IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2025 roared into action today at the Sepang International Circuit, with Malaysia’s very own Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT Racing Team setting the pace in the ASB1000 class under scorching Malaysian heat.
Hafizh, a former MotoGP rider and national motorsport icon, stamped his authority early, topping the combined practice times with an impressive 2’05.808s lap during Practice 3. His commanding form placed him ahead of a strong field of regional contenders, establishing him as the man to beat heading into Saturday’s Qualifying session.
Trailing just 0.079s behind, fellow Malaysian Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi of IDEMITSU Honda Racing Malaysia secured second place overall with a best lap of 2’05.887s, ensuring a strong local presence at the top of the leaderboard.
Australian rider Lachlan Epis of SAVITAR Racing Asia took third with a 2’06.095s effort, while Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. Honda Philippines and Malaysian veteran Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of A1 Energy BMW Racing Team rounded out the top five with times of 2’06.187s and 2’06.323s, respectively.
After leading all three practice sessions with consistent pace, Hafizh expressed satisfaction with his performance but emphasized the need for continuous improvement as the weekend progresses.
“It was a good first day,” said Hafizh. “I’m really happy with my pace in Practice 3; we rode almost like in a race. There’s still room for improvement, but the team and I did very well. It’s unfortunate that my teammate crashed in Practice 1 and lost valuable track time — I wish him a speedy recovery. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on Qualifying and give our best for Race 1.”
As Ryo Mizuno, Japanese wildcard rider of JDT Racing Team, has ridden in Practice 1 only with the best lap record of 2:10.646 minutes, but did not ride in Practice 2 and 3 sessions due to an incident, and needs to be checked by medical personnel to confirm for the race tomorrow.
Credit Photo : ARRC
