Second and Third on Asian Class  and Open International Class Podium Respectively

CHANGHUA, Taiwan, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship made its way to K1 Circuit, Changhua, Taiwan today with another fabulous round of SuperMoto battle amongst top international riders.
 
Malaysia’s Khairi Zakaria, dubbed as the black horse of the 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship season with a high chance of winning the Asian Class, rebounded from his less than satisfying performance at the opening race in Thailand last September. His winning at Indonesia round boosted his confidence, leading to a steadier tempo and the craving to win the overall championship title.
 
With Muhd Habibullah temporarily out of the picture due to a motocross injury that punctured his lungs, Khairi may be on his journey to the Asian Class victory should he overcome the 2015 champion, Thailand’s Trakarn Thangthong.
 
Qualifying Report
United Kingdom’s Lewis Cornish was a cut above the rest in Qualifying and SuperChrono as he sits on pole for the third consecutive time at the 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto third round in Changhua, Taiwan.
 
The Englishman needed just under eight minutes and a mere five laps to clock 1:07.116s to move into the SuperChrono phase together with Malaysia's Khairi Zakaria, Trakarn Thangthong of Thailand, Japan's Naoto Takayama and Takashi Sasaki and Singapore's Hasroy Osman.
 
Khairi, the sole Malaysian rider after Muhd Habibullah's season ending injury, made good account of himself with the second best time of 1:08.116s.

SuperChrono Report
It was a similar tale to qualifying with none able to match the quality of Lewis Cornish. This time he shut his bike down with 14 minutes left of the 20-minute SuperChrono round and returned to track in the last five minutes hoping to best his time of 1:06.255s.
 
He did not, thus cruising home for lunch before making an assault on another race victory later in the afternoon.
 
It came down to a battle for front row positions. Khairi Zakaria, and Trakarn Thangthong were in a mighty battle to take second place.
 
The Thai rider seemed to have found an edge as he sped to a 1:06.946s lap time. Khairi came into the paddock for some tune up before re-emerging on track with less than two minutes left. The 29-year-old was barely hanging on to his bike on the dirt as he made a dash to improve his time.
 
Managed to squeeze in two laps, his final lap 1:07.682s was his best.
 
Moto 1 Race Report
UK’s Lewis Cornish showed why he is a class above the rest as he fought back from the crash and pretty soon was hot on the wheels of Malaysia's Khairi Zakaria in second place. The 25-year-old whittled down a nine-second deficit to one second at the penultimate lap.
 
"By the time I caught up to Khairi, he was taking defensive lines, not letting me through. But it is what it is. Hopefully for the next one I can get the win.
 
Meanwhile Khairi said he was struggling in the race due to a tough fight from Trakarn and Lewis. He was cautious throughout the race not attempting any double-triple jump combinations after seeing Lewis crash.
 
He wasn't afraid of Lewis catching up and getting so close to him but was worried the Englishman would pass him.
 
"At the time I was wary of him passing me so I kept my lines tight and tried to create some distance between me and him," said the 29-year-old.
 
"I didn't attempt any double and triple jumps so in the next race I must do it.
 
"As you heard Lewis saying earlier he tried that combo and fell. However the rewards for doing it is more speed and momentum. I think the next race I will have to follow the leaders close by and attempt this difficult jump sequence."
 
Moto 2 Race Report
Khairi did not make any major changes to his bike and most of the bikes today were on similar levels.
 
Khairi had to change a few settings as the bike he uses in Malaysia is a 2016 model while the one in Taiwan is 2017's model.
 
"I knew Lewis was going to fight for first position and somehow he got past me early," said Khairi.
 
"From then on it was a struggle but I never let up I still wanted to chase Trakarn for the second place when he and Lewis swapped top position.”
 
"I'm satisfied with the standard I put out as at least a Malaysian is challenging for places," exclaimed Khairi who races for 23 Motor Racing Team.
 
"In more time we can produce better riders and show we can challenge the best out there. In fact if Muhd Habibullah (Gabit) was here he would give Lewis a stronger challenge. That guy can do crazy things," he chuckled.
 
The 2017 FIM Asia SuperMoto Championship will continue with its penultimate round at Singapore on 10 December 2017, and the grand finale at Bukit Jalil, Malaysia, on 16 and 17 December 2017.
 
For more information, visit www.supermotoasia.com.  

Click here for Supermoto Asia Championship Taiwan Race Report

Source : E-Plus Entertainment Productions (M) Sdn Bhd

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