The 11th Yamaha ASEAN Cup Race 2014, organized by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and P.T. Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing came to an exciting end at the Sentul International Circuit (Overall length: approx. 3.96 km) in West Java, Indonesia. Team Indonesia emerged as the winner of the two day event, 6th - 7th December, 2014. This event is an international one-make championship competition that aims to crown the No. 1 rider in the ASEAN region. Indian racing team put up with a creditable show.

Some 60,000 spectators gathered over the two days for this holding of the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE. The competition was held in three classes: the ST15 Class competed on the "YZF-R15" street sports model, the MT Class competed on the "JUPITER Z1"* sporty underbone model and the ST25 Class (exhibition race) using the "YZF-R25" supersport model. Fifty-one riders from the five participating countries of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand and six riders from Japan joining as special entries were organized into the various classes for the competition, resulting in plenty of exciting racing. Racing under optimum conditions in an exciting and competitive atmosphere, the riders battled aggressively in these thrilling races. When the competition was over, the ST Class (YZF-R15) was won by Mr. Rheza Danica (Indonesia) who finished 1st and 20th in the two heats in front of the cheering home crowd while the MT Class (JUPITER Z1*) was won by Mr. Peerapong Luiboonpeng (Indonesia) who placed 1st and 18th in two heats. The ST25 Class (exhibition race) won by Mr. Sudarmono(Indonesia) who placed 1st and 14th in the two heats. The event was also graced by two-time MotoGP world champion and Yamaha racer Mr. Jorge Lorenzo and Moto GP rider Mr. Pol Espargaro who gave a circuit demo run using the YZF-R25 bike and also communicated about the exciting world of motorsports to the many spectators at the event.

*"JUPITER Z1" is the model's Indonesian market name.

Top four performing riders of the YZF-R15 One Make Race Championship held in India, represented Yamaha Motor India Sales at the Yamaha ASEAN Cup 2014. All the four Indian contestants namely Mr. Jagan Kumar, Mr. Deepak Ravikumar, Mr. Padmanaban, Mr. Padmanaban competed in the ST class. In ST 150 class, 25-year-old Jagan Kumar, who started fourth at the grid, crashed out in final Race 1 after completing his fifth lap and then ended 13th in the final Race 2 with a total time of 23:36.509 in 12 laps. Deepak Ravikumar, who started at eighth at the grid, did better as he finished 10th and 12th in Race 1 and Race 2 respectively. The third in fray in the same class, Padmanabhan crashed out of Race 1 in the first lap while he did not start in Race 2. In the ST 250 class, Rajini Krishnan, who had his bike replaced with a new one after his vehicle developed problems in the Electric Control Unit in the qualifications, started 17th and last at the grid and ended the final race at 12th with a total time of 21:37.660 in 12 laps.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ravinder Singh, Vice President – Sales Strategy and Planning, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd., said, "We at Yamaha Motor India Sales have constantly endeavored to provide Indian racers the best of facilities and opportunities to realize their dreams of racing and during this process touch many more lives and inspire them to share their dreams. While motorcycle racing is still at a nascent stage in India, we are satisfied with the improvement in the performance of the Indian riders. Further, the exposure and experience earned by our riders in this championship would prove to be very prolific to them and to others as well who aspire to make a mark in this profession and wish to represent India in such competitions. We are confident that with our continued efforts in this direction, Indian riders would make a mark in the coming years on an international platform."

Objectives of the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE

The ASEAN region represents the most important market for Yamaha Motor's motorcycle business, where major growth has been achieved through the early introduction of models equipped with automatic transmissions, fuel injection systems, etc. Among the reasons behind this success is Yamaha's sporty brand image, the sporty designs and performance of the products introduced and the active efforts across the region to promote the spread and development of sports. Since its launch in 2003, the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE motorcycle race event has emerged as a prominent symbol of these efforts, along with the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournaments. Also, by using production models as the base race machines for this event, Yamaha aims to fulfill its objectives of strengthening the brand image, widely popularizing the race among communities across the region, developing motorcycle sports and contributing to youth development.