The daunting track surface at the Sentul International Circuit has done little to hamper Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman's determination as the Malaysian rider pulls yet another lap record out of the bag during the SuperSports 600cc qualifying practice.
A light rain shower in the Underbone 115cc qualifying left the SuperSports 600cc riders with a damp track to contend with. The riders from the host nation were the first to dominate the session with M. Fadli, Dimas Ekky Pratama and Denny Triyugo lapping quickest on the wet track. But within a few minutes, Azlan and Zamri Baba were beginning to make their presence felt. Makoto Inagaki, Ahmad Fuad Baharudin and Katsuaki Fujiwara were also among the riders who popped up at the top of the timesheets.
Fadli responded to the increased pressure when clocked 1:30.794 on his seventh lap out on track. With only two minutes left on the clock, it seemed likely that Fadli would earn his first pole position in the SuperSports 600cc class. However, the Indonesian rider found himself relegated to third fastest when a final charge by Azlan Shah and Zamri Baba put them on top of the list.
Azlan broke his own lap record of 01:30.527 (2012), replacing it with a new 01:30.383s at the very last seconds of the qualifying session. Zamri Baba also made it to the front row with the second fastest time of qualifying with 01:30.623s.
"We struggled a lot with the setting because the track was half wet and half dry. I spent a lot of time going in and out of the pit. Finally, when I knew that it was my last lap out on track, I decided to forget all about posting time and just went flat out. In fact, I was surprised to learn that I had broken my own lap record," said Azlan.
This will be Azlan's second pole position at the Sentul International Circuit and will give the Malaysian rider a slight advantage over Katsuaki Fujiwara who will be parking his bike on P4 after clocking 1:30.912s. After Round 1, both riders are tied at the number 1 spot.
Ahmad Fuad Baharudin and Makoto Tamada will join Fujiwara on the second row, followed by Dimas Ekky Pratama, HA Yudhistira and Ryuta Kobayashi on Row 3. Ryuta Kobayashi takes up the final spot within the top-10.
Fadli responded to the increased pressure when clocked 1:30.794 on his seventh lap out on track. With only two minutes left on the clock, it seemed likely that Fadli would earn his first pole position in the SuperSports 600cc class. However, the Indonesian rider found himself relegated to third fastest when a final charge by Azlan Shah and Zamri Baba put them on top of the list.
Azlan broke his own lap record of 01:30.527 (2012), replacing it with a new 01:30.383s at the very last seconds of the qualifying session. Zamri Baba also made it to the front row with the second fastest time of qualifying with 01:30.623s.
"We struggled a lot with the setting because the track was half wet and half dry. I spent a lot of time going in and out of the pit. Finally, when I knew that it was my last lap out on track, I decided to forget all about posting time and just went flat out. In fact, I was surprised to learn that I had broken my own lap record," said Azlan.
This will be Azlan's second pole position at the Sentul International Circuit and will give the Malaysian rider a slight advantage over Katsuaki Fujiwara who will be parking his bike on P4 after clocking 1:30.912s. After Round 1, both riders are tied at the number 1 spot.
Ahmad Fuad Baharudin and Makoto Tamada will join Fujiwara on the second row, followed by Dimas Ekky Pratama, HA Yudhistira and Ryuta Kobayashi on Row 3. Ryuta Kobayashi takes up the final spot within the top-10.
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