Hot racing by 46 riders from five ASEAN countries YAMAHA ASEAN CUP 2006 Indonesia wins both classes for second overall victory

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. in cooperation with its Indonesian group companies P.T. YAMAHA INDONESIA MOTOR MANUFACTURING (YIMM) and P.T. YAMAHA MOTOR KENCANA INDONESIA (YMKI) held the Yamaha ASEAN Cup 2006 at the Pekan Raya Jakarta Circuit (Indonesia; one lap = 1,200 m) over the three days of December 15 to 17.

In this, the 4th Yamaha ASEAN Cup, riders from the five ASEAN countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand who had qualified in local national competitions gathered for this international race event to compete for the title of No. 1 in the ASEAN region. The riders competed in either the Expert or Novice class, with the racing conducted in a one-make format using Yamaha's 4-stroke sporty mopeds.

On Dec. 17 (Sunday), some 20,000 spectators gathered to watch the finals for the two classes, which were competed on a two-heat basis. Due to a sudden rain shower just before the scheduled start of competition, the starting time for the first heat of the Expert Class finals had to be delayed more than 40 minutes. The result of that heat saw last year's Expert Class winner, Decha Kraisart (Thailand) ran away to victory with a 6-sec. lead over 2nd place. In the second heat, Florianus Roy (Indonesia) came from behind to grab the victory on the final lap. Having finished 2nd in the first heat, this gave Roy the overall victory in the Expert Class and made him the fourth rider in history to claim the Yamaha ASEAN Cup title.

In the Novice Class competition, Sudarmono (Indonesia) won both heats to claim the overall victory. And, in this way, the Indonesian team was able to answer the expectations of the many local fans who turned out to cheer for them by winning both classes and claiming the ASEAN Cup team title for the second time, following their victory in the competition's first year. It has been announced that the fifth Yamaha ASEAN Cup will be held in 2007 in Malaysia, as it was in the second year of the competition.

Beginning with this year's Yamaha ASEAN Cup 2006, the race machine for the Expert Class was Yamaha's deluxe 4-stroke moped model "T135" (Indonesian market name: Jupiter MX135). Just before the go-sign was about to be given for the start of the first heat of the finals of this class, a heavy rain began to fall. As the teams rushed to change to wet-condition tires, the start had to be delayed for more than 40 minutes. To compensate for this late start, the race distance was shortened from 18 to 16 laps.

Even though the rain had stopped when the racing finally began, there were still several large puddles remaining on the track. At the start, the pole position holder from the previous day's qualifying, #5 Doni Tata Pradita (Indonesia; age 16) got the hole shot and led the race through the first lap. On the third curve of the second lap, however, he was passed by last year's ASEAN Cup Expert Class winner Decha Kraisart (Thailand; age 25) on the #3 machine. On the third lap Pratida was also passed by his teammate Florianus Roy (Indonesia; age 20) riding the #92 machine. From lap six the race developed into a one-on-one duel between Kraisart and Roy, with Pradita in 3rd position. This lasted until the first curve of the ninth lap, when Roy took a fall. Although he recovered quickly and gave chase again, a gap of five seconds had been opened and the rooster tails of spray from the wet track made it harder to pursue the leader, Kraisart. At the finish, Kraisart had opened up a lead of 6.065 sec. over the 2nd-place runner, Roy.

The second heat was held in the originally planned 18-lap format. Again it was Pradita who got the best start on the #5 machine, followed by Roy on #92 and Kraisart on #3. By lap 10, these three riders had opened up a big gap over the rest of the field. By lap 14, Kraisart was beginning to lose ground in trying to get past the back-markers, leaving the two Indonesian teammates to battle for the lead. With each curve Roy would close in on Pradita but fail to get past him. It was finally on lap 18, the final lap of the race, that Roy managed to get past Pradita on the second curve and claim the victory. This win also gave him the overall victory in the Expert Class.

In the Novice Class, which was competed on the same "T110" (Indonesian market name: Jupiter Z) that has been used for the past three ASEAN Cups, it was the 3rd-place qualifier, Sudarmono (Indonesia; age 20) on machine #54 and 2nd-place qualifier Ardhi Satya Sadarma (Indonesia; age 20) on machine #11 who led the race along with Mohd Zamri Baba (Malaysia; age 23) on machine #8. On lap six, Baba passed Sadarma and then went on to pass Sudarmono on the next lap and claim the lead. On lap eight Sudarmono took a fall on the first corner, allowing Azlan Shah B. Kamaruzaman (Malaysia; age 22) on machine #18 to move into 3rd position. After moving into 2nd position, however, Kamaruzaman also took a fall. On lap 13, Sadarma took a fall as well, leaving Baba in 1st position, Worawut Fungsuk (Thailand; age 21) on machine #92 in 2nd and Sudarmono, who had recovered from his fall, in 3rd position as the race entered the final stages. In a close battle for the lead, these three riders entered the last lap in this order and to the excitement of the home crowd, Sudarmono passed the two leaders to take the checkered. In heat two Sudarmono got a good start and went on to lead the field. Behind him in 2nd position was the top quaifier, Mohd Iskandar B. Raduan (Malaysia; age 21) on machine #27. To the end, Raduan was unable to catch the leader Sudarmono, who went on to win the second heat as well and claim the overall Novice Class victory. Raduan finished 2nd with Anon Sangwarn (Thailand; age 16) on machine #103 in 3rd. At the awards ceremony the flags of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand waved in the blue skies after the rain.

• Comment by Florianus Roy, Expert Class Champion (2nd, 1st) Yamaha Indonesia Team:
"I was surprised when I qualified 2nd overall and I was even more surprised and proud that I was able to win the overall championship for our home team. The track conditions were bad in the first heat after the rain, and because of the long delay before the start I lost my concentration, which is why I took that fall, I think. In the second heat, I concentrated very hard because I wanted to cover for Doni Tata Pradita, who had fractured a bone in his leg when he fell in our national championships in the morning, and help our team win the overall championship. I knew because of the points that I had to win the second heat in order to get the championship, so I tried my best to pass Pradita, who was running in the lead. My long-term goal is to become a MotoGP rider, so I am working now on my physical training to build my strength."

• Comment by Sudarmono, Novice Class Champion (1st, 1st) Yamaha Indonesia Team:
"When I fell in the first heat because I was pushing too hard, I thought to myself, "Look what you've done now." But, since there were still plenty of laps left in the race, I calmed myself down and just concentrated on passing one rider at a time. When I moved into third position in the second half of the race, I could see the two riders in front of me and I knew I was riding better than them, so I had the confidence to pass them. During the second heat I was able to attack with confidence because I had seen from the first heat that my machine was set up better than the others. I am determined not to be satisfied with this result but to move up to the Expert Class for our national championships and pursue my dream of becoming a MotoGP rider."

• Comment by Edmond Cho (Yamaha Indonesia Team Manager):
"Since there was a lot of pressure on us to win as the host country, I am very relieved and happy that we were able to win the overall championships thanks to the efforts of the riders, the teams and the support of many people around us. It was a good thing that nothing serious happened to Doni Tata Pradita when he fell in the morning's national championship race, and it was great to see him compete in the finals with his usual "lion's heart." Seeing that effort by Pradita, who has competed in the MotoGP 125cc class and the All-Japan Championships, certainly inspired our two winning riders, Roy and Sudarmono, and the rest to aspire to the next level, and this surely made our whole Indonesia team stronger. But, my goal is to have a MotoGP rider come out of these ASEAN competitions, so I am determined to continue our efforts to nurture truly professional riders."

• Comment by Masanori Kobayashi (President, Yamaha Motor Asian Center), Yamaha ASEAN Cup 2006 event Chairman:
"This fourth Yamaha ASEAN Cup has been a great success thanks to the fine organizational efforts and hospitality of the host country, Indonesia, and the outstanding attitude and sportsmanship that the participants from the five ASEAN countries brought to this race event. I want to thank everyone for this. Due to a number of factors, like the use of Yamaha's flagship moped "T135" in the Expert Class for the first time this year, we saw a lot of very exciting racing during this event, which I think was every bit as thrilling as the MotoGP. It was clear to me how the level, not only of the riders but also the team mechanics and managers, has been rising steadily each year. In the ASEAN region, where motorcycles are essential part of daily life, we are now seeing motorcycle racing become a more familiar sport too. Race events like this Yamaha ASEAN Cup, where the riders can see themselves at the center of exciting Kando(*) that is shared by all the riders, the teams and the spectators, are truly events worthy of Yamaha Motor, the company that strives to create Kando. I hope to see the ASEAN Cup continue for the next five years and the next ten years as a race event of and for the people of the ASEAN region."

• Comment by Yoshiteru Takahashi (President and Director, Yamaha Indonesia Motor) as host country representative:
"It gives me a great sense of pride to see how the people of the Yamaha group here in the ASEAN region have been able to come together and put on such an exciting race event as this. I believe that it truly reflects the Yamaha spirit. The spirit of challenge shown by the riders out on the track during this competition has surely delighted the 20,000 spectators who gathered to watch them. I hope that watching these races also gave them a clearer image of Yamaha as a sporty and innovative brand. Next year, the Yamaha ASEAN Cup will be held in Malaysia, and I hope to see this event expand further in the future with the added participation of Vietnam and the countries of the Philippines and Singapore eventually serving as the event's host countries too."

(*) Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feeling of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that people experience when they encounter something of exceptional value.