Pendahulu kategori CP130, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin berharap perjalanan jauh melebihi 20 ribu kilometer dalam tempoh singkat tidak akan mempengaruhi kecergasan fizikalnya bagi menghadapi Pusingan 8 Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS di Temerloh, Pahang, Sabtu dan Ahad ini. Meskipun dijangka untuk terus mendominasi dan berpeluang merangkul gelaran keseluruhan pada minggu ini, pelumba berusia 16 tahun itu sebaliknya merasakan perlumbaan di Temerloh mungkin antara yang paling sukar sepanjang tahun 2016 memandangkan dia terpaksa menempuh jadual yang padat setelah terbang ke Itali bagi menyertai Kem Latihan VR46 buat kali kedua selepas perlumbaan pusingan ketujuh di Pasir Gudang, Johor, baru-baru ini.
“Jadual sepanjang dua minggu lepas sangat memenatkan. Saya menempuh perjalanan yang jauh dan jadual latihan yang padat sepanjang di Itali. Kemudian dari Itali saya terbang ke Jepun sebelum kembali ke Malaysia. Meskipun gembira dengan pelbagai tunjuk ajar yang diterima di Itali, pada masa sama saya agak penat dan tidak mempunyai banyak masa rehat sebelum ke Temerloh,” jelas Kasma yang tiba di Malaysia, semalam.
Pelumba PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor itu berpeluang untuk bergelar juara keseluruhan CP130 pada minggu ini seandainya muncul juara manakala pencabar terdekat yang juga rakan sepasukan, Ahmad Fazli Sham sekadar tamat di kedudukan keempat atau memungut lebih 11 mata berbanding Fazli.
“Saya tidak kisah tentang memenangi gelaran keseluruhan di Temerloh ataupun tidak. Saya hanya mahu memastikan dapat menamatkan perlumbaan di hadapan Fazli supaya kekal selesa mendahului Fazli. Saya juga yakin pasukan mahu melihat kami terus bersaing sengit dan tidak akan memberikan arahan atau strategi untuk memastikan saya menang mudah di sini.”
Pusingan 8 Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS akan berlangsung di Taman Perindustrian Temerloh, Pahang pada 24 dan 25 September. Tiada sebarang bayaran dikenakan kepada pengunjung. Masuk adalah percuma.
Globetrotter Kasma worried about jetlag
Round 8 of the 2016 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, to be held in Temerloh, Pahang this weekend, may be the toughest race of the season for Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin. A year’s worth of effort has simmered down to the two upcoming rounds when he is expected to clinch the CP130 title. However, the 16-year-old could not help but worry that his usual sterling performance may be affected by travel fatique.
The young PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor rider had been traveling and training hard over the past two weeks. Immediately after Round 7 in Pasir Gudang, Kasma was jetted off to Italy for yet another week-long training session with Valentino Rossi at the VR46 Training Camp. After the camp, Kasma’s training was further extended when he flew to Japan for more instructions by Yamaha’s in-house trainers. He will return just in time to head to Temerloh for Round 8.
“The last two weeks had been a nonstop whirlwind with training first in Italy and then in Japan. I think I’ve logged more than 20,000km in just that short amount of time. It has been great and I have learnt a lot but the concern now is that I will touch down literally in time to get on my bike again for Round 8. Fatigue is definitely a concern because I won’t even have a day in between to rest,” said Kasma.
Under these circumstances, Kasma’s race strategy for the upcoming weekend has to be, by necessity, kept to a simple formula.
“I just need to make sure that I finish ahead of my own team mate, Ahmad Fazli Sham. There is no way I will be able to win the title in this round so I just need to make sure that Fazli does not close the gap again. So far, the team management has stayed mum on the issue of team orders so I am presuming that the team would prefer that we both battle it out right to the end.”
Round 8 of the 2016 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship will take place in Temerloh, Pahang this September 24 and 25. Spectator entry to the race is free.
