Azlan takes his Honda to pole position in Suzuka

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman made amends for his disappointing outing in Friday’s practice session to take pole position in the SuperSports 600cc class of the Petronas Asia Road Racing Championships (ARRC) in Suzuka, Japan, yesterday.

The Mushashi Boon Siew Honda rider snatched pole position by clocking 2:14.107 in the eighth lap during the 40-minute qualifying session, just 0.005 seconds faster than local wild card entrant Shinichi Nakatomi (RC Koshien).

Katsuaki Fujiwara (BEET Kawasaki Racing), the 2011 champion, will start from third on the grid after clocking 2:14.726.

“We are happy to take our third consecutive pole position but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels because Nakatomi and Fujiwara are very close. It will be a tight battle and I do feel a bit of pressure but fortunately starting from the front gives me a slight advantage,” said Azlan.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Afif Amran, benefited from the newly-launched Dunlop KR410 tyre, which is specially developed for underbone racing, to start from the front row in the Underbone 115cc category.

The Petronas Hong Leong Yamaha rider qualified for third spot on the grid after coming home in a personal best lap time of 1:03.217.

Starting on pole will be Hadi Wijaya (R9 Racing Team), who clocked 1:02.682, followed by Indonesian compatriot Harlan Fadhillah (Pertamina Enduro Nissin R9 Cargloss), who had a 1:03.209 timing.