Detail

From May 22 to 24, two riders of the Petronas Sprinta Yamaha Thailand racing team run by the Yamaha Motor group company Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. participated in the Japan Round, 2nd round of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship held at the Autopolis International Racing Course in Hita City, Oita Prefecture in conjunction with round 3 of the All Japan Road Race Championship. Competing brilliantly on the Yamaha YZF-R6 in the two-heat finals, the two Thai riders, Decha Kraisart and Chalermpol Polamai, finished 1st/3rd and 2nd/2nd respectively to defend their 1-2 lead in the Asia series standings after two rounds.

Since 2003, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and its group companies in the ASEAN region have been holding the annual YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE as an international one-make race for aspiring riders in the region using Yamaha痴 4-stroke sporty moped models. This ASEAN region one-make championship event was begun by Yamaha with the aim of encouraging the development and spread of motorcycle racing, and in recent year the Yamaha Motor group companies in the region have found it to have an increasingly positive influence in their markets. They find that the competitive efforts and successes of racing teams formed of riders who have gained experience and maturity by competing in the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE and its qualifying competitions in each country are creating effective PR not only for contributing to local motor sports culture but also stimulating their motorcycle markets. These teams with riders who started out in YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE competition have continued to expand their field of activities by taking on the challenges of competitions like the Asia Road Racing Championship, the All Japan Road Racing Championship and even the World Road Racing Championships. And their success has been particularly prominent in the Asia Road Racing Championship, where a former YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE champion has already become the Asia series champion.

In 2009 again we are seeing riders who started out in YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE competition now participating in a variety of race categories, such as Decha and Chalermpol, who are aiming to win this season痴 Asia Road Racing Championship while also making spot entries in the ST600 class of the high-level All Japan Road Racing Championship. After competing in the All Japan season opener on April 5, Decha and Chalermpol went to Malaysia to race in the opener of the Asia Road Racing Championship series at Sepang on April 10 to 12 and swept the top two places with a 1-2 finish to start off the season.

Then at round two in Japan, Chalermpol and Decha got the best start in Saturday痴 race one of the two-race finals, racing each other down the straight for the holeshot. After that, the two Thai stars continued to hold the lead and widen the gap over the field while repeatedly bettering each other for fastest lap time in a close battle. On the final lap, Decha moved into the lead with just a few curves remaining and raced on to take the checkered first with Chalermpol in 2nd. Following in 3rd place came another YZF-R6 rider, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of the PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Malaysia team.
In race two of the finals held on Sunday, Chalermpol and Decha again got a 1-2 start. It looked as if the two would begin to run away from the pack as they had in race one, but the early stages of the race developed into a close dogfight between five riders. Before long two of those five dropped back, leaving Chalermpol, Decha and Azlan to battle for the lead in an exciting match that saw the lead change hands on almost every lap. They entered the last lap with Azlan leading, Chalermpol in 2nd place and Decha 3rd, and that is the order they took the checkered in. This gave Yamaha riders a sweep of the podium in both races.

With two rounds of the six rounds of the Asia series completed, Decha leads the series ranking with 77 points and Chalermpol stands a close 2nd with 75 points. The next round takes place in Indonesia from June 26 to 28.

Decha has mounted the podium in all four races of the first two rounds of the series		Chalermpol stands 2nd in the ranking after finishing 2nd in both closely-fought races
Yamaha riders swept the podium in both races. From left: Chalermpol, Decha and Azlan		The staff of Petronas Sprinta Yamaha Thailand team competing so well in the Asia and All Japan series

Decha Kraisart comment (1st/3rd)
典his year we are making spot entries in the ST600 class of the All Japan championships where there are many outstanding Japanese riders competing. I am learning a lot competing with them, and I was able to use some of what I have learned from that experience in the Asia series races this time. The first race was a closely fought contest with my teammate, Chalermpol. I let him run in the lead and waited for the right moment to go past him, but the wear on my tires was severe and it was hard to make a move. Finally on the last lap I was able to get past him and win. Race two came down to a difficult three-man battle. As in race one, I was planning to make my move in the final stages of the race, but the other two were both too fast and I ended up in 3rd place. But it was a good race and I have no regrets. During the remainder of the series I plan to use my experience from Japan and gain series points steadily so I can recover the Asia series title I won in 2007.・

Chalermpol Polamai comment (2nd/2nd)
展ith Detcha, I am now making spot entries ST600 class of the All Japan championships. The things I have learned there are a big plus for me and I feel that I was able to put that experience to use in these Asia series races. In race one I lost my lead on the last lap and finished 2nd, but up until that point it had been a good battle with Decha from the very first lap. So I have no regrets and I really enjoyed the race. In race two I finished 2nd again. In fact, I made a mistake while running in the lead near the end of the race that caused me to lose ground. I worked my way back after that but was unable to pass Azlan on the last lap. I regret that I didn稚 have one more lap to try to get past him. If I had it might have been a different result from yesterday痴. But there are still four more races in the Asia series and I want to work hard so that I am the one who is smiling in the end.・/p>

2009 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship series round 2, Japan Round
Supersport 600cc class results

Riders Ranking

Decha Kraisart Profile
Name: Decha Kraisart
Nationality: Thai
Age: 28
Racing team:  PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Thailand
Racing career
2003:  1st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class 6th Thai Royal Trophy 114cc Family class: Champion
2004:  2nd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class 2nd Thai National Championship 110cc Family class: Champion
2005:  3rd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: Champion Thai National Championship 125cc Family class: 4th
2006:  4th YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class 2nd Asia Road Race Championship SS600 class Rd. 3: DNF/5th
2007:  Asia Road Race Championship SS600 class: Champion 5th YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: 10th
2008:  Asia Road Race Championship SS600 class ranking: 9th Thai Royal Trophy SS600 Pro class: Champion
2009:  Asia Road Race Championship SS600 class Rd. 1: 2nd/3rd All Japan Road Race Championship ST600 class Rd. 1: 19th

Chalermpol Polamai Profile
Name: Chalermpol Polamai
Nationality: Thai
Age: 28
Racing team:  PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Thailand
Racing career
2003:  1st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: 10th Thai Royal Trophy 114cc Family Class: Champion
2004:  2nd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: 3rd Thai National Championship 110cc Family Class: 4th
2005:  3rd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: 3rd Thai National Championship 125cc Family Class: 6th
2006:  4th YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: 12th Thai National Championship 140cc Underbone A Class: Champion
2007:  Asia Road Race Championship SS600 Class ranking: 5th 5th YAMAHA ASEAN CUP Expert Class: 6th Thai National Championship 140cc Underbone A Class: 2nd
2008:  Asia Road Race Championship SS600 class ranking: 5th Thai Royal Trophy Superbike1000 Pro A Class: Champion Thai Royal Trophy MMRRC SS600 Pro Class: 2nd
2009:  Asia Road Race Championship SS600 class Rd. 1: 1st/6th All Japan Road Race Championship ST600 class Rd. 1: 15th