SHAH ALAM, NOV 29: Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi will need to be at his very best to win both remaining races to become the overall champion of the SuperSports 600cc Asia in the final round of the FIM Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at the Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand, from December 2 till December 4.
After 10 races in five previous rounds, the Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider is now in second place overall with 143 points, seven points behind Japanese leader, Tomoyoshi Koyama (T-Pro Yuzy Honda NTS With Wow) who has 150 points.
“There is no other way for me to win the SuperSports 600cc. I need to win both races (Race 1 and Race 2) and cannot make any mistakes because Koyama has a good record in Buriram circuit,” said Zaqhwan, winner of the 2014 SuperSports 600cc ARRC.
Besides Zaqhwan and Koyama, two other riders are still in contention for the crown, including defending champion, Yuki Takahashi who is in third place with 128 points and fellow national rider, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman in fourth with 116 points.
“The competition is very tough this week. In 2014, I was helped by fellow teammate, Mohd Zamri Baba but this time my own teammate, Takahashi is also my rival on the circuit.
The team has not issued any orders to give way to anyone, so we have to give 100% to prove who is better,” Zaqhwan said.
The 21-year-old rider added that other wildcards added to the intense competition.
“Several wildcard experienced riders will also be in action like Hikari Okubo (Asia Dream Cup 2012 champion), national World SuperSports rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin, ARRC and All Japan winner, Chalermpol Polamai as well as Tatsuya Yamaguchi (former Moto2 rider).
“If I was a fan of Asian motorsport, I would be so excited to watch the race on tv.
“Where else can we see the best riders in Asia on the same circuit? For fans, it certainly is exciting, but for me as a racer, it sure is going to be a challenging race,” he said.
ARRC: Zaqhwan needs to win to be Asian champion
