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2015.7.7
Takeru Murase of Japan wins Race 2 in front of local fans at Suzuka
SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE (SAC) is a SUZUKI rider development program, produced and operated by Yukio Kagayama and is held as one of the categories in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC). Race 2 of Round 3 was held on July 5th at Suzuka Circuit in Mie, Japan.Suzuka, being the only race held in Japan, is one of the important venue for SAC, as it is the home race for SUZUKI and Kagayama.
Race 2’s starting grid was the same as Race 1, with #98 Patis Chooprathet of Thailand on pole, followed by #83 Takeru Murase of Japan, and Race 1 winner #43 Andreas Gunawan of Indonesia.
Rain kept falling until the early morning hours, but by the time Race 2 started, the track was almost fully dried. Pole sitter, Patis took the whole shot, but once Murase took the lead, he never looked back. Murase extended his lead lap by lap, and won the race. This was the first win for a Japanese rider in the series.
Patis and Andreas battled each other until the last lap, but Patis crossed the finish line before Andreas and finished 2nd. Andreas made a little mistake on the last lap and had to settle in for 3rd.
Murase, being the 4th SAC rider to win in 6 races held this year.
Round 4 of ARRC will be held, August 28th-30th at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.
Takeru Murase | #83
“I like race tracks with tight corners after a high-speed course, so Suzuka was a great fit for me. Furthermore, the race being held in my home country did help me relax more than racing out of Japan. I succeeded in making a good start, and followed Patis. Maybe because of his crash in Race 1, Patis wasn’t running at his best, so I had to overtake him. After that, I concentrated on just seeing the front of me. I wanted to win earlier, but everything is new to me at SAC, so I couldn’t really concentrate. Now that I won a race, I wish to continue to do more at Buriram”Yukio Kagayama | General Manager
“First of all, I would like to congratulate all the SAC riders to finish the race without any major incidents. I also want to congratulate Takeru (Murase）for his first win this season. The track conditions were difficult with wet patches still left on the track, but he showed courage and made efforts to win the race. I also witnessed that all the riders have improved a lot since our first test at Sepang. I hope they continue to improve, and also wish that they show me more improvements at Thailand. I am also happy that a lot of spectators came to Suzuka, and I believe that we were able to show what motorsports in Asia is about. I wish to continue promoting the sports in Asia.”Hideyuki Ogata | Rider Coach
“I think the riders have shown improvements in many ways. There were many riders that raced in full wet conditions for the first time, but, I am confident that this experience will benefit them in the future. This weekend also made me find out which ride is mentally strong and not. I hope they will understand that being mentally strong is just as important as being able to run fast. I will continue to support them so that they can one day grow to become a rider in a top team.”
