The thrilling conclusion of the 2019 ARRC season took place at the iconic Sepang circuit in Malaysia on September 21 and 22, leaving the three riders from the Honda Racing Vietnam team with mixed emotions. While Cao Viet Nam brought joy to the fans with his outstanding performance, the Song Thanh duo left with regrets.
Returning to Sepang after six months since the first round in March, the Honda Racing Vietnam team had high expectations as this circuit had previously brought good luck to Vietnamese riders. In March, Cao Viet Nam finished 12th in Race 1 and 10th in Race 2 in the AP250 category, earning his first 10 points and placing 11th overall. Meanwhile, in the UB150 category, Khanh Loc and Vu Thanh tried their best but failed to score any points.
Cao Viet Nam receives media attention for the championship.
Prior to the sixth round, Cao Viet Nam had only scored an additional 5 points since the fifth round in China. During the fourth round in Suzuka, Japan, the Honda Racing Vietnam rider missed the main race for two days due to an injury sustained during practice. And, despite their efforts, Vu Thanh and Duc Thanh failed to score any points in China.
The sixth round of the 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship took place under less than ideal conditions. At the time, Malaysia was experiencing heavy air pollution due to forest fires in neighboring Indonesia. The weather was overcast and constantly shrouded in a hazy white color from the smoke, which affected the racing conditions to some extent.
In the qualifying session held on the morning of September 21, Cao Viet Nam started in 19th place with a best lap time of 2:27.960. As a result, he began both main race days in 19th position out of 30 riders. In the UB150 category, Nguyen Duc Thanh started in 31st place out of 35, with Vu Thanh starting right behind him.
Cao Viet Nam started in the 19th position out of 30 riders.
The first main race took place in the afternoon of the same day, with the Song Thanh Duo competing in the UB150 category. Starting from low positions, their chances of breaking into the top 15 were quite slim. As expected, at the end of 6 laps at the Sepang circuit, Nguyen Duc Thanh finished in 23rd place, while Vu Thanh failed to complete Race 1 as it ended after only 1 lap of racing.
Rider Nguyen Duc Thanh finished in 23rd place.
All eyes were now on Cao Viet Nam in the AP250 category. Just recently, at the Honda Thailand Talent Cup 2019, the Vietnamese rider had impressively appeared on the podium twice in a row. This served as significant encouragement for the 1996-born rider as he entered the sixth round of the 2019 ARRC season.
Not disappointing the fans and the leadership of the Honda Racing Vietnam team, Cao Viet Nam performed exceptionally well on the first day of the sixth round. Despite starting in 19th position out of 30, right after the first turn at the Sepang circuit, Cao Viet Nam swiftly overtook many other riders to move up into the leading group. By the end of the first lap, he was in 15th place.
Continuing to chase the leading group and making every effort to break through, Cao Viet Nam gradually improved his position with each lap. At the end of the second, third, and fourth laps, the rider from Honda Racing Vietnam occupied 13th place. The excitement reached a higher level in the final laps. Cao Viet Nam secured 10th place after the fifth lap and 9th place after the sixth lap. The 1996-born rider dropped to 10th place after the seventh lap but managed to regain 9th place at the finish line.
At this point, all attention was on Cao Viet Nam in the AP250 category. In previous rounds, the leading group often quickly distanced itself from the chasing group with Cao Viet Nam lagging behind, separating after the first 2-3 laps. However, this time, things were different.
At the end of the first day of competition, Cao Viet Nam finished an impressive 9th overall, earning 7 valuable points. This was also his best performance in his professional racing career, matching his achievement in Race 1 of Round 3 in Thailand earlier this season. It is worth noting that the gap between Nam and the race leader was reduced to only 5.648 seconds, significantly lower than the 13.606 seconds in Round 3 in Thailand. This demonstrates the remarkable progress of Cao Viet Nam.
Entering the second day of competition at Sepang in the afternoon of the following day, Cao Viet Nam showed strong determination to continue setting new records in his racing career. Starting from 19th position out of 30, the rider from the Honda Racing Vietnam team once again demonstrated a strong breakthrough right from the start. At the end of the crucial first lap, rider number 65 was in 12th place.
However, unlike the first day of the competition, rival riders became more cautious of Cao Viet Nam, as evidenced by the intense battles with the Vietnamese rider in many difficult turns that required a high level of skill. After the first 2 laps, Nam dropped to 14th place and then 15th in the next lap.
Nevertheless, Cao Viet Nam’s determination and courage once again shone through. The rider, nicknamed “the crazy guy,” made a strong effort in the later laps to steadily climb up the rankings and ultimately finished in 11th place after 8 laps at Sepang. It is worth noting that the gap between Cao Viet Nam and the race winner in Race 2 was even more impressive at only 3.303 seconds. This means that Cao Viet Nam is approaching the achievements of the top riders in the AP250 category on the continent.
Cao Viet Nam finishes in 11th place in Race 2.
After the outstanding performance over the two days of competition, Cao Viet Nam added 12 more points to his overall score for the season. Currently, the “crazy guy” has a total of 44 points, ranking 14th overall, tied with the Indian rider behind him, and only 8 points behind the rider in 13th place. In 2018, at the end of the six-round season around Asia, Cao Viet Nam only scored a total of 12 points and ranked 24th overall.
Contrary to Cao Viet Nam’s impressive results, the duo of Duc Thanh and Vu Thanh continued to have an unsuccessful day in Race 2. Furthermore, both of their bikes encountered issues during the race, forcing them to retire early without scoring any points. Currently, in the UB150 category, after six rounds of the 2019 season, Vu Thanh has the best performance with a 15th place finish in Suzuka, Japan.
The final round of the season, Stage 7, will take place from November 29 to December 1 at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. This is a circuit that Cao Viet Nam is very familiar with as he regularly trains and competes in the Honda Thailand Talent Cup. It promises to be an explosive round for the rider in excellent form.
T?i Nguy?n (Forum.autodaily.vn)
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