A heartbreaking final-lap crash denied Malaysia’s Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah a podium finish in Race 2 of the ASB1000 category at the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2025 – Round 5 held at the Sepang International Circuit on Sunday.
The JDT Racing Team rider, who started from pole position (P1), was in prime contention for a back-to-back home victory after dominating much of the 11-lap race. Hafizh maintained his lead group position from the start, holding P2 behind Zaqhwan Zaidi (Idemitsu Honda Racing Malaysia) before overtaking his compatriot with two laps remaining.
However, drama unfolded on the final lap at Turn 9, when Hafizh and Zaqhwan collided while battling fiercely for the lead. The incident sent Hafizh sliding into the gravel, but the determined Malaysian quickly remounted his bike and pushed on to finish in 10th place.
Despite the crash, Hafizh recorded a best lap of 2:06.172 minutes, finishing +1:03.762 seconds behind the race winner and collecting six valuable points.
The race winner in this race is Azroy Hakeem Anuar, Malaysian rider from Idemitsu Honda Racing Malaysia and made the fastest lap with the record 2:05.959 minutes.
With this result, Hafizh drops to second in the overall ASB1000 standings, trailing Thailand’s Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda Racing Thailand) by just four points. Nakarin’s consistent form this weekend — including a strong podium finish in Race 2 — allowed him to overtake Hafizh heading into the decisive final round.
The championship decider will take place at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, from December 5–7, 2025.
Credit Photo : ARRC
