The 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) Round 1 at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) started off with surprise and excitement. Thus, the ASB1000 class is no less different for Race 2 on Sunday as Markus Reiterberger managed to show his true potential on his BMW S 1000 RR.
The German speed away from the field form the start and finished with more than 7 seconds from the nearest competitor. He finished with a time of 25’29.725s. The battle for P2 and P3 during the race was intense as well as Apiwat Wongthananon, Broc Parkes, Anupab Sarmoon, Lorenzo Zanetti, Thitipong Warokorn, Yuki Ito, and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman aiming for the 2 podium spot. Apiwat was consistently strong throughout the 12-lap race. The YAMAHA Thailand Racing Team rider kept his cool even while under attack from Lorenzo Zanetti and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.
Azlan stayed in second from Lap 7 to Lap 11 when the Malaysian rider overcooked the south end of the track and crashed out from P2. One lap remaining, with Azlan out of the race, Apiwat was back in P2. The Thai rider held on to the position and claimed a double podium from the Sepang weekend with 25’37.139s. P3 goes to Broc Parkes with the time of 25’39.078s as Zanetti ran out of fuel in the final sprint from Turn 15 to the finish line. Broc Parkes neatly avoided a collision with the slowing Ducati. Fortunately, Zanetti managed to finished the race and secure P4.
Thitipong Warokorn from KAWASAKI Thailand Racing Team will settled for P5 as he is still finding a good setting over the weekend on his new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR.
ASB1000: Top 5 Race 2 Results
1. Markus Reiterberger (GER) (BMW) 25’29.725s
2. Apiwat Wongthananon (THA) (Yamaha) 25’37.139s
3. Broc Parkes (AUS) (Yamaha) 25’39.078s
4. Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) (Ducati) 25’39.163s
5. Thitipong Warokorn (THA) (Kawasaki) 25’39.956s
ASB1000: Top 5 Standings After Round 1
1. Apiwat Wongthananon (THA) (Yamaha) 40 pts
2. Markus Reiterberger (GER) (BMW) 38 pts
3. Yuki Ito (JPN) (Yamaha) 35 pts
4. Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) (Ducati) 24 pts
5. Thitipong Warokorn (THA) (Kawasaki) 18 pts
ASB1000: Top 5 Team Standings After Round 1
1. YAMAHA Thailand Racing Team 56 pts
2. ONEXOX BMW TKKR SAG Team 54 pts
3. YAMAHA Racing Team ASEAN 51 pts
4. KAWASAKI Thailand Racing Team 33 pts
5. VICTOR RACING TEAM 32 pts
