• 2015.4.21 Unfortunate but with progress for Team KAGAYAMA SUZUKI Asia

  

   

  The opening round of the 2015 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship was held at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia from April 17 to the 19th. This year marks the 20th year for the Champioship, and have introduced two new categories, Asia Production 250 class, and the SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE.

  Team KAGAYAMA SUZUKI Asia entered two SUZUKi GSX-R600 to the Supersports 600 class with #25 Rafid Topan, and #41 Noriyuki Haga as riders.

  Race 1 started in hot and humid conditions. Haga made superstart and jumped up to 2nd at start, while Topan did the same and jumped up to 11th at start. However, difficult conditions did not allow to keep his position. Haga was battling for 11th when an another rider slipped on the inside of him, clipping Haga along. Haga was able to restart, and finished the race at 15th. Topan, finished 9th, which was within his target, and both riders earned their first points for the team.

  Race 2 started in the late afternoon, but the hot and humid conditions were the same as Race 1. Another good start by Haga and Topan, allowed them to move up their position with Haga in 6th and Topan in 9th. But by middle of the race, raindrops started to drop. This made Haga drop his position, but Topan moved his way up, and at one point lead the race. However, the rain stopped and Topan finished 12th in the race. Haga started to move again with the rain gone, but another incident with an another rider, left no choice for Haga but to retire.

  Rafid Topan | #25
  “The atmosphere of the team during race week is great! And the thing that impresses me the most is that the set-up improves everytime we change it. I was able to finish in the top 10 and before Haga, which was my first target, so I am happy. In race 2, the rain started to drop during the race so that became an advantage, but it took me back when the rain stopped.

  My only goal is win races, so I will try harder to do that. The next round is in Sentul, Indonesia, close to where I live. I know the track well, so I hope I can win the race”
  Noriyuki Haga | #41
  “I regret to finish in such results, but I firmly know what I need on the bike and to race in this series.

  I was being patient in Race 1. I kept my position until the final 2 laps waiting for a chance to pass, but unfortunately I was clipped by an another rider that fell on the inside of me. In Race 2, rain started to fall, so I was being careful and after it stopped I began pacing up, but my brake lever hit another rider, and resulted in a crash.

  I confirmed what we need to do for the next round, so I will be looking forward to the race in Indonesia.”

  Yuichi Takeda | Team Manager
  “We expected that things were not going to be easy. But considering the abilities of our riders, I have to say that the results were not satisfactory. However, we still did what we could in this short time of preparation. Because it is the first time for both riders to race in Supersports 600, we wanted more data, but it was unfortunate for Haga to have unfortunate incidents in both races. As for Topan, I think he tried the best he could in both Race 1 and Race 2. We will bring the data we got back to Japan, work on it so that we can level up by the Indonesia round.”

   

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