Markus Reiterberger (Onexox BMW TKKR Racing) took the overall lead at the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2023 in Sugo, Japan. At the third event of the current season, Reiti finished the wet race on Saturday in second place and won the second race on Sunday in commanding fashion.
Although the circuit was completely new territory for Reiti, he quickly found a good speed. On Friday, Reiti already set a new lap record in the second practice session and beat it in the third and final session.
In qualifying on Saturday, Reiti secured second place on the grid. After qualifying, rain set in and the Onexox BMW TKKR Racing Team had to set up the BMW M 1000 RR for wet conditions. In a very strategic race, Reiti finished second and took the overall lead. He further extended this lead with a commanding victory in Sunday's race.
The 2023 ARRC season will continue in August at the MotoGP circuit in Mandalika, Indonesia.
Markus Reiterberger:
"Friday was all about learning the track in Sugo for me. I watched some onboard footage and rode the first laps behind my teammate. Already in the second practice I was able to break the existing lap record after only 20 laps on the track and improved my time again in the third practice. In qualifying on Saturday, I couldn't quite use the soft tyre and qualified second on the grid. The front tyre also caused us some difficulties here because the usual hard front tyre was not available. Rain set in before the first race. Although I didn't use the Japanese Dunlop rain tyres for quite a long time, I started the race well. I had a great start and was in P3 for some time. The leading group set a fast pace. I took care of my tyres when the track dried. It paid off as the leading group dropped back. I managed the tyre well and got closer to Kasma Daniel at the front. Maybe I could have overtaken him, but since my direct championship rival had fallen far behind, I avoided taking risks. With second place in the first race, I took the lead in the riders championship. In the second race, I had a fast pace from the start and was able to pull away easily. After that, I kept up my race pace. My lead grew and grew, in the end it was more than 17 seconds. It was a lot of fun here. The bike was great, many thanks to the team. I am very happy to be so successful on a track I have never been on before. On Sunday evening we had dinner together and celebrated. Because we deserved that!"
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