Asia Road Racing Championship
FIM ARRC Official Logo | |
Category | Motorcycle sport |
---|---|
Region | Asia |
Inaugural season | 1996 |
Classes |
|
Official website |
www |
SuperSports 600cc | |
Constructors | Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha |
Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
Riders' champion |
2017 |
Teams' champion | Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing |
Constructors' champion | Kawasaki |
Asia Production 250cc | |
Constructors | Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha |
Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
Riders' champion |
2017 |
Teams' champion | Astra Honda Racing Team |
Constructors' champion | Honda |
Underbone 150cc | |
Constructors | Honda, Yamaha |
Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
Riders' champion |
2017 |
Teams' champion | UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor |
Constructors' champion | Yamaha |
Suzuki Asian Challenge | |
Constructors | Suzuki |
Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
Riders' champion |
2017 |
Constructors' champion | Suzuki |
The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is the regional motorcycle road racing championship for Asia, held since 1996.
This championship is part of the production-based category of racing, similar to the Supersport World Championship, British Supersport Championship and AMA Supersport Championship. Modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public are featured in the race.
The championship is currently divided into three open-make classes and one mono-brand developmental classes. The open-make categories are the SuperSports 600cc, Asia Production 250cc and Underbone 150cc. The developmental class, the Suzuki Asian Challenge, race on single-make motorcycles.
Overview
The Asia Road Racing Championship was first organized in 1996 as part of an Asian-wide initiative boost the development of the sport of motorcycle racing in the continent. The championship received the endorsement of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM, "International Motorcycling Federation") in 1997 and has been recognized since as the Asian continental championship for the FIM.[1]
The commercial rights are owned by Two Wheels Motor Racing, with FIM Asia as the sports sanctioning body.
Each season consists of six rounds with two races organized per round.[2]
Circuits
The championship tours in Asia but is open to riders from all nationalities.
The Asia Road Racing 2017 season consisted of 12 races at 5 circuits in 5 Asian countries.
- Johor, Malaysia, Johor Circuit
- Buriram, Thailand, Chang International Circuit
- Suzuka, Japan, Suzuka Circuit
- Sentul, Indonesia, Sentul International Circuit
- Chennai, India, Madras Motor Race Track
Other venues that had previously hosted the Asia Road Racing Championship included:
- Shah Alam, Malaysia, Shah Alam Circuit
- Nakhonchaisee, Thailand, Thailand Racing Circuit
- Batangas, Philippines, Batangas Racing Circuit
- Subic Bay, Philippines, Subic Bay International Raceway[3]
- Zhuhai, China, Zhuhai International Circuit
- New Delhi, India, Buddh International Circuit
- Sepang, Malaysia, Sepang International Circuit
- Fukuoka, Japan, Autopolis Circuit
- Doha, Qatar, Losail International Circuit
2017 race classes and motorcycles
Race class | Honda | Kawasaki | Suzuki | Yamaha |
---|---|---|---|---|
SuperSports 600cc | CBR600RR | ZX-6R 600 | GSX-R600 | YZF-R6 |
Asia Production 250cc | CBR250RR | Ninja 250R | YZF-R25 | |
Underbone 150cc | Model numbers differ in different market regions | |||
Suzuki Asian Challenge | GSX-R150/Satria F150 |
Chronology: winners and race classes
1996–1999
The road racing series began on 2-stroke engines.
Year | Series Production 250cc (2-stroke) | Sports Production 150cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 110cc (2-stroke) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | ||||
1997 | ||||
1998 | ||||
1999 |
2000
The gradual shift to 4-stroke engines began in 2000 when the SuperSports 600cc class replaced the previous 250cc bikes as the premier class of the championship.[4]
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | GP125 (2-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 110cc (2-stroke) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 |
2001–2002
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | GP125 (2-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | |||
2002 |
2003
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) |
---|---|---|
2003 |
2004–2005
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 125cc (2-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | |||
2005 |
2006
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (Under 21) |
---|---|---|---|
2006 |
2007–2011
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) |
---|---|---|
2007 | ||
2008 | ||
2009 | ||
2010 | ||
2011 |
2012–2014
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 115cc (4-stroke) | Asia Dream Cup |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | |||
2013 | |||
2014 |
2015–2016
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Asia Production 250cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 130cc (4-stroke) | Asia Dream Cup | Suzuki Asian Challenge |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | |||||
2016 |
2017
Year | SuperSports 600cc (4-stroke) | Asia Production 250cc (4-stroke) | Underbone 150cc (4-stroke) | Suzuki Asian Challenge |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 |
Notable achievements
The Asia Road Racing Championship is a mix of well-known riders racing against upcoming talents from the Asian region. Some of the big names that have contributed to the growth of the sport of road racing in Asia include Katsuaki Fujiwara, Ryuichi Kiyonari,[5] Yuki Takahashi and Noriyuki Haga.[6] In 2016, Anthony West was the latest addition in the roster of internationally recognized names.[7]
This formula of pitting upcoming talents against seasoned campaigners have resulted in a number of successes. In recent years, riders from the Asian region are beginning to make their breakthrough into the MotoGP arena. These include:
- Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini (250cc, 1996 to 2002)
- Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Moto2, 2013 to 2015)[8]
- Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Moto2, 2011 to 2017; MotoGP, 2018 to present)
- Thitipong Warokorn (Moto2, 2013 to 2015)
- Rafid Topan Sucipto (Moto2, 2013)
- Doni Tata Pradita (Moto2, 2013)
- Khairul Idham Pawi (Moto3, 2016; Moto2, 2017 to present)[9]
- Hiroki Ono (Moto3, 2013 to 2016)
On July 4 to 11, 2016, five young riders from the Asia Production 250cc class became the first batch of riders to be trained at the VR46 Academy in Italy as part of the Yamaha|VR46 Master Camp. They were Peerapong Loiboonpeng (21, Thailand), Imanuel Putra Pratna (19, Indonesia), Galang Hendra Pratama (17, Indonesia), Soichiro Minamimoto (16, Japan) and Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (16, Malaysia).[10][11]
References
- ↑ "Road Racing - FIM ASIA". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Asia Road Racing Championship 2016 (ARRC)
- ↑ "The Marlboro Asia Pacific Philippines leg at Subic Bay - by Paul Peczon". www.dot.com.ph. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "New Categories For FIM Asia Road Racing". Utusan Online. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Kiyonari to compete in Asia Road Racing Championship | BSB News". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Haga signs with Suzuki for Asia Road Race Championship | WSBK News". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "Motorcycling Australia: News Single". www.ma.org.au. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "Kamaruzaman To Join Honda Team Asia For Remainder Of FIM Moto2 World Championship". www.roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ "Honda Worldwide | Motor Sports | MotoGP | Honda Riders Close Up | Moto3 Khairul Idham Pawi Honda Team Asia". world.honda.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- ↑ Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Rossi takes Master Camp riders to Misano | MotoGP News". Retrieved 2016-07-12.
- ↑ Sports, Dorna. "Five rising stars head to VR46 Master Camp". www.motogp.com. Retrieved 2016-07-12.