ARRC 2023 Round 1 – Chang International Circuit: A Fiery Encounter

Race 1 – AP250:

Meanwhile, racer #65 Cao Viet Nam and #193 Nguyen Duc Thanh started the race quite favorably, even reaching top 2 and top 4 in the qualifying race. But both Vietnamese racers failed to successfully defend this result and gradually were overtaken by their opponents, ending up in the top 20.

Specifically, #65 Cao Viet Nam ranked 13/22 while his teammate #193 Nguyen Duc Thanh had to start in 18/22. This race promises to be very interesting, as this year “crazy guy” Cao Viet Nam no longer has to compete alone.

His teammate – racer #193 Nguyen Duc Thanh was promoted to compete in the AP250 category and passed the UB150 category slot to young racer Nguyen Huu Tri #111. With these personnel changes, it is certain that the Honda Vietnam Racing Team has very careful tactical calculations to ensure that each racer can maximize their ability to achieve the best results.

In the following laps, “crazy guy” #65 continued to make relentless attacks and successively achieved 13/22, then rose to 11/22 and entered the top 9/22 in the 7th lap and was overtaken by Japanese racer Aiki Iyoshi, dropping to 10/22 in the 8th lap. Meanwhile, #193 continued to drop to 20/22, but then he regained the 18/22 position at the end of the 8th lap.

Entering the 9th lap, Cao Viet Nam was once again pushed out of the top 10, running in 11/22 and his teammate #193 dropped to 19/22. This result was maintained in the 9th lap. But then “crazy guy” went really crazy and showed his determination with a strong attack, overtaking three opponents to achieve the 8/22 position. Meanwhile, his teammate #193 dropped to 20/22. This result was maintained until the racers reached the finish line.

Overall in Race 1, it can be said that #65 Cao Viet Nam had an impressive performance, starting not very favorably in 13th position among the racers – 20 seconds behind the first racer, Rheza Danica Ahrens #123 from Astra Honda Racing Team. His teammate Nguyen Duc Thanh #193 finished in 20th place, making his international racing debut in the AP250 category.

Race 2 – UB150:

On the second race day, both racers #178 Nguyen Anh Tuan and #111 Nguyen Huu Tri started the race with determination from the last two positions similar to the first day of Race 1. However, at the start, both Anh Tuan and Huu Tri could not take advantage of the opportunity to move up and only ran at the back of the pack.

Because similar to the previous race day, all 24 racers ran in a tight chase, forming a single group instead of splitting into smaller ones. This made it much more difficult for breakthrough attempts.

However, in the fourth lap, taking advantage of the opportunity, #178 Nguyen Anh Tuan quickly moved up to 22nd and even held 21/24 in the last lap. But then #179 could not successfully defend the position in the last few meters. Meanwhile, his teammate #111 Nguyen Huu Tri was still squeezed below and could not keep up.

At the end of the race, #178 Nguyen Anh Tuan finished in 21st place, about 2.3 seconds behind the first racer; while #111 Nguyen Huu Tri – in his first international race – stopped at the 22nd position. Thus, after two race days, both Huu Tri and Anh Tuan did not achieve the expected success at Round 1. However, ARRC 2023 still has 5 more race rounds and the opportunity for racers to seek revenge at the Chang circuit – Thailand is still wide open.

Race 2 – AP250:

Meanwhile, in this battlefield, the battle for positions seemed to be much more intense. A not-so-perfect start made #65 Cao Viet Nam have to remain in 13th position among the 22 racers in the first lap.

His teammate #193 Nguyen Duc Thanh also did not provide much help as he ran in 21st place among 22 racers and unexpectedly fell off at turn 1 just after completing the first lap; having to stop and exit the arena early.

However, shortly after that, “crazy guy” Cao Viet Nam – although running alone – finally unleashed his strength and showed his power when entering the third lap with an improved ranking – 10/22. In the third lap, #65 Cao Viet Nam continued to rise to enter the top 10 with the position of 9/22.

The surprising thing happened in the fourth lap when racer #80 made a mistake at a turn and had to give up. Above him, #65 still made efforts to chase the goal and launch crazy attacks to climb to the 8th position. Entering the last lap, everything became extremely intense when Cao Viet Nam continued to rise and entered the top 5 before reaching the finish line.

Overall results, #65 Cao Viet Nam helped the Honda Racing Vietnam Team for the first time to be present in the top 4 (as the result of the fourth-place racer was canceled), despite starting not very favorably in 13th position. The gap with the first place was also reduced to 16.5 seconds. Meanwhile, his teammate Nguyen Duc Thanh #193 did not finish the race and temporarily ranked 19th.

With this result, after the Round 1 of ARRC 2023 in Thailand, the Honda Racing Vietnam Team has accumulated a total of 21 valuable points, including 8 points in Race 1 and 13 points in Race 2, all earned by Cao Viet Nam #65. The other racers are also eager for revenge in the next 5 races to be held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, and Thailand, throughout the rest of the year.

Anh Phan (Tuoitrethudo)