Asia Road Racing Championship
| Sport | Motorcycle sport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Country | Asia |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Zaqhwan Zaidi (SuperSports 600cc) Apiwat Wongthananon (Asia Production 250cc) Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Underbone 130c) Hiroki Nakamura (Asia Dream Cup) Jefri Tosema (Suzuki Asian Challenge) |
The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is the regional motorcycle road racing championship for Asia, held since 1996.
This championship is part of the production-based category of racing, similar to the Supersport World Championship, British Supersport Championship and AMA Supersport Championship. Modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public are featured in the race.
The championship is currently divided into three open-make classes and two mono-brand developmental classes. The open-make categories are the SuperSports 600cc, Asia Production 250cc and Underbone 130cc. The developmental classes race on single-make motorcycles. They are the Honda Asia Dream Cup and the Suzuki Asian Challenge.
Overview
The Asia Road Racing Championship was first organized in 1996 as part of an Asian-wide initiative boost the development of the sport of motorcycle racing in the continent. The championship received the endorsement of the Federation Internationale Motocycliste in 1997 and has been recognized since as the Asian continental championship for the FIM.[1]
The commercial rights are owned by Two Wheels Motor Racing, with FIM Asia as the sports sanctioning body.
Each season consists of six rounds with two races organized per round.[2]
Circuits
The championship tours in Asia but is open to riders from all nationalities.
The Asia Road Racing 2016 season consisted of 12 races at 5 circuits in 5 Asian countries.
- Johor, Malaysia, Johor Circuit
- Buriram, Thailand, Chang International Circuit
- Suzuka, Japan, Suzuka Circuit
- Sentul, Indonesia, Sentul International Circuit
- New Delhi, India, Buddh International Circuit
Other venues that had previously hosted the Asia Road Racing Championship included:
- Shah Alam, Malaysia, Shah Alam Circuit
- Nakhonchaisee, Thailand, Thailand Racing Circuit
- Batangas, Philippines, Batangas Racing Circuit
- Subic Bay, Philippines, Subic Bay International Raceway[3]
- Zhuhai, China, Zhuhai International Circuit
- Chennai, India, Madras Motor Race Track
- Sepang, Malaysia, Sepang International Circuit
- Fukuoka, Japan, Autopolis Circuit
- Doha, Qatar, Losail International Circuit
2017 race classes and motorcycles
| Race class | Honda | Kawasaki | Suzuki | Yamaha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperSports 600cc | CBR600RR | ZX6R-600 | GSX-R600 | YZF-R6 |
| Asia Production 250cc | CBR250R | Ninja 250L | YZF-R25 | |
| Underbone 110cc | Model numbers differ in different market regions | |||
| Suzuki Asian Challenge | F150 | |||
Chronology: winners and race classes
1996–1999
The road racing series began on 2-stroke engines.
| Year | Series Production 250cc (2-stroke) | Sports Production 150cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 110cc (2-stroke) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini (Malaysia) | Direk Achawong (Thailand) | Somkuan Raemee (Thailand) | |
| 1997 | Chow Yan Kit (Malaysia) | Direk Achawong (Thailand) | Niphon Saengsawang (Thailand) | Eakrach Punbuppha (Thailand) |
| 1998 | Youichi Nakajima (Japan) | Direk Achawong (Thailand) | Eakrach Punbuppha (Thailand) | Amporn Siriphat (Thailand) |
| 1999 | Naoto Ogura (Japan) | Direk Achawong (Thailand) | Eakrach Punbuppha (Thailand) | Surapong Boonlert (Thailand) |
2000
The gradual shift to 4-stroke engines began in 2000 when the SuperSports 600cc class replaced the previous 250cc bikes as the premier class of the championship.[4]
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | GP125 (2-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 110cc (2-stroke) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Chia Tuck Cheong (Malaysia) | Suhathai Chaemsap (Thailand) | Surapong Boonlert (Thailand) | Thammanoon Sillapakul (Thailand) |
2001–2002
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | GP125 (2-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Chia Tuck Cheong (Malaysia) | Direk Achawong (Thailand) | Mazlan Khamis (Malaysia) |
| 2002 | Toshiyuki Hamaguchi (Japan) | Suhathai Chaemsap (Thailand) | Mohamad Hisham Ngadin (Malaysia) |
2003
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Toshiyuki Hamaguchi (Japan) | Mohamad Hisham Ngadin (Malaysia) |
2004–2005
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Toshiyuki Hamaguchi (Japan) | Ahmad Fazli Sham (Malaysia) | M. Fadli Immammuddin (Indonesia) |
| 2005 | Toshiyuki Hamaguchi (Japan) | Ahmad Fazli Sham (Malaysia) | Doni Tata Pradita (Indonesia) |
2006
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (below-21 years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Toshiyuki Hamaguchi (Japan) | Gilang Pranata Sukma (Indonesia) | Feizy Juniardith (Indonesia) |
2007–2011
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Decha Kraisart (Thailand) | Wahyu Widodo (Indonesia) |
| 2008 | Toshiyuki Hamaguchi (Japan) | Owie Nurhuda (Indonesia) |
| 2009 | Chalermpol Polamai (Thailand) | Mohd Affendi Rosli (Malaysia) |
| 2010 | Decha Kraisart (Thailand) | Hadi Wijaya (Indonesia) |
| 2011 | Katsuaki Fujiwara (Japan) | Rafid Topan Sucipto (Indonesia) |
2012–2014
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) | Asia Dream Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ryuichi Kiyonari (Japan) | Hadi Wijaya (Indonesia) | Hikari Okubo (Japan) |
| 2013 | Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Malaysia) | Hadi Wijaya (Indonesia) | Hiroki Ono (Japan) |
| 2014 | Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia) | Gupita Kresna Wardhana (Indonesia) | Khairul Idham Pawi (Malaysia) |
2015–2016
| Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Asia Production 250cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 130cc (4-stroke) | Asia Dream Cup | Suzuki Asian Challenge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Yuki Takahashi (Japan) | Takehiro Yamamoto (Japan) | Gupita Kresna Wardhana (Indonesia) | Mukhlada Sarapuech (Thailand) | Andreas Gunawan (Indonesia) |
| 2016 | Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia) | Apiwat Wongthananon (Thailand) | Wahyu Aji Trilaksana (Indonesia) | Hiroki Nakamura (Japan) | Jefri Tosema (Indonesia) |
Notable achievements
The Asia Road Racing Championship is a mix of well-known riders racing against upcoming talents from the Asian region. Some of the big names that have contributed to the growth of the sport of road racing in Asia include Katsuaki Fujiwara, Ryuichi Kiyonari,[5] Yuki Takahashi and Noriyuki Haga.[6] In 2016, Anthony West was the latest addition in the roster of internationally recognized names.[7]
This formula of pitting upcoming talents against seasoned campaigners have resulted in a number of successes. In recent years, riders from the Asian region are beginning to make their breakthrough into the MotoGP arena. These include:
- Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini (250cc)
- Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Moto2, 2013 to 2015)[8]
- Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Moto2, 2011 to present)
- Thitipong Warokorn (Moto2, 2013 to 2015)
- Rafid Topan Sucipto (Moto2, 2013)
- Doni Tata Pradita (Moto2, 2013)
- Khairul Idham Pawi (Moto3, 2016; Moto2, 2017)[9]
- Hiroki Ono (Moto3, 2013 to present)
On July 4 to 11, 2016, five young riders from the Asia Production 250cc class became the first batch of riders to be trained at the VR46 Academy in Italy as part of the Yamaha|VR46 Master Camp. They were Peerapong Loiboonpeng (21, Thailand), Imanuel Putra Pratna (19, Indonesia), Galang Hendra Pratama (17, Indonesia), Soichiro Minamimoto (16, Japan) and Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (16, Malaysia).[10][11]
References
- ↑ "Road Racing - FIM ASIA". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Asia Road Racing Championship 2016 (ARRC)
- ↑ "The Marlboro Asia Pacific Philippines leg at Subic Bay - by Paul Peczon". www.dot.com.ph. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "New Categories For FIM Asia Road Racing". Utusan Online. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Kiyonari to compete in Asia Road Racing Championship | BSB News". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Haga signs with Suzuki for Asia Road Race Championship | WSBK News". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "Motorcycling Australia: News Single". www.ma.org.au. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "Kamaruzaman To Join Honda Team Asia For Remainder Of FIM Moto2 World Championship". www.roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "Honda Worldwide | Motor Sports | MotoGP | Honda Riders Close Up | Moto3 Khairul Idham Pawi Honda Team Asia". world.honda.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Rossi takes Master Camp riders to Misano | MotoGP News". Retrieved 2016-07-12.
- ↑ Sports, Dorna. "Five rising stars head to VR46 Master Camp". www.motogp.com. Retrieved 2016-07-12.