Ahmad Fazrul Sham claimed his first CP130 victory in almost three years with a commanding ride in Round 4 of the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship at Kompleks Sukan Negeri Gong Badak,Terengganu on Saturday.
The Yamalube AHM rider last won a race in Muar, Johor in 2012 but it all ended in crushing style as the 31-year old put on one of the best races of his career to dominate the 18-lap race having bagged pole position earlier today.
Fazrul who had to face an early resistance from Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing duo, Norizman Ismail and Zamri Baba ended the gruelling race in 12’31.675s with Zamri second, 0.499 seconds adrift.
Fazrul’s older brother, Ahmad Fazli Sham (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) crossed the finish line third after starting from 10th on the grid in 12’38.066s.
Norizman and Elly Idzlianizar Ilias rounded up the top five while Muar winner, Mohd Affendi Rosli (PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ) finished last, 14th after crashing in the final lap having clipped Norman’s rear tyre.
“To step up on the podium again, with a victory, that has to be the sweetest thing ever,” said a joyful Fazrul.
“For three years I have went on without a win but today finally everything clicked – the bike, my riding, the track. I’ve missed this feeling of being competitive,” he added.
Fazrul went on to reflect on the race and said, “It was an uphill battle right from the start. Sure we secured pole but this track is wide and there are a lot of overtaking opportunities. Furthermore at the start I had to battle with Norizman and Zamri and I knew if they passed me, trying to get back ahead was impossible. So I did my very best to stay in front by covering racing lines while riding as fast as possible. Once there was a comfortable gap, I focused on consistency right to the finish line.”
“I am extremely happy with this win and I hope we won’t have to go through a similar drought in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin of PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor bounced back from a faulty start to take a second consecutive CP115 victory in Terengganu, leaving rivals trailing in his wake.
The poleman missed the holeshot but was able to quickly regain ground within the opening lap itself and immediately pulled a gap from the field.
The 15-year old eventually wrapped up the 15-lap race in 10’40.676s to become the new championship leader with 70 points.
A resurgent Ahmad Abdul Kadir (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) finished second with 10’42.135s with teammate, Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin third, 10’42.266s.
“I’m very happy to bag my second win here. Even though I crossed the finish line 1.5 seconds quicker, the race was still very challenging especially at the start when I had to battle with Ahmad for lead. But fortunately the team prepared a fast bike and all I had to do was focus on my riding throughout the duration of the race,” said Kasma.
Lastly Harith Farhan Baharin made his home crowd proud as he completed a hat-trick of wins, stretching his lead to 95 points in the WIRA category.
The Kozi Yam Honda Racing rider emerged victorious in a close fought battle against Khairul Ikhwan Ajis and Saiful Izman Ahmad Zamani, completing the 12-lap race in 8’42.452s.
The latter two unfortunately crashed in the eighth lap giving Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Espada Williams) and Nazirul Izzat Mohd Bahauddin (elf Koyoko KC Racing) ample room to finish on the podium, 1.095 seconds and 2.822s adrift
“Winning was a huge surprise because we faced a lot of issues with sprocket and gearing system yesterday. But I’m grateful everything worked well today and I got to win a third race in front of my family and friends which is very special,” said Harith.
Round 5 of the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship will be held in Melaka this 13 and 14 June.
Results
CP130 Race
1.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) 12’31.675s
2.Zamri Baba (Honda) 12’32.174s
3.Ahmad Fazli Sham (Yamaha) 12’38.066s
4.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 12’40.125s
5.Elly Idzlianizar Ilias (Honda) 12’40.324s
Overall Standings
1.Ahmad Fazli Sham (Yamaha) 64 points
2.Mohd Zamri Baba (Honda) 60 points
3.Elly Idzlianizar Ilias (Honda) 53 points
4.Abdul Muhaimin Roslan 49 points
5.Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) 45 points
CP115 Race
1.Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (Yamaha) 10’40.676s
2.Ahmad Abdul Kadir (Yamaha) 10’42.135s
3.Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin (Yamaha) 10’42.266s
4.Azam Omar (Yamaha) 10’46.017s
5.Fareez Afeez (Yamaha) 10’46.130s
Overall Standings
1.Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (Yamaha) 70 points
2.Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin (Yamaha) 66 points
3.Fareez Afeez (Yamaha) 40 points
4.Ahmad Abdul Kadir (Yamaha) 37 points
5.Ahmad Syukran Aizat (Yamaha) 36 points
WIRA Race
1.Harith Farhan Baharin (Honda) 8’42.452s
2.Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Yamaha) 8’43.547s
3.Nazirul izzat Mohd Bahauddin (Yamaha) 8’45.274s
4.Saiful Azhary Muhamad (Honda) 8’46.799s
5.Irfan Rosnizam (Yamaha) 8’47.054s
Overall Standings
1.Harith Farhan Baharin (Honda) 95 points
2.Saiful Izman Ahmad Zamani (Yamaha) 53 points
3.Amirul Hakim MOhd Rizal (Yamaha) 46 points
4.Nazirul Izzat Bahauddin (Yamaha) 43 points
5.Khairul Ikhwan Ajis (Yamaha) 38 points
