Markus Reiterberger (Onexox BMW TKKR Racing) was the dominant rider during the fourth race weekend of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2023 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit (Indonesia). Reiti set the pace from the first practice session and rode from fastest lap to fastest lap on the MotoGP circuit, which was unknown to him until then. Reiti was also ahead in qualifying and won the first race on Saturday.
On Sunday, he was on course for another victory in the second race. Due to a crash of several riders in the chasing group, the race had to be stopped on the fourth lap. The Japanese Haruki Noguchi suffered serious injuries in a mass crash. The race organizers made the decision not to restart the race. No points were awarded for the second race.
By winning on Saturday, Reiti extended his lead in the overall standings. The ARRC goes into an extended break after the fourth of six events and will resume at the Zhuhei International Circuit (China) in early November.
Markus Reiterberger:
"We had a very successful weekend from a sporting point of view in Mandalika. I was in front in the three Friday practice sessions, sometimes with a big margin. We were able to confirm this form on Saturday and Sunday. In qualifying, I secured pole in a commanding manner. In race one on Saturday I entered the first corner in the lead, but then I was pushed off the line and almost crashed in turn 3. But after that I made up for the lost positions and finished the race at a consistently high pace and took the win. The bike was fantastic. In the warm-up on Sunday morning we tried a few things and gained new insights. In the race, the bike was just perfect from the start. I rode relaxed and easy. The lap times were really good. After three laps I was already 4.6 seconds ahead. Unfortunately, the race had to be stopped after a serious accident on lap four. It was not restarted again. I wish Haruki Noguchi, who was injured in the accident and is currently in hospital, all the best and hope that he will make a full recovery! Unfortunately, the accident overshadowed the event. Until then, we had a perfect weekend: We were ahead in every session and would have scored the maximum points. With the win on Saturday, we were able to extend our lead in the championship. Now I'm recovering from the weekends in Japan and Indonesia and concentrating on the season finale of the World Endurance Championship in Le Castellet and the two remaining weekends in Asia."
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