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2016.8.6
SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE Round 4 opens at Sentul, with Rozaliman Zakaria leading Day 1
Round 4 of the SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE (SAC) opened its Day 1 in Sentul International Circuit in Bogor, Indonesia. SAC, SUZUKI’s single platform racing category, was established in 2015, is aimed to train young Asian riders to one day become a MotoGP™ rider. It uses Suzuki’s All New Satria F150, tuned and modified to meet the regulation of the series.
This is the second year that SAC brings its series to the 11-corner circuit in Bogor. In 2015, #5 Jagan Kumar (India) took pole position and won Race 1, making him the first Indian rider to win in the Asian Championship.
Free Practice 1 took place on Day 1, and #12 Rozaliman Zakaria (Malaysia) and #20 Jefri Tosema (Indonesia) were the only riders who made the 2’00s. Rozaliman finished first with a laptime of 2’00.516. This lap is close to 5 seconds faster than last year’s FP1 at Sentul, which used the former model of Satria F150
Behind Tosema, #43 April King Mascardo (Philippines), Jagan Kumar, and #30 Rizal Feriyadi (Indonesia) formed the Top 5 of FP1. 11 riders out of 15 riders broke last year’s best lap of FP1, proving the high potential of the All New Satria F150.
Shunji Yatsushiro | Rider Coach
Sentul International Circuit is an unique course, and the local Indonesian riders were fast here in the first practice session. Rozaliman came in fastest, and seeing the top finishers in FP1, it proves that it will take some time to get learn this track. The surface condition is not that good, and I am sorry to see some fallers in the practice session.
The course layout seems easy at first, but it needs some calculation to make a good lap. I wish the riders that couldn’t lap well today, do better tomorrow. To effectively be in the slip stream would be very important, as the race will probably be in a pack, so I hope the riders will find the best set-up for the race.
