AZLAN PULLS A FAST ONE 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. HARLAN FOR POLE Indonesian rider Harlan Fadhillah scored his first pole position of the season after topping the timesheets in a wet qualifying session for the Underbone 115cc class in Round 2 of the 2013 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship at the Sentul International Circuit, Indonesia. Harlan, who had been the pace maker of the Underbone class throughout the two days of practices stayed consistent despite the change of weather, snapping up the pole position with his fastest time of 1:57.781s which was clocked early in the qualifying session on Lap 2. Harlan was the only one who logged 01:57 on the wet track. “I played a smart game today. I saw the rain clouds forming so I started pushing as soon as the track opened. After the third lap, when the rain started coming down in earnest, it was no longer possible to match the time,” said Harlan. Gupita Kresna Wardhana joins his countryman on the front row with the second fastest time, 1:58.004s. Meanwhile, young Malaysian rider Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam who is on his first outing at the Sentul International Circuit impresses with the third fastest time, 01:58.588s and will join the two Indonesian aces at the front row. Norizman Ismail will head the list for the second row with 1:58.603 followed by the two youngest riders in the Underbone 115cc grid, 13-year-old AM Fadly and 12-year-old Kazuki Masaki who posted the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively. Ferlando Herdian, Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa, Mohd Rozaiman Said and defending champion Hadi Wijaya completed the top-10. NO. 1 FOR BIKE NO. 1 AGAIN Hiroki Ono adds yet another pole position into his bag as he laps home with 1:51.463s to lead the Asia Dream Cup races on Sunday in Round 2 of the 2013 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship at the Sentul International Circuit, Indonesia. Joining Ono on the front row are two Indonesian riders Dwi Satria and Gerry Salim respectively with times of 1:51.925s and 1:51.933s. Meanwhile, Singaporean rider Jazil Juraimi achieved his best starting position in the Asia Dream Cup category to date, and will be starting the race fourth on the grid with 1:52.487s. Jazil leads Row 2 alongside Thai rider Kanatat Jaiman and Japanese newbie Reitoku Kurogi. Other riders within the top-10 are Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, Fitri Ashraf Razali and Jakkrit Swangswat.