- Khairi Zakaria stunned crowd with a spectacular performance in both Moto 1 and Moto 2, making him the first Malaysian to stand on both International and Asian Class Podium this season.
- Muhd Habibullah races without slipper gear faces a harsh race in Moto 1 and Moto 2, and completes the race fourth and third in both International Open Class and Asian Class race in Indonesia.
CENTRAL JAVA, Indonesia, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- It was an excellent day for a perfect race. The warm weather maintained at 28 degrees Celcius kick-start the morning with an optimum condition off-road section for the morning Warm Up session. Thousands of Indonesian crowd packed up the venue at Solo Baru as early as 8:00AM (+7:00GMT) for another round of spectacular SuperMoto race.
United Kingdom’s Lewis Cornish, Thailand’s Trakarn Thangthong and the Malaysian duo, Khairi Zakaria and Muhd Habibullah was seen to be in their perfect condition for the Moto 1 and Moto 2 race.
Moto 1 Report
Moto 1 received a warm welcome in Indonesia with a special Opening Ceremony graced by a full-fledged marching band and a stunt show performance. Opened by Sigit Diop Saputra, the representative of Bold Xperience, Chandra Syahriar, Managing Director of E-Plus Indonesia, Satheswaran Mayachandran, CEO of Asia Supersports Group, and Ahmad Suhaimi Abdullah, FIM Asia’s Jury President for Indonesia round, riders were seen focused during the line-up at their respective grid before the 2 lap warm-up laps.
United Kingdom’s Lewis Cornish steals the holeshot away by blocking Malaysia’s Khairi Zakaria at the first corner, giving the Briton a golden ticket to lead the pack at the beginning of the race. However, the first dangerous yet threatening corner continued to play a pivotal role in the positioning.
The United Kingdom against Malaysian battle, Lewis Cornish and Khairi Zakaria pursued until the end of the race. Khairi was only a second behind the Briton but slowly losing his pace and ended with a seven seconds gap with Lewis.
“I was exhausted after Moto 1. I was struggling due to the weather condition. In addition, the 20 minutes + 2 laps format was really demanding. I have never felt anything like this before, especially riding for more than 20 laps in a race. I endured the first five laps to close the gap between Lewis and distant myself from Trakarn. If that did not happen, I might not be in the second position at the moment,” said Khairi.
“I almost attained the holeshot in the beginning, but the situation was not that promising. Therefore I forego the holeshot, hoping that I could catch up with him [Lewis] after the first corner,” he added.
On the other hand, Lewis mentioned that he was lucky to have a clean start despite facing threats by Khairi. “During the warm-up laps when Khairi overtook and led the pack, it did put a little tension on me. Obviously, we would always want to be at the front and ride at my pace, if possible.”
Having distant from the leader, Khairi Zakaria was met with a new rival. Thailand’s Trakarn Thangthong was merely a second behind the Malaysian rider, putting more pressure on the Malaysian.
“After the flag off, I had an opportunity to take the holeshot, but was stolen by Lewis and blocked by Khairi. I was at least two seconds behind Khairi after the first few laps, but slowly the gap opened because of the silly mistakes in every corner. Hopefully, it would not repeat for Moto 2,” said Thailand’s Trakarn.
Malaysia’s ace and 2016 season champion Muhd Habibullah was faced with a different challenge and contender. Japan’s Takashi Sasaki continues to tail the Malaysian until the end of the race, with a tight gap that makes no room for mistakes for Habibullah.
“On the first to the fifth lap, I tried to follow Trakarn, but it did not last long. At the sixth lap, I could not catch up anymore. My bike’s setting is not suitable for this race as the highly technical track require Slipper Clutch that I do not have,” said Habibullah.
“I depleted my energy in Moto 1. I cannot feel my clutch and my brakes, and my arms were losing grip. Hopefully, by keeping it consistent, I can follow through in Moto 2,” he added.
“I almost had a smooth cornering at the first corner, but Khairi was blocking and that also allowed Trakarn to take my position. On the fifth lap, my rear tire lost its grip, and the hot weather hardened the tires,” concluded Habibullah.
The top six for Moto 1 was completed by United Kingdom’s Lewis Cornish, Malaysia’s Khairi Zakaria, Thailand’s Trakarn Thangthong, Malaysia’s Muhd Habibullah, Japan’s Takashi Sasaki and Indonesia’s Farudila Adam.
Moto 2 Race Report
Malaysia’s Muhd Habibullah had a fantastic start in Moto 2 with a shocking holeshot against riders such as Lewis Cornish and Khairi Zakaria. However, his motorcycle that is unfit for this circuit dragged his position down to the fourth spot on the tenth lap, giving Lewis, Khairi, and Trakarn the advantage to lead the race.
Despite settling for fourth, Muhd Habibullah was left behind with a seven-second gap behind Khairi and Trakarn. It was not easy to race without a Slipper Gear, but he managed to ride through the finish line. “It was exhausting. While taking the pole position was a fabulous advantage, I knew I would fall behind because of my machine and stamina. I tried to block Lewis, Trakarn and Khairi but I began losing my strength from the fifth lap onwards.”
“I made a mistake at the first corner on the fifth lap that allowed Lewis to steal my position. However, having Sasayan behind really pushed me to maintain my pace. Knowing that it might be jeopardised, I endured through the pressure and pain to get to the Asian Class podium,” he added.
However, Malaysia’s Khairi Zakaria had his eyes on the podium since the beginning of the race. Completing the race in second for both Moto 1 and Moto 2, Khairi managed to take the second podium spot in the International Open Class, and the top spot in the Asian Class, making him the first Malaysian to sit on both podiums this season.
“It was unfortunate that I did not get the holeshot. I started a little slower, and I almost collided with Habibullah on the fifth lap. This was the consequence when Habibullah and I tried to take Trakarn’s position at the same time.”
“I was tailing Trakarn throughout the race but could not find any opening for to overtake him due to the difficult and tight track. I cannot take any risks unless if I was sure that I could outdo him,” he added.
It was all smiles on the face of Lewis Cornish when he shot through the finish line of Moto 2. With the surging acceleration, cautious and highly strategised ride, he won the race with a stunning 3 second ahead of Khairi Zakaria and Trakarn Thangthong.
A strong crowd of 35,000 people visited the weekend race in Indonesia. The prize presentation ceremony heard a glorious cheers for the podium winners, and once again making the FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship in Indonesia a highly successful event.
For more information, visit www.supermotoasia.com.
International Class Podium
1) Lewis Cornish – United Kingdom
2) Khairi Zakaria – Malaysia
3) Trakarn Thanthong – Thailand
4) Muhd Habibullah – Malaysia
5) Takashi Sasaki – Japan
Asian Class Podium
1) Khairi Zakaria – Malaysia
2) Trakarn Thangthong – Thailand
3) Muhd Habibullah – Malaysia
4) Takashi Sasaki – Japan
5) Doni Tata Pradita – Indonesia
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