Sarmoon tops ARRC Superbike Test | Glenn Allerton 5th

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship

The first official tyre test and outing for the fledgling new ASB 1000 Superbike category came to a conclusion on Wednesday after a busy two-day test program at Chang International Circuit in Buriram.

ARRC Test Day Superbike Anupab Sarmoon — Anupab Sarmoon

On day two 25-year-old Yamaha Thailand ace Anupab Sarmoon knocked Kawasaki’s Thitipong Warokorn out of top spot in the penultimate session on Wednesday afternoon with a 1m36.003.

ARRC Test Day Superbike Thitipong Warokorn — Thitipong Warokorn

As a reference, Jonathan Rea’s WorldSBK Superpole lap in 2018 at the circuit was 1m32.814.

Warokorn failed to improve on the 1m36.167 he set on day one, but went very close in the final session with a 1m36.184.

Andi Farid Izdihar punted the Honda Asia Dream Racing Fireblade to third quickest ahead of Kawasaki’s Chaiwichit Nisakul, who like team-mate Warokorn, failed to improve on his day one marker.

ARRC Test Day Superbike Andi Farid Izdihar — Andi Farid Izdihar

Australian Glenn Allerton and his homegrown NextGen BMW squad were also present at Buriram to chance their arm ahead of a proposal to join the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship ASB1000 ranks for season 2019. Allerton ended the test fifth quickest on a best of 1m36.713.

ARRC Test Day Superbike Glenn Allerton NextGen — Glenn Allerton

Dunlop technicians had been using the hot weather testing to refine their tyre options for the new series and had hoped to see riders break into the 1m35s.

ARRC Test Day Superbike Ratthapong Wilairot — Ratthapong Wilairot

Kentaro Kobayashi – Dunlop

“At this moment, the exact specs for 2019 is yet to be determined. What we can say is that this tyre is an all new development, with the compound construction built specifically for the ARRC. This is why this week’s tyre test is so very important for the success of the ASB1000 class. We have brought with us a large variety of compounds and construction to determine which will be better for the soft, medium and hard tyres. Unlike other Championships, the ARRC usually race in very high temperatures. With the possible exception of the rounds in Japan and Australia, the rest of the races run on searing hot asphalts. The tyres must be up to challenge of performing well under those circumstances without sacrificing grip and the stability of the tyre performance.”