Round 1 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup 2015, Thailand: Strong start for Team Malaysia in Thailand

The Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup 2015 season gets off to a good start today in the new Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand.

The day began on a good note for Team Malaysia during Qualifying. Despite the cooler yet humid weather, the biggest surprise came from Helmi Azman who snatched pole position. Helmi’s improved pace saw him clock a laptime of 1:47.775 set in the last few minutes of the session, with Helmi standing as the only rider to break the 1:48.00 mark.  

The session also saw Adam Norrodin qualify strongly in fourth with his fastest laptime of 1:48.134. Shafiq Rasol, on the other hand, appeared to be struggling for pace, qualifying in eighth spot with his fastest time of 1:48.624.

Pasir Gudang native Fakhrusy Rostam however just missed out on the top 10 when he qualified eleventh, whilst rookie Azroy Anuar had to deal with disappointment after crashing out early on the session, forcing him to start from the back of the grid during the afternoon’s scheduled Race 1.

Despite having scored pole position, the home ground advantage held by Thai riders Somkiat Chantra and Nakarin ‘Chip’ Atiratphuvapat proved too much for Helmi as soon as the lights went out for Race 1. Though he has shown an improved race craft, a subsequent contact with one of the Japanese riders fighting in the lead group ended Helmi’s top run. Nevertheless, Helmi ended the race in eighth, scoring crucial championship points.

Adam Norrodin also showed his improved race craft and quicker pace as he was fighting in the six-way battle for the lead throughout the race. Adam would eventually finish in sixth, earning him several championship points as well. And, despite struggling for pace, Shafiq Rasol also ended his first race of the season scoring championship points too with his ninth place finish.

Rookie Azroy Anuar may be down in the classification in fourteenth, but the rookie has to be commended for finishing his first race in the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup 2015 series, amassing more experience in the hot seat of the Honda NSF250R. Only Fakhrusy Rostam crashed out early on in the race following a contact with Japanese rookie rider Ryusei Yamanaka.

With Helmi still holding the advantage of starting from pole position, perhaps Team Malaysia would fare out better for Race 2 tomorrow. Stay tuned to MotoMalaya for updates of our boys in the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup 2015 as they take on the challenge this weekend in Thailand.

2015 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup Round 1 Race 1, Chang International Circuit, Results

POSITION	NAT	RIDER	#	TIME	POINTS
1		Somkiat Chantra	18	28’52.772	25
2		Ayumu Sasaki	22		20
3		Gerry Salim	4		16
4		Kazuki Masaki	2		13
5		Nakarin Atiratphuvapat	13		11
6		Adam Norrodin	10		10
7		Takuma Kunimine	21		9
8		Helmi Azman	11		8
9		Shafiq Rasol	3		7
10		Ai Ogura	9		6
11		Kite Fuse	15		5
12		Yuta Date	6		4
13		Yuanhang Chen	19		3
14		Azroy Anuar	20		2
15		Sittipon Srimoontree	7		1
16		Pengyuan Chen	14		0
17		Lachlan Taylor	16		0
18		Tom Edwards	8		0
19		Andi Izdihar	23		0
20		Fakhrusy Rostam	17		0
21		Ryusei Yamanaka	12		0
22		McKinley Paz	5		0

Photos and words by Thoriq

(Additional trackside photos courtesy of Mauro Talamonti / Crunch Communication PR for Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup)