Berbaki tiga pusingan sahaja lagi untuk memburu gelaran juara keseluruhan CP130 Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS 2015, pasukan di bawah naungan Honda, Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing akui ketiadaan Mohd Zamri Baba amat dirasai terutama menjelang saingan pusingan kelapan di Litar Taman Ekspo Pertanian Malaysia Serdang (MAEPS), Serdang, Selangor pada 17 dan 18 Oktober ini.
Permulaan musim 2015 amat baik bagi mereka apabila Zamri menamatkan perlumbaan di atas podium dan dilihat mempunyai peluang untuk membawa pulang gelaran keseluruhan individu dan berpasukan pada musim ini. Bagaimanapun, pelumba itu mengalami kemalangan sewaktu beraksi dalam saingan Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM di Litar Sentul, Indonesia dan tidak dapat kembali beraksi sama ada dalam saingan di peringkat kebangsaan mahupun antarabangsa.
Malah ketiadaan Zamri juga menyaksikan pasukan SCK gagal mencapai keputusan memberangsangkan bermula pusingan kelima namun mereka tetap positif masih mampu bersaing untuk berada dalam kedudukan tiga pasukan terbaik pada musim ini.
“Zamri merupakan ketua kepada pelumba di dalam pasukan. Dari segi pengalaman, dia sama seperti Norizman. Namun dari segi personaliti, dia mempunyai kualiti sebagai seorang ketua. Dia sentiasa memberi semangat dan membantu mereka yang lain untuk beraksi ke tahap lebih tinggi,” jelas pemilik pasukan Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda, Soong Chee kieong.
“Ketika ini pelumba yang mempunyai smeangat seperti itu ialah pelumba muda kami, Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman. Namun dia masih mentah dari segi pengalaman dan belum cukup matang untuk memainkan peranan sebagai ketua.”
Bercakap tentang aksi keseluruhan pasukan satelit Honda di dalam kejuaraan tempatan, Soong akui musim 2015 lebih memihak kepada kem Yamaha. PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor kini mendahului senarai keseluruhan berpasukan dengan 156 mata diikuti Yamalube AHM kedua dengan 133 mata.
Ketika ini, pasukan SCK terikat bersama pasukan PETRONAS Yamaha-CKJ di kedudukan ketiga dengan 128 mata.
“Dari segi barisan pelumba, kesemua pasukan adalah sama kerana memiliki dua pelumba senior dan seorang pelumba muda,” ulas Soong tentang perbandingan diantara barisan pelumbanya, Norizman Ismail, Elly Idzlianizar Ilias dan Mohd Nor Hafiz Nor Azman bersama barisan pelumba CKJ, Mohd Affendi Rosli, Ahmad Afif Amran dan Mohd Fitri Ashraff Razali untuk bersaing di MAEPS, hujung minggu ini.
“Ketiadaan Zamri amat dirasai dan merupakan kehilanngan besar kepada pasukan, namun kami semua bersatu hati mendoakan agar dia segera pulih,” jelas Soong.
NO ZAMRI NO PARTY FOR TEAM SCK
With just three rounds remaining in the battle for the CP130 title in the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, Honda’s top satellite team Harian Metro YTEQ SCK Honda Racing has faced up to the reality that they will not be able to make up for the loss of Zamri Baba. Attention now turns to Round 8 of the national championship which will be held at the Malaysia Agro Exibition Park (MAEPS) this October 17 to 18 where the SCK stable will be fighting to defend their top-three position on the team constructors chart.
The 2015 season started off on a high note for team Harian Metro YTEQ SCK Honda. Zamri Baba delivered a string of podium finishes that gave the team a head start in the title chase. However, the 32-year-old suffered head injuries during the Indonesian leg of the Asia Road Racing Championship in June and has been absent from the local and regional motorcycle racing championships since. From Round 5 of the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship onwards, team Harian Metro YTEQ SCK Honda’s collective results had taken a beating.
“Zamri was the leader in the team. He shared equal seniority with Norizman Ismail, but in terms of personality, Zamri was definitely the lead rider. He had the innate ability to inspire and push the rest of the team to go beyond their limits,” said Harian Metro YTEQ SCK Honda team principal, Soong Chee Kieong.
“Right now, the rider closest to being a team leader is, ironically, our youngest rider Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman. However, he will need to achieve some maturity before he can fill that role.”
Regarded as Honda’s lead satellite team in the Malaysian series, Soong has had to admit that 2015 will inevitably be owned by the Yamaha camps. PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor Racing tops the chart with 156 points, followed by Yamalube AHM in second overall with 133 points.Â
At this point of the competition, Team SCK is tied in third overall with PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ. Both teams have amassed 128 points to date.
“In terms of rider line-up, I would say that both teams are very much on the same level. We each have two experienced riders and one rookie rider,” explained Soong referring to how his team’s Norizman Ismail, Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Mohd Nor Hafiz Nor Azman will square off against CKJ’s Mohd Affendi Rosli, Ahmad Afif Amran and Mohd Fitri Ashraff Razali at the Malaysia Agro Exhibition Park this October 17 and 18.
“Zamri’s injuries had been a huge loss for the team, but we are heartened to hear news of his steady progress,” Soong concluded.
