PS Yamaha Thailand's Decha Kraisart

PETRONAS SPRINTA Racing Teams
2009 FIM PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship
Round 3, Sentul International Circuit (Indonesia)
27 - 28 June 2009

It was another dominant weekend for the PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Thailand racing team, with the duo of Decha Kraisart and Chalermpol Polamai both claiming a win each in race 1 and 2, respectively last Sunday. Meanwhile, finishing on the podium with a 3rd and 2nd place finish in both races was PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Malaysia's Md. Zamri Baba.

Race 1
Coming with the determination to recapture the championship title after missing out last season due to injury, Decha Kraisart from the PS Yamaha Thailand team finished the first of the weekend's SuperSports 600race on top. The round that took place the Sentul International Circuit in Indonesia was the same venue the Thai ace had crashed heavily during the opening leg of the championship last season.

Starting the race from the second spot on the grid, Decha made his way into the lead and managed to maintain a consistent form throughout the 16-lap race  all the way through to the chequered flag. Coming in second was teammate Chalermpol Polamai ahead of PS Yamaha Malaysia's Md. Zamri Baba who rounded off the top three in the first race.

The Malaysian rider had a slow start when Denso Jayadi Racing's Ahmad Jayadi bumped into him causing Zamri to fall back during the first few seconds of the race. This did not deter the Malaysian from achieving a podium finish. Catching up with teammate Ahmad Fuad Baharudin by the 12th lap, Zamri was able to overtake Fuad to take third. Fuad eventually finished 4th.

For pole sitter Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, the round proved a disastrous one as a crash at turn 7 on the first lap in an attempt to overtake Zamri wiped out any chances for a good result from the round.

Meanwhile, for the PS Yamaha Indonesia squad, the home race saw Harlan Fadhillah finish 7th, with teammate Denny Triyugo in 11th.


The top-3 in the second race, left to right: Md Zamri Baba (PS Yamaha Malaysia); Chalermpol Polamai & Decha Kraisart (PS Yamaha Thailand)

Race 2
It was a similar affair in the second race with another closely contested affair at the head of the field between PS Yamaha Thailand's Chalermpol Polamai and PS Yamaha Malaysia's Md Zamri Baba. Despite suffering handling problems with his bike, it was the turn of 28-year old Chalermpol to take the honours in the second race.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Chalermpol wasted no time in taking the lead from teammate Decha Kraisart. However, 7 laps into the race, Zamri who had remained close to the leading duo, snatched the lead from the pair all the way towards the final lap. On the final lap, Chalermpol was able to reclaim the lead of the race and hung on for the win.

Finishing third was Decha ahead of PS Yamaha Malaysia'a Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman in 4th and Ahmad Fuad Baharudin in 5th. Finishing in 8th was PS Yamaha Indonesia's Harlan Fadhillah and teammate Denny Triyugo in 13th.

Decha Kraisart, PS Yamaha Thailand
Race 1: Winner | Race 2: 3rd place
"I am really happy and amazed that I managed to get this result in the first race as it was very challenging with the Malaysian riders being quite quick over the entire weekend. The second race presented a different situation for me. In the beginning it was between me and Chalermpol but towards the middle stages, Zamri had managed to close and finally overtook us. In the end, it was quite a good outing for us as this means the championship is still there for the taking."

Chalermpol Polamai, PS Yamaha Thailand
Race 1: 2nd place | Race 2: Winner
"To be honest, I did not expect to win the second race as I was struggling with the bike in the first race. I had some technical issues with the suspension and I was not really confident going into the race. In the first race, with the bike trouble, I could not really catch Decha and just worked to maintain my position."

Md Zamri Baba, PS Yamaha Malaysia
Race 1: 3rd place | Race 2: 2nd place
"To be frank, I am a bit disappointed that I only managed to finish second in the second race. I think Chalermpol read my game quite well and managed to retake the lead from me. But, on the other hand, I am really satisfied with the overall outcome of the weekend as this is my best  performance yet since I started competing in this championship."

In the Championship Standings, Chalermpol and Decha maintain their 1-2 position lead with the weekend's result, boosting up their points to 120 and 118 respectively. In third, fourth and fifth position are the PS Yamaha Malaysia riders, Zamri, Fuad and Azlan with 80, 77 and 73 points, respectively.

For information, news, results and championship standings for the 2009 FIM PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship, visit the official website at http://www.fimasiangp.com