Oil spill left on the track from previous sessions sessions during the SuperSports 600cc 1st Timed Practice session caused a 3-bike pile-up involving defending champion Toshiyuki Hamaguchi, Takahiro Fukami and Takuma Yamamoto causing the practice session to be delayed by almost 20 minutes.

The riders are part of the 17-bike grid who are at the Zhuhai International Circuit this weekend for the final round of the 2004 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.

As a result of the crash which occurred within the first 4 laps of the 45-minute practice session, Hamaguchi, Fukami and newcomer Yamamoto were forced to sit out of the 1st Timed Practice session and were unable to post any results in their chase for pole position.

Meanwhile, Australian rider Cameron Donald stayed on course to clock the fastest time of 01:42.578 while Yukihiro Aoyanagi who is currently 3rd overall in the standings was 2nd fastest with 01:43.064. Cameron Donald’s team mate, Masayuki Yamanaka also qualified provisionally for the front row when he came in 3rd fastest with 01:43.266. Ahmad Zamani was the fastest Malaysian when he clocked the 4th fastest time of 01:44.155.

“The times posted today by all the riders are still about one second off the pace we set last year. The track is still a little dirty but I am sure that once the track is cleaned up tomorrow, we will be able to do faster times,” said poleman Cameron Donald.

The Malaysians, however, are struggling a little with weather conditions that are colder than what they are used to. “When you are out on the bike, the cold air makes it hard for us to breathe and I have been relying on nasal strips to aid our performance. At the same time, I am also struggling for grip which is something we need to address before the 2nd Timed Practice session tomorrow (Saturday),” said Zamani.

Defending champion Toshiyuki Hamaguchi is unfazed by his crash and is still confident that he will be back at the top of the board in the 2nd Timed Practice session. “I faced some brake problems and lost my rear as I was going into Turn 8. I tried to go back out on track with the spare bike but by then, it was already the end of the session. The crash was unfortunate but will not affect my performance over the next two days,” said Hamaguchi.

Here's the full results of yesterday's first time practice session in Zhuhai, China: