Mohd Izzat Zaidi Salehan menegaskan pasukan RCB Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team perlu menggandakan usaha jika mahu menyaingi pasukan-pasukan berstatus ‘factory’ di dalam saingan Asia Production 250cc pada Pusingan 4 Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM di Litar Antarabangsa Chang, Buriram, Thailand pada minggu ini.
“Pertama kali beraksi dalam kelas baharu ini, memang tidak dinafikan tugas kami agak sukar namun saya tidak menyangka agak ketinggalan berbanding pelumba lain. Kami perlu melipat-gandakan usaha kami jika ingin bersaing dengan pelumba-pelumba di kelompok depan,” jelas Izzat.
Diketuai oleh pengurus, Pang Yoke You (YY Pang) yang cukup dikenali dalam kelas underbone, mereka mengambil langkah menyertai kelas Asia Production 250cc yang baharu diperkenalkan pada tahun ini namun gagal memperoleh keputusan membanggakan setelah Izzat hanya mampu meraih satu mata sepanjang tiga pusingan lepas dan berada di tangga ke-19 keseluruhan ketika ini.
Juara CP115 itu bagaimanapun tetap yakin pasukan mereka mampu mempamerkan peningkatan dan memberikan cabaran dalam baki perlumbaan selepas ini.
“Cabaran besar menanti kami ketika ini. Pasukan-pasukan utama lain mempunyai banyak kelebihan namun saya percaya kami mampu merapatkan jurang. Apa yang perlu saya lakukan selepas ini adalah untuk terus bekerja keras dan paling penting untuk mendapatkan petak mula yang lebih baik pada sesi kelayakan. Setakat ini saya masih gagal memperoleh kedudukan baik pada sesi kelayakan,” jelas Izzat.
“Selain itu, kami juga perlu melakukan lebih banyak latihan untuk lebih faham tentang jentera. Jentera ini masih asing kepada kami selain masih baharu dalam pasaran. Jika diukur dari segi prestasi, ia mempunyai kelebihan berbanding pesaingnya seperti Kawasaki dan Honda namun kami masih belum dapat menemui pelarasan terbaik yang saya fikir hanya mampu dicapai seandainya kami melakukan lebih banyak latihan.”
Bercakap tentang sasaran perlumbaan di Thailand, Izzat berkata, “Saya menantikan perlumbaan minggu ini, begitu juga pasukan. Kami semua kecewa dengan keputusan perlumbaan lepas memandangkan kami yakin mampu untuk melakukan sesuatu yang lebih baik. Semuanya telah bekerja keras dan saya hargai sokongan dan usaha semua,” jelasnya.
Selepas tiga pusingan, Apiwat Wongthananin dari AP Honda Racing Thailand mendahului kedudukan kelas AP250 dengan 106 mata, dua mata di depan pelumba Trickstar Racing, Takehiro Yamamoto diikuti rakan sepasukan Apiwat, Nakarin Athiratphuvapat ketiga, 69 mata.
âHUGE CHALLENGE AHEAD,â IZZAT
Izzat Zaidi Salehan is under no illusion that RCB Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team will have to âgo all outâ if they intend to bridge the gap with the factory teams ahead of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand this weekend.
âComing into a new class, we knew it was going to be difficult but I did not expect to perform poorly. We need to get our act together and start closing the gap on the top guys,â said Izzat.
The team led by manager, Pang Yoke You (YY Pang), whose name is synonymous with the Underbone racing scene stepped into the Asia Production 250cc class in 2015 but their campaign has not been going smoothly with Izzat scoring just a single point from the first three races held in Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan with his best qualifying position in 19th.
The Malaysian Cub Prix CP115 Champion, though, has faith in the team and reckons they are up to the challenge in the remaining races.
âWe have a huge challenge ahead. The factory teams have an advantage but I believe itâs possible for us to catch up. The next step is to move forward and improve my qualifying pace. Iâve been qualifying badly and it dents my chances during the race,â he said.
âBesides that, itâs important that we run a lot more tests to understand the machine better. Although the bike is quite new in the market, it does have a lot of potential against the Kawasaki and Hondas but we have yet to find a truly competitive setup and this can only be achieved by doing tests,â he added.
Speaking about his expectations for the race in Thailand, Izzat commented, âIâm looking forward to the race and so is the team. They all are as disappointed as I am for the missing results because we all feel we can get better, but they are working very hard and I must thank them for all their support.â
Apiwat Wongthananon of AP Honda Racing Thailand leads the AP250 standings with 106 points, two points ahead of Trickstar Racingâs Takehiro Yamamoto followed by Nakarin Athiratphuvapat third, 69 points.
