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2016.5.8
Muhammad Sapril wins Race 1 in Thailand
Suzuki Asian Challenge (SAC) brings its second round to Chang International Circuit, located in Buriram, approximately 400km northeast of Bangkok.
SAC introduced the all New Suzuki Satria F150 from this round, and its first ever race took place on Day 2.
Qualifying took place in the morning session, and #12 Rozaliman Zakaria (Malaysia) took pole position with a course record of the 2’16.544. #87 Muhammad Sapril (Indonesia) qualified 2nd, and #14 Arsyad Rusydi (Singapore) qualified 3rd.
Race 2 started with Rozaliman taking the lead, but soon #20 Jefri Tosema (Indonesia) would take control of the race. 7 riders raced in the top pack from the beginning to the end of the race, with leaders changing several times on each lap. #43 April King Mascardo (Philippines) took the last corner of the last lap, but over sped to go over the white line, while Sapril who ran the inner line finished on top to take his first win in SAC. Tosema finishes 2nd, with Mascardo finishing 3rd. However, Mascardo was penalized for going over the white line and not falling back to rejoin. Instead, his teammate #22 Eane Jaye Solacito Sobretodo (Philippines) took 3rd.
#87 Muhammad Sapril | Race 1 Winner
The new Satria F150 is more comfortable to ride with more engine power. I had the confidence to win this race. I concentrated on being the lead group throughout the race. I made sure I did not overrun the final corner on my last lap, and I am happy that I was able to win the race. I will try to do my best to do the same in Race 2.
Yukio Kagayama | General Manager
We have introduced the new Suzuki Satria F150 and I thank Suzuki, Dunlop and all of our sponsors for making this possible. We were able to witness higher level racing with the new machine. I am happy that the riders got used to the Satria quickly, and were able to race at their highest potential. I hope they show us the same quality of racing in Race 2.
Shunji Yatsushiro | Rider Coach
I am sorry to see a lot of crashes today. I expected to some to happen, because of the layout of the course, but there more incidents than I thought there would be. Now that they know the course, and what their rivals are capable of, I expect them to do a cleaner race in Race 2.
