Cuaca panas yang melanda seluruh negara khususnya di utara tanah air dijangka tidak akan menjejaskan aksi pelumba bagi menghadapi Pusingan 3 Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS di Kangar, Perlis, hujung minggu ini.
Bagaimanapun, dengan suhu litar yang tinggi berkemungkinan pelumba-pelumba menghadapi kesukaran untuk mengatasi catatan rekod litar.
Setakat minggu ini, tiga pusingan perlumbaan berlangsung dalam keadaan cuaca panas tidak menentu dengan suhu udara diantara 30 hingga 40 darjah celsius manakala suhu litar melebihi 55 darjah celsius.
Suhu panas ini bukan sahaja mengganggu aksi pelumba malah turut menjejaskan prestasi enjin.
“Kami perlu memastikan semua pelumba minum air secukupnya bagi mengelak masalah strok haba. Kami akan menyediakan bekalan ais untuk menyejukkan badan dan memastikan mereka kekal fokus,” jelas Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini, pemilik pasukan Givi Honda Yuzy Racing.
Namun, selain penjagaan kesihatan pelumba, faktor enjin turut diberikan perhatian penting oleh Yuzy.
“Apabila suhu terlalu tinggi melebihi 40 darjah celsius, bayangkan berapa panasnya pula enjin motosikal. Dengan suhu yang tinggi, minyak pelincir enjin akan berubah dan akan menjejaskan prestasi enjin. Masalah serupa kami hadapi sewaktu di Batu Kawan ( Pusingan 2). Jurutera pasukan cuba menyelesaikan masalah ini sebelum perlumbaan akhir CP130 namun tidak berjaya untuk membantu Zaqhwan Zaidi dan pelumba pasukan kami yang lain untuk bersaing bersama pelumba di kelompok depan.”
Tempoh rehat dua minggu digunakan oleh pasukan GiVi Honda Yuzy Racing untuk memberi tumpuan ke arah meningkatkan prestasi enjin bagi menghadapi perlumbaan di Kangar.
“Keupayaan enjin merupakan kunci utama untuk memenangi perlumbaan. Walaupun pelumba mengadu masalah kurang cengkaman tayar akibat cuaca terlampau panas, namun semua pelumba lain pun mengalami masalah yang serupa. Tahun lepas Zaqhwan menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat ketiga di Kangar. Jadi misi kami pada minggu ini untuk sekali lagi membantu Zaqhwan menamatkan perlumbaan di atas podium,” rumus Yuzy.
El Nino takes its toll on racing performance
The current heat wave experienced particularly in the northern part of the peninsular is expected to take its toll on racing performance. As the third leg of the 2016 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship moves to Kangar, Perlis this May 1, laptimes are not expected to drop.
The first three legs of the 2016 season had seen the races conducted under the merciless glare of the sun, with air temperatures ranging from high-30s to low-40s while track temperatures had been recorded at more than 55 degrees Celcius. This has not only affected rider performance but also machine power as well.
“We ensure that our riders stay hydrated to prevent heat stroke. Right before the race, ice packs are prepared to keep them cool and focused on the coming race,” said Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini, team principal of GiVi Honda Yuzy Racing.
However, more than human performance, it is the machine output that has Yuzy concerned.
“When the air temperature hits above 40, imagine how hot the motorcycle engine would be. At those high temperatures, the engine fluids and lubricants quickly lose some of their original viscosity, resulting in less engine power. We hit a similar problem in Batu Kawan (Round 2). The team’s engineers tried to resolve the problem right up to the start of the CP130 Final but we were simply unable to get the right solution to insert Zaqhwan Zaidi and our other riders into the leading group.”
Team GiVi Honda Yuzy Racing has only had two weeks to prepare for the third leg of the season and most of their efforts in the run up to the Kangar Cub Prix had been directed towards engine performance.
“That (engine performance) is the key criteria for a race win. The riders do complain about the loss of traction on the super hot track surface but it isn’t a big problem because every rider would be faced with the same handicap. Zaqhwan finished third in Kangar last year. Our mission is to get him back on the Kangar podium this year,” Yuzy concluded.
