Syahrin makes it eight straight as Aussies mix it at Mandalika

2026 Asia Road Racing Championships
Round Four – Mandalika

Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah’s perfect start to the 2026 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship rolled relentlessly on at Mandalika, the JDT Racing Team Ducati rider completing another ASB1000 double to extend his remarkable winning streak to eight races from eight starts.

Keito Abe again proved the Malaysian’s closest challenger, coming within 0.130 seconds of denying Hafizh in Saturday’s opener before finishing runner-up again on Sunday. Hafizh consequently leaves Indonesia with the maximum possible 200 points, 44 clear of Abe.

There was plenty of Australian interest in the premier class. Lachlan Epis qualified on the front row and had the speed to be much further forward than his eventual results suggest; Anthony West scored eighth on Saturday, while five-time Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters made an impressive cameo with JDT Racing Team.

Waters was ninth in his first race on the JDT Panigale V4 R before moving forward to sixth on Sunday, collecting 17 points across the weekend. That result came only months after Waters told MCNews he would welcome another opportunity overseas and specifically nominated an ARRC appearance as something he would like to do.

It followed an action-packed third round at Motegi, where Hafizh had already established himself as the dominant force in ASB1000.

Elsewhere, Indonesian riders gave the Mandalika crowd plenty to cheer about. Wahyu Nugroho finally claimed his long-awaited maiden SS600 victory, Irfan Ardiansyah won a chaotic second AP250 encounter, while Husni Zainul Fuadzy swept both UB150 races.

Spain’s Vicente Perez Selfa also continued his charge through the TVS Racing International Championship with another double, extending his winning streak in the one-make category to three.

ASB1000

Lachlan Epis signalled his intentions in qualifying, putting the Swift Grow Racing Team BMW M 1000 RR on the front row alongside pole-sitter Hafizh Syahrin and Keito Abe. Hafizh’s pole lap was a 1m35.154s, but Epis was firmly in the hunt ahead of Race One.

Unfortunately, Epis was a little too eager when the lights went out.

The Australian jumped the start and was handed a long-lap penalty. Keito consequently took command ahead of Hafizh and Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, with Hafizh initially content to stalk the Japanese Honda rider.

Hafizh made his move on lap five, and from there the pair traded extremely quick laps. Keito refused to let the Ducati escape, arriving at the final turn close enough to attack before pulling alongside on the run to the flag.

Hafizh held him off by just 0.130 seconds, while Nakarin completed the podium eight seconds further back.

The penalty alone did not account for Epis slipping to seventh. He explained afterwards that the long lap dropped him to 11th and that he believed he had picked up debris while serving it, cutting the tyre and producing severe vibration for the remainder of the race. Despite that, he recovered to seventh.

“What could have been yesterday, after a decent job in qualifying I was a bit too eager and jumped the start, something I haven’t done since I was 14,” Epis explained.

“Took me a lap to get my head into gear and started to feel okay as I came to the long lap and dropped down to 11th. Annoyingly my punishment didn’t stop there, we believe in the long lap I ran over debris and cut the tyre that gave me some pretty extreme vibrations and limited my charge back to only seventh place.

“Lucky the tyre kept enough heat to hold its shape until the end of the race!”

Anthony West finished right behind Epis in eighth on the MotoGo Yamaha YZF-R1M, while Waters made it three Australians in succession by bringing the second JDT Ducati home ninth.

Sunday initially looked brighter again for Epis. Keito made the holeshot with the Australian slotting into second, but the promising start lasted little more than a lap before Epis crashed out.

Hafizh, meanwhile, had started fifth but needed only two laps to work his way to the front. Once there, he adopted a more aggressive strategy than on Saturday, immediately pushing hard enough to break Abe’s tow.

The Malaysian established a gap of more than three seconds before managing it to the flag, winning by 2.690 seconds from Abe. Rocco Sessler completed the podium on the BMW ahead of Nakarin and local hero Mohammad Adenanta Putra.

Waters steadily worked his way to sixth, 14.952 seconds behind Hafizh, to finish as the leading Australian. West retired after five laps while Epis was officially recorded as a DNF after completing only the opening lap.

After arriving at Mandalika ninth in the championship on 38 points, Epis leaves tenth on 47. West is 15th on 19 points while Waters immediately slots into 17th with the 17 points scored from his one-off appearance. Hafizh’s perfect 200-point score now gives him a substantial 44-point advantage over Abe.

ASB1000 Race One Results

ASB1000 Race Two Results

ASB1000 Championship Points

Supersports 600

Wahyu Nugroho arrived at his home round still chasing the maiden SS600 victory that had eluded him through his first two seasons in the category.

The Indonesian sat sixth in the championship before Mandalika and had made no secret of how much finally breaking through in front of his home crowd would mean.

On Saturday he delivered.

Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin started from pole, while Herjun Atna Firdaus initially led into Turn One. Wahyu worked his way to the front by lap two and remained right in the thick of a ferocious lead fight as Herjun, Anupab Sarmoon and Thanat Laoongplio all showed winning pace.

Late crashes dramatically changed the complexion of the race, but Wahyu stayed clear of the trouble and crossed the line 0.375-seconds ahead of Kasma, with Thanat only another 0.337-seconds away in third.

Race Two produced another thriller. Wahyu led early before McKinley Kyle Paz charged from seventh on the grid to the front, with Kasma and Thanat also taking turns at the sharp end.

Anupab had initially slipped to fifth but methodically worked his way forward. He capitalised when Kasma and Thanat became embroiled in their own battle, sweeping past both to grab the lead.

The decisive moment came on the final lap when Kasma and Thanat came down together. Anupab took the victory ahead of Paz and Herjun, while Saturday winner Wahyu was fourth.

The championship has tightened considerably. Kasma continues to lead on 127 points, but Thanat and Anupab are now tied on 118, only nine points from the lead. Wahyu’s home breakthrough elevates him to fourth on 96.

SS600 Race One – Top Five

SS600 Race Two – Top Five

SS600 Championship Points

Asia Production 250

Krittapat Keankum added another AP250 victory to his tally on Saturday, surviving another typically frantic encounter in which the lead repeatedly changed hands.

Hiroki Ono, Irfan Ardiansyah, Candra H and Reykat Yusuf Fadilah were all among those featuring near the front, but Krittapat judged the final lap best to take victory by 1.065-seconds from Fahmi Basam. Gerry Salim completed the podium, with the first five covered by only 1.555-seconds.

Sunday was considerably less kind to the championship contenders.

Krittapat crashed at Turn One almost immediately. Hiroki Ono and Fahmi Basam subsequently joined the list of casualties, before the final lap produced the biggest drama of all.

Rheza Danica Ahrens was leading when Candra H attempted an inside pass. The pair collided and both went down, blowing the race and championship picture wide open.

Irfan Ardiansyah kept himself clear of the carnage and claimed an emotional home victory. Riichi Takahira took his first career podium in second, only 0.394-seconds away, with Muhammad Fadhil Musyavi third.

Despite failing to score on Sunday, Krittapat still holds a commanding championship advantage on 137 points. Rheza is second on 92, while only two points separate Hiroki Ono, Irfan and Candra in the battle from third through fifth.

AP250 Race One – Top Five

AP250 Race Two – Top Five

AP250 Championship Points

Underbone 150

Husni Zainul Fuadzy could hardly have asked for a better home weekend.

Saturday’s first UB150 encounter was the usual slipstreaming melee, with positions changing virtually corner by corner and a sizeable lead group remaining intact into the closing stages.

Husni survived the chaos to win from Rendi Odding and Wahyu Aji Trilaksana. Just 0.705-seconds covered the first five at the flag.

Race Two was even closer.

Husni briefly managed to edge clear before M. Syirat Sauki closed him down and led the group onto the final lap. Rather than fighting the move immediately, Husni tucked into the slipstream and used Syirat as his target.

It worked perfectly. Husni slingshotted through to win by only 0.050-seconds, with Dimas Juli Atmoko third, 0.355-seconds behind.

The double gives Husni 157 points and a huge 67-point championship lead over Rendi. Dimas and Syirat are tied for third on 85.

UB150 Race One – Top Five

UB150 Race Two – Top Five

UB150 Championship Points

TVS Racing International Championship

Vicente Perez Selfa has rapidly become the man to beat in the TVS Racing International Championship.

Fresh from victory in the second Motegi encounter, the Spaniard qualified on pole at Mandalika before taking another closely fought win on Saturday.

Pedrinho Matos finished only 0.128-seconds behind, with Luis Miguel another tenth further back. Jean Kento Turner crossed the line just three-thousandths behind Luis, while championship leader Mohd Ramdan Rosli completed a top five covered by only 0.358-seconds.

India’s Chiranth Vishwanath, who had broken through for his maiden victory at Motegi, finished seventh but recorded the fastest lap of the race.

Vicente’s Sunday victory was arguably even better.

Pedrinho led onto the final lap and Vicente at one point found himself relegated to fourth behind Ramdan and Luis. The Spaniard stayed patient, positioned himself for the exit of the final corner and then used the slipstream to charge past all three rivals on the run to the chequered flag.

He won by 0.260-seconds from Pedrinho, with Luis only 0.011-seconds further back.

That completed a third consecutive victory for Vicente, but Ramdan’s consistency means the Malaysian still heads the championship on 133 points. Luis is second on 96, with Vicente now only another point behind despite not contesting the opening two rounds.

TVS Race One – Top Five

TVS Race Two – Top Five

TVS Championship Points

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