of Husni Zainal. He wanted to be pipped at the post by his compatriot and teammate, Ahmad Afif Amran. I believe race tech boys who are making the mark at the moment. Yeah, it is. Keeping themselves very much in the conversation. The Indonesian race tech 60 team. Fernando joins the conversation. Takes a nice tight line. There's the experienced Filipino. Mike 17 in the shop there as we come through. It'll be two laps to go once they go over the start finish line. It's just a remarkable sight. 0.3 of a second between 1 and 11. Oh yeah. Incredible stuff and just poking his nose in at the front. There is Masato Fernando. The number 17. Often in the mix but often, too often, forms victim to failure at the at the end. Gets caught up in some kind of incident. Let's see if he can hold it together for this race. I can also tell you 1.77 Aditya Fauzi who had to start from the pit lane. Had a penalty. He's in that leading group as well. There is 17 Masato Fernando as you just said. Nicely tucked into P4. That's Aditya right with him there. Yeah. So if you wondered about how good Aditya Fauzi is, that's how good he is. P2. Maybe give him a lap penalty. Maybe race control should be even stricter. Well, second in the championship last year. One side, give it a freshener now. Need to keep an eye though on bike 143. Husni Zainal in eighth at the moment. Not being able to really dominate this race. He's nose out. Once again 23. Right in the middle there is Fahmy Bassam, man. Down goes. 96, 98, 96. That's Hafiz, yeah. Working hard to catch up after starting from pit lane. He's down. Well, that is a tough day at the office for Hafiz Faril. Worked so hard to get himself back up into the reckoning. Comes off with a lap and a half to go. Muhammad Khubriyanshah who's gone out. Yeah, 88. Oh, so that's both team one for all bikes out. That's a rotten afternoon for them. Through the heat haze for the penultimate time. Yeah, that's the linting of the number 23 of Gupta Krishna who's been right at the front all the way through. He's had a win already this season, Gupta Krishna. We know as a former champion, he knows the way to win. Underbone has been the strength of Asia Road Racing Championship. That's how Underbone started and look at what it's created. Yeah, somebody just darted out to the other side of the circuit. There's Daniel Demar who just suddenly swung to the outside ahead of starts the final lap. Goes through turn one in the lead. Two blue racing suits of Cardinals Factory Racing. Is that Zaidi and Ahmad Fazil Sham at the back of that group? Anyone from one to 18 possible to win this one? One second covering the first 14. Husni Zainal in P10 of those 14, bike 143. Today might not be the day unless Farmi Basam can't get a decent result. Race Tech 60s are there, Des, both of them. Wai Waji and Demas Juli in that order. The break has been made and it is Ahmad Afif Amram who has made that break and he's got it on the final lap and there's possibilities here for Ahmad Afif Amram. It's the Race Tech boys who are chasing him but Ahmad Afif Amram for Pitt's bike. A little look over the shoulder. That's confident. Enough time to look over his shoulder but what can he do? Especially when they get to the back straight for the final time. This is great work from Afif Amram and great work from Race Tech 60 and great work from the number 70 Daniel Demas. Well they're not closing down Afif at the moment and he's actually accelerated up the hill there. That's a remarkable piece of racing from Ahmad Afif Amram and he's aware the peloton are closing him down but there's the gap that he's got and he's made a break for home. He's got enough. Well you'd think here. Ahmad Afif Amram for Pitt's bike for Malaysia in the championship. Husni Zainal is still looking pretty good. He's in ninth at the moment but Ahmad Afif Amram. Let's focus on this race first and he made the break on this final lap Barry Russell and he's going to do it. And he's got Daniel Demas at the front just behind him but now everything's going to change into the final turn. Ahmad Afif Amram. Demas goes wide. He loses it but Ahmad Afif Amram is going to skate away to a landslide victory at Sepang. Behind him we look at it. Ahmad Afif Amram takes the victory behind him. Farmi Basam. Third Husni Zainal. The championship will carry on. Wow it doesn't get any closer than that. There was five thousandths of a second between Farmi Basam and Husni Zainal Fauzi. One point short Husni Zainal. One point short. He's got three races to accumulate. One point but he's got himself remarkably another podium. Husni Zainal. Ahmad Afif Amram of course. Pitt's bike. That's where the celebration should be. Malaysia celebrating but it won't be long till Husni Zainal is celebrating for Zia LFN. Afif as long as he possibly can. Ahmad Afif Amram enjoying the sunshine in his home state. Yeah he has the look of a rider that knew he was going to win somehow. Well he was brilliant this morning in qualification as well. Let's have a look what it's done to the overall standings. 194 points accumulated over nine races. That's remarkable for Husni Zainal. 74 clear of Farmi Basam who's also 10 points clear of Demas Juliap Moko who's 10 clear of Ahmad Afif Amram. Those three genuine contenders for P2 overall. Aditya Fauzi recovered to get a P9 to be fifth for the JPNWSND factory racing team. Kubita Krezna for the Zia LFN team. Gosh they do something right. He's on 62 alongside Aki Dazees and Waiu Adji Trilaksana for Racetech 60. He alongside Demas Juliap Moko. It's a good season for Racetech as well. He's on 60 points.