Chalermpol prevails, Decha in command
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Thai riders, Chalermpol Polamai and Decha Kraisart, illuminated Okayama circuit by securing a onetwo finish in the penultimate race of the All Japan Road Race Championship.
By crossing home second, Decha is on the verge of becoming the first Thai ever to win the highly-regarded championship.
Decha, leading the table after five races, started in second position on the grid, with his closest rival in the title race, Shinichi Nakatomi, a distant ninth while teammate Chalermpol was in front of him in the pole.
It was a relatively straightforward victory for Chalermpol, who was already out of contention for the title despite lying fourth overall. He lead from start to finish to complete a remarkable day for Thai Yamaha Motor riders. Decha, though, had to battle throughout the race with Japanese riders before claiming a welldeserved second spot.
The result further tightened Decha’s grip on the title after the runnerup finish put him on 137 points at the top of standings, with Nakatomi 25 points adrift of him in second spot with only one race remaining.
It means Decha just need to finish not lower than 12th place in the final race at Suzuka circuit on October 28 to clinch a historic title.
Kornthat Kaenchanda, the team manager, was certain that Decha would be able to write his name in the history book of Thai motorcycling.
“Our riders were able to achieve the results we expected even though they swapped the order of position. We wanted Decha to win the race. A victory would have put him out of sight and reach of the chasing pack.
“Nevertheless, there should not be any problem in the final race. Should Decha finish not lower than 12th, it would guarantee him the title regardless of where Natatomi would finish,” said Kornthat.
