Round 1 of the IDEMITSU FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2026 at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, witnessed a masterclass performance in the ASB1000 Race 2 as Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of JDT RACING TEAM stormed to victory, celebrating his first double win since 2024 in front of a home crowd.

At the start, Hafizh launched brilliantly off the line to seize the early lead, immediately putting himself in control of the race. Keito Abe of SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES stayed close in pursuit, while Lachlan Epis of SWIFT GROW RACING TEAM slotted into third ahead of Nakarin Atiratphuvapat of HONDA RACING THAILAND and Mohammad Adenanta Putra of ASTRA HONDA RACING TEAM.

By Lap 3, Hafizh underlined his dominance, clocking the fastest lap of 2’05.621s at a blistering top speed of 288.8 km/h, with Keito just 0.888s behind, pushing hard at 290.3 km/h in pursuit. 

The race began to settle into rhythm by Lap 4, with Hafizh leading ahead of Keito, Lachlan, Adenanta, Muhammad Zaqhwan Zaidi of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA, and Andi Farid Izdihar of JDT RACING TEAM.

As the laps progressed, Hafizh steadily pulled away from the field. By Lap 8, he had built a commanding 4.792s advantage over Keito, with Lachlan, Zaqhwan, and Andi battling fiercely behind. A lap later, the gap extended further to 5.203s, while Andi made his move past Zaqhwan to climb into fourth.

On Lap 10, Andi continued his charge, overtaking Lachlan and setting his sights on Keito in second, as the JDT RACING TEAM duo began to assert their presence at the front. 

By Lap 11, Hafizh’s lead had grown to 6.788s, while Andi closed to just 0.744s behind Keito. The pressure intensified further on Lap 12, with Andi narrowing the gap to just 0.215s, setting up a crucial battle for second place.

The decisive move came on Lap 13, when Andi executed a brilliant overtake on Keito at Turn 9, promoting himself into second and creating a provisional 1-2 for JDT RACING TEAM. Keito dropped to third, with Zaqhwan and Azroy Hakeem Anuar of IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA rounding out the top five.

On the final lap, Hafizh was untouchable, cruising to victory with a dominant margin of 29’35.664s. Behind him, the fight for second went down to the wire. Despite Andi’s strong defence, Keito launched a last-gasp move on the final straight, snatching second place by just 0.006s, finishing at 29’40.443s, with Andi forced to settle for third at 29’40.449s.

Hafizh said, “The first win was nice, I had to do it twice, and we did it today. I can say it’s a perfect weekend with perfect pace. I stayed focused on my rhythm and didn’t look back. On the last lap, I actually ran out of fuel, but luckily I managed it to the finish. Thank you to my team, VAMOS! Special thanks to TMJ for this journey, and congratulations on the newborn. This victory is for all Malaysians who came to support us, even those who came straight after the football match last night. We delivered again as a team with P1 and P3. I’ve sacrificed a lot, training every day, cycling, gym work, riding… Everything! This double win is what I’ve been chasing since last year, and finally, we’ve done it.”

TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 2

1. HAFIZH SYAHRIN ABDULLAH – JDT RACING TEAM (29’35.664s)

2. KEITO ABE – SDG HARC-PRO. HONDA PHILIPPINES (29’40.443s)

3. ANDI FARID IZDIHAR – JDT RACING TEAM (29’40.449s)

4. MUHAMMAD ZAQHWAN ZAIDI – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (29’43.402s)

5. AZROY HAKEEM ANUAR – IDEMITSU HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (29’43.523s)