Siti Norafizah Mohamad cukup teruja untuk tampil memulakan saingan dalam kelas CP115 Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS 2016 yang akan membuka tirai di Tapak Ekspo Pertanian Malaysia Serdang (MAEPS), Selangor pada 12 dan 13 Mac ini. Setelah beberapa tahun beraksi dalam kelas persendirian, Pro-Am Cup, pelumba yang dikenali sebagai Fifie itu bertuah apabila dilamar pasukan BHP-Petrol Tabuan Racing untuk beraksi dalam kelas terbuka selain merupakan pelumba wanita tunggal dalam kategori tersebut.
Lebih istimewa bagi Fifie, perlumbaan minggu ini berjalan serentak dengan sambutan Hari Wanita Antarabangsa yang disambut 8 Mac setiap tahun dan mendedikasikan perlumbaan pertama kepada wanita yang paling banyak menyokong perjalanan karier selama ini, ibunya sendiri, Norwaini Hj Zuginin.
“Mama banyak berkorban untuk menyokong impian dan minat saya. Dia tidak pernah menghalang sekalipun minat saya bukanlah sukan yang sering diceburi wanita. Kerja keras mama membolehkan saya dan adik dapat berada di atas litar pada hari ini. Selepas beberapa tahun, saya semakin menghampiri impian untuk beraksi dalam kelas perdana, CP130 satu hari nanti,” jelas Fifie.
Tampil pertama kali pada usia 16 Fifie berjaya menepis tanggapan di mana sukan ini hanya layak diceburi lelaki setelah berjaya meraih pelbagai kejayaan sepanjang beraksi dalam kategori Pro-Am.
“Susah untuk meyakinkan pengurus pasukan di mana pelumba wanita juga mampu memberikan aksi terbaik sepertimana pelumba lelaki. Jika ingin beraksi sebagai pelumba persendirian dalam kategori CP115, ia melibatkan kos yang tinggi, jadi kategori Pro-Am adalah lebih sesuai.”
Fifie telah membuktikan kerja keras selama beberapa tahun membuahkan hasil apabila berjaya meraih enam podium pada musim lepas di dalam cabaran yang tidak kurang hebatnya berbanding perlumbaan kelas utama.
Enam podium tersebut membantu Fifie untuk menamatkan saingan di tangga ketiga keseluruhan di belakang Azrulaffendi Hadi dan Md Yusof Omar sekalipun tidak beraksi dalam tiga pusingan akibat patah kaki.
“Keputusan baik yang dicapai pada tahun 2015 meyakinkan pasukan untuk mereka memilih dan meletakkan saya di dalam kelas CP115. Saya perlu bekerja lebih keras dan meletakkan harapan untuk beraksi di pentas Asia satu hari nanti.”
“Impian saya adalah untuk mengubah minat dan kesungguhan saya terhadap motosikal kepada karier jangka masa panjang. Saya mahu membalas jasa dan pengorbanan mama saya selama ini.”
Fifie dedicates International Women’s Day to her mother
Siti Norafizah Mohamad, or more popularly known as Fifie, is excited about the prospect of making her CP115 debut in the 2016 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship. After several years racing as a privateer in the Pro-Am Cup, Fifie has been offered a contract with new racing outfit BHP-Petrol Tabuan Racing. The Johor-born lass will be the only female rider in the open-make intermediate category. With the first leg of the 2016 season coinciding with the same week as the International Women’s Day, Fifie is dedicating her first CP115 race to the woman in her life, her mother Norwaini Hj Zuginin. “My mother has sacrificed so much to support my dream. She had never been critical even though my interests were not exactly the conventional hobbies considered appropriate for girls. Now, I am one step away from making it into the elite CP130 class,” said Fifie.
Making her Cub Prix debut in 16, 20-year-old Fifie has been smashing myths in the male-dominated sport throughout her racing career. She spent the early years of her Cub Prix involvement proving her worth in the Pro-Am Cup before finally securing a spot with a professional team. “It was hard to convince the team managers that a girl was every bit as good as a boy on a bike. It would have been too expensive to race in the CP115 class as a privateer, so the Pro-Am Cup that races on more standard specifications was a natural choice for me.”
Fifie proved her worth in the 2015 season when she raked in six podium finishes in a class that was every bit as tough and competitive as the main categories. The six podiums gave Fifie the edge she needed to maintain her top spot in the Pro Am Cup despite missing out on three rounds due to a broken leg. Fifie eventually completed her campaign in third overall position behind Azrulaffendi Hadi and Md Yusof Omar.
“The good results I got in the 2015 class helped convince my new team that I was ready for the CP115 class. Now I am hoping that with more hard work, I will also be able to further expand my horizons and make it into the Asian level.”
“My dream is to turn my passion for motorcycle racing into a long-term career. Now, at least, I stand a chance of repaying her sacrifices by easing her burden.”
Fifie will ride out on track for her first CP115 race this weekend at the Malaysia Agro Exhibition Park (MAEPS) on March 12 to 13, 2016. This will be the first of 10 legs in the 2016 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship.
