JAPANESE CLINCHES TOP PLUM IN FIM ASIA SUPERMOTO OPENER

JAPANESE CLINCHES TOP PLUM IN FIM ASIA SUPERMOTO OPENER

Japan’s Takashi Sasaki dug deep into his vast riding arsenal to beat Thai supermoto stalwarts Takam Tungthong and Chakrit Rungsawan to the checkered flag and bag the top prize in the opening leg of the 2011 FIM Asia Supermoto Championship held Sunday at the Bira International Circuit in Pattaya, Thailand.

The podium cast was prematurely decided when Sasaki, Tungthong and Rungsawan broke away from the main pack in the early goings. The three however kept the crowd on their toes as they diced and remained within reach of each other. On several occasions, the frontrunners Sasaki and Tungthong exchanged positions before the fateful miscue by the Thai rider on the final lap that enabled the Japanese to snatch the lead and hold it all the way to the checkered flag. Tungthong came in a mere 2/ 10ths of a second later followed by Rungsawan who checked in half a second behind him.

“On behalf of FIM Asia, I commend the FMSCT for organizing the event which is a major breakthrough for supermoto,” said Carapiet . “We are looking forward to bigger things for supermoto in Asia and considering the prospect of staging a supermoto world championship event in Thailand and in other Asian nations in the future,” he added.

The 2nd leg of the FIM Asia Supermoto Championships will be staged anew at the Bira Circuit on November 13. For more details on the FIM Asia Supermoto Championships, regularly visit, www.asiamx.org and www.fimasia.org.