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2016.8.8
Championship becomes tense, as the Indonesian round ends
The 2016 SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE (SAC) Round 4, held in Indonesia, ends with great success, as more than a thousand SUZUKI Satria fans and users came to Sentul to cheer for the favorite rider.
Another hot day at Sentul International Circuit, SAC once agained showed their fans, close and fierce but clean battle. Two races were held on Day 3 of the FIM Asia Road Race Championship. In the qualifying session that took place the day before, local favorite, #20 Jefri Tosema (Indonesia) lapped a whipping course-record 1’58.552 and took pole position, while his teammate and point leader #87 Muhammad Sapril (Indonesia) came in 2nd, and Malaysia’s #12 Rozaliman Zakaria filling the final grid on the front row.Race 1 started with the front row riders leading a pack of 9 riders, which continued the end of the race. The race was filled with continuous lead changes, everyone battling side-by-side and tail-to-nose. But Tosema put an end to all that, and won Race 1 with a comfortable lead on the final lap. 2015 SAC winner at Sentul, #5 Jagan Kumar (India) came in 2nd, while #30 Rizal Feriyadi (Indonesia) came in 3rd to fill the podium
It was a repeat of Race 1, as Race 2 started with 10 riders running in a pack to take the lead. Tosema and #43 April King Mascardo (Philippines) lead the pack until the later half of the race. Tosema and April tried to run away from the pack first before they battled for the win, but the other riders would not allow that, and Rozaliman and Sapril made sure they were right behind them. The battle got tighter as they approached the final corner on the final lap, where the 4 riders turned at almost the same time. Rozaliman put a stop to the battle, and won Race 2, while Tosema came in 2nd followed by Mascardo.
SAC has now one more round to go, schedule for December 2016 in Thailand. The Championship title chase is now tense, as Tosema and Rozaliman is now tied on the top with 127 points, with Sapril right behind them with 124 points. Mascardo and #22 Eane Jaye Solacito Sobretodo (Philippines) follow behind the top three.
The final round of the SUZUKI ASIAN CHALLENGE is scheduled to be held December 2-4, 2016 at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.
#20 Jefri Tosema | Race 1 Winner
I had family and friends come to cheer me this weekend, and I was doing well, so I was confident. I was going to hold myself until the penultimate lap, so it went as planned and was able to win. This is my fourth podium, so I plan to do the same until the final round so that I can win the Championship.#12 Rozaliman Zakaria | Race 2 Winner
I had a good feeling with my Satria this weekend, so I was pretty confident. I was planning to pull a lead at the final corner in Race 1, but that plan did not work. I changed my sprocket setting for Race 2 to get better acceleration in Race 2, and that work
ed well. I am now leading the Championship, so I will train both mentally and physically for the final round in Thailand to win the Championship.Yukio Kagayama | General Manager
I am happy to see that both races were an exciting one. Race 1 was a typical SAC race, where the riders raced in a pack, and Jefri would pull out of it to win the race. 4 riders battled until the finish line for Race 2, and was a close call as the 4 of them crossed the finish line at almost the same time, but Rozaliman won the race. The riders showed me big improvement, not only in speed but also in fairness, so I am happy to see that. We have 4 months to the final round, but I wish the riders would spend it preciously and come to the final round well-prepared.Shunji Yatsushiro | Rider Coach
Tosema showed dominating speed in Race 1, and Race 2 was a close start-to-finish battling so I was able to enjoy both races. The chase for the title is now getting very tense. The final round would be the last chance for the riders to show what they accomplished, and the title chase should be even tighter. I am looking forward to the final round.
