Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa apologized to CP115 rival, Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and said he deeply regrets taking out the M Seki Liberty Honda Racing rider out of the Terengganu PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship on Saturday.
In the heat of battle, Amirul made an aggressive inside pass at turn four and came into contact with Elly. With virtually no room left to maneuver, the 30-year old crashed into the air fence and immediately retired from the race with five laps remaining.
Fortunately, Elly escaped the crash without any major injuries but lost two spots in the overall standings dropping from fourth to sixth with 29 points.
Amirul went on to finish the red-flagged race second behind winner, Zaidy Mohd Zaifaizal while Mohd Izzat Zaidi Salehan secured third place.
“I was really desperate to catch up with Zaidy who was leading and did not think my strategy through. At the back of my head I knew overtaking at turn four carried a huge risk because it was tight but I went with it anyway. Racing is not a contact sport and I would like to apologize to Elly and M Seki Liberty Honda Racing for that,” said Amirul.
Givi Honda Yuzy Racing team principal, Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini said he was shocked by Amirul’s hard approach but understood that it was a simple judgement error.
“We’ve been working with Amirul for a very long time and we understand his character very well. He never would have wanted for Elly to crash. Hopefully nothing similar ever happens again,” said Yuzy.
Following the Terengganu race, Motul Yamaha YY Pang’s Zaidy now leads the CP115 standings with 58 points followed by teammates, Izzat Zaidi and Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin with 52 points and 48 points respectively. Amirul sits in fourth with 43 points.
Round Four of the 2014 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship will take place at Stadium Hang Jebat in Malacca this 31 May and 1 June.
