Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman of Fastthrottle Motorsports continued his superb form in his debut at the Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship 2017 (MSBK) as he cruised to a second victory for a double win in Round 2 of in the 1000cc Superstock Championship at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) today.
Shocking his more celebrated rivals yesterday in the opening race, Hafiz was even more awesome in Race 2 today as he was untroubled throughout the race; taking the chequered flag in 27 minutes 8.610 seconds and almost 15 seconds ahead of second placed Jonathan Serrapica.
The Swiss rider completed the 12-lap contest around the 5,543-meter MotoGP track in 27 minutes 23.461 seconds; with third-placed Adib Zulfadly Rosdin coming in some two seconds later in 27 minutes 25.823 seconds.
“It was a perfect race for me. We had our strategies spot on. But, I was also helped by a mistake by the riders behind me; which allowed me to pull away and opening a big gap to cruise to victory. Naturally, I am very happy and this will give the determination and spirit to work harder for the remaining rounds,” said the 21-year old Hafiz, who missed the opening round to compete in the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship.
Like Hafiz, it was also a double win for Malaysia’s former Moto3 wildcard rider Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisam of HKM Times Bike Racing Team, which scored a 1-2 for consecutive days in the Superbike Championship with Malaysia’s former Moto2 rider Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli taking second place in Race 2.
Riding a BMW S1000RR, Farid completed the 12-lap contest in 26 minutes 29.454 seconds; finishing almost three seconds ahead of Ramdan, who clocked 26 minutes 32.377 seconds on his Kawasaki machine.
It a similar story in the 600cc Supersport Championship with champion leader Ismail Smajli of BikeART Racing scoring his second victory in consecutive days as he denied the gallant efforts of Iqbal Quzaimy Azhar, who simply failed to find a way to stop the German rider.
Riding a Kawasaki ZX6R machine, Smalji completed the 12-lap contest in 27 minutes 28.504 seconds on his Kawasaki machine with Iqbal finishing some nine seconds later in 27 minutes 37.038 seconds. Khurana Diraj took third in his Honda CBR600.
The KTM RC390 Cup saw Ahmad Idham Khairuddin – the younger brother of Malaysia’s World Supersport rider Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin – ending the victory run of Ibrahim Norrodin, who was unbeaten for three races since the opening round.
Ibrahim – the younger brother of Malaysia’s Moto3 rider Adam Norrodin – had to be contended with third place for the 8-lap race which Ahmad Idham won in 20 minutes 50.785 seconds. Izam Ikmal Izamli took second placing; taking the chequered flag in 20 minutes 50.838 seconds.
Singaporean Muhammad Jazli Juraimi continued his dominance in the 250 Open championship; winning Race 2 in 21 minutes 13.971 seconds on his Kawasaki machine. Malaysians Muhammad Aiman Tahiruddin and Yap Teck Chow were second and third respectively with Indian rider, M. Vishwadev taking fourth place.
All the MSBK actions were telecast live on social media via livestreaming at Facebook and Youtube; capturing 83,584 viewership on Saturday and 56,663 today reaching to 780,000 people.
Round 3 of the five-leg championship will be held from 28 to 30 July.
MALAYSIA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 2
RESULTS – RACE 2
Superstock Championship (12 laps)
1.Mohd Hafiz Azman (Honda CBR1000R) 27:08.610s
- Jonathan Serrapica (Yamaha R1) 27:23.461s
- Adib Zulfadly Rosdin (Kawasaki ZR1000RR) 27:25.823s
- Sharulnizam Ramli (BMW S1000RR) 27:46.521s
- Dominic Chang (BMW S1000RR) 27:48.560s
Superbike Championship (12 laps)
1.Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisam (BMW S1000RR) 26:29.454s
- Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli (Kawasaki ZX10R) 26:32.377s
- Journi Karhu (KawasakiZX10R) 26:32.561s
- Rajini Krishnan (Kawasaki ZX10R) 26:58.512s
- Mark Kendle (Kawasaki ZX10R) 27:00.758s
Supersport Championship – 12 laps
1.Ismael Smalji (Kawasaki ZX6R) 27:28.504s
- Iqbal Quzaimy Azhar (Yamaha R6) 27:37.038s
- Khurana Diraj (Honda CBR600) 27:52.399s
- Yoichi Hosono (Yamaha R6) 28:11.102s
- Saravenen Manohgaran (Yamaha R6) 28:11.297s
250 Open Championship (8 laps)
1.Muhammad Jazli Juraimi (Kawasaki 250) 21:13.971s
- Muhammad Aiman Tahiruddin (Yamaha R25) 21:14.067s
- Yap Teck Chow (Kawasaki SL250) 21:15.467s
- M.Vishwadev (Kawasaki 250) 21:15.530s
- Luth Harith Erwan (Honda CBR250R) 21:18.354s
KTM RC390 (8 laps)
1.Ahmad Idham Khairuddin (KTM Orange) 20:50.785s
- Izam Ikmal Izamli (KTM Orange) 20:50.838s
- Ibrahim Norrodin (KTM Orange) 20:52.190s
- Arsyad Rusydi Shaharum (KTM Orange) 20:55.236ss
- Ralph Kenneth Torres (KTM Orange) 20:55.252s
