ARRC 2026: Hafizh Dominates ASB1000 Practice at Buriram

Malaysian ace Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah sent an early warning to his rivals after topping the ASB1000 combined practice sessions at the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2026 Round 2 at Chang International Circuit.

Representing the JDT Racing Team, the former MotoGP rider delivered a blistering fastest lap of 1:35.742 aboard his Ducati Panigale V4R across the three official practice sessions, emerging as the quickest rider heading into qualifying and the weekend races.

Hafizh consistently improved throughout the day, clocking 1:36.719 in Practice 1, 1:36.095 in Practice 2, before unleashing his best performance in Practice 3 to finish on top of the standings.

Australian rider Rocco Sessler secured second place overall with a fastest lap of 1:35.888 on the BMW M1000 RR, just 0.146 seconds behind Hafizh. Meanwhile, Malaysian youngster Azroy Hakeem Anuar completed a strong top-three showing after posting 1:35.997 on his Honda CBR1000RR-R.

Another Malaysian contender, Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi, maintained his competitive pace to finish fourth overall with a best time of 1:36.005. At the same time, JDT Racing Team teammate Andi Farid Izdihar rounded out the top five riding the Ducati Panigale V4R.

Japanese rider Keito Abe ended the session sixth, ahead of Australia’s Lachlan Epis and Thailand’s Nakarin Atiratphuvapat.

The strong performance by Hafizh continues his impressive momentum in the 2026 ARRC campaign as he aims to strengthen his challenge for the ASB1000 title this season. Racing on home turf for many Southeast Asian teams, the Buriram round is expected to deliver another intense battle among the region’s elite superbike riders.

Further down the order, Indonesia’s Mohammad Adenanta Putra placed ninth, while British rider Olly Simpson completed the top ten.

With lap times separated by fractions of a second among the leading riders, qualifying is set to be crucial as teams search for every possible advantage at the high-speed Thai circuit.