ZAMRI, FAZLI KUASAI KELAS CP130
Saingan pusingan pembukaan Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS 2015 menyaksikan barisan pelumba senior melaungkan amaran awal untuk menjulang gelaran pada musim ini setelah Mohd Zamri Baba berjaya mencatat masa terpantas pada sesi ujian masa kategori CP130 di Temerloh, Pahang, hari ini.
Pelumba Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing itu mencatat masa masa 44.836s sambil seorang lagi pelumba berpengalaman yang juga juara dua kali kategori perdana, Ahmad Fazli Sham dari pasukan PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor muncul pelumba kedua terpantas dengan masa 44.846s diikuti rakan sepasukan, Mohd Taufiq Roslan dengan masa 44.996s.
Bagi Zamri, sasaran utama dirinya adalah untuk menebus kekecewaan musim 2014 setelah gagal mempamerkan prestasi konsisten akibat masalah kecederaan kaki yang berulang termasuk gagal beraksi pada pusingan ketujuh di Teluk Intan, Perak dan Pusingan 8 di Kangar, Perlis.
“Musim ini menyaksikan kehadiran lebih ramai pelumba termasuk pelumba yang pertama kali beraksi dalam kelas ini, jadi saingan pasti akan lebih sengit.
“Meskipun begitu, saya tidak melihat ia sebagai satu ancaman besar sebaliknya seronok kerana perlumbaan ini semakin mencabar dan dengan pengalaman yang kami ada pasti mampu menyerap segala tekanan,” jelas Zamri yanng sekadar menduduki tangga kesembilan keseluruhan pada musim lepas.
Menjelaskan tentang prestasi di Temerloh, Zamri berkata, “Saya gembira dengan keputusan pada hari ini di mana saya mencatat masa terpantas pada sesi latihan pertama dan ujian masa, saya harap ia akan berterusan dan dapat meraih podium pada hari esok.
“Faktor fizikal mungkin memainkan peranan utama pada perlumbaan minggu ini. Saya tidak berhenti melakukan ujian kecergasan sepanjang tempoh rehat selain keadaan kaki yang sudah pulih sepenuhnya. Cuma keadaan cuaca sangat panas sehingga mengganggu aksi pelumba kerana menyebabkan tayar kurang mencengkam.”
Sementara itu, pelumba muda meningkat naik, Khairul Idham Pawi (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) membuktikan kekurangan pengalaman bukan alasan apabila mencatat masa terpantas dalam kategori CP115 dengan catatan masa 45.317s diikuti pemenang tempat ketiga keseluruhan 2014, Tengku Amirul Haffirudin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) kedua, 45.430s dan Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) ketiga, 45.826s.
Dalam saingan Wira, duo Kozi Yam Honda Racing, Mohd Shafiq Ezzariq dan Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin menguasai sesi ujian masa dengan masing-masing mencatat masa terpantas, 46.314s dan 46.370s. Pelumba Weststar Motorsport, Mohd Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir mencatat masa ketiga terpantas, 46.701s.
Keputussan Ujian Masa:
CP130
1. Mohd Zamri Baba (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 44.836s
2. Ahmad Fazli Sham (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 44.846s
3. Mohd Taufiq Roslan (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 44.996s
4. Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman (Harian Metro YTEQ SCK Honda Racing) 45.062s
5. Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 45.153s
CP115
1. Khairul Idham Pawi (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 45.317s
2. Tengku Amirul Haffirudin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 45.430s
3. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 45.826s
4. Mohd Emir Firdaus Hasan (Jetron Apido Team PJM) 45.861s
5. MohdFareez Afeez (Felda Pb Tech Racing) 46.060s
WIRA
1. Mohd Shafiq Ezzariq (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 46.314s
2. Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 46.370s
3. Mohd Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir (Weststar Motorsport) 46.701s
4. Mohd Khairul Ikhwan Ajis (Yamalube AHM) 46.798s
5. Mohd Izzat Rafiq (PETRONAS Yamaha) 46.821s
CUB PRIX TEMERLOH RESULTS HINT AT A POTENTIAL SCK-MAJU COMEBACK
Cub Prix teams Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda and PETRONAS Yamaha Maju look set to be making a strong comeback in the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, if the timed practice results from Round 1 at Temerloh, Pahang on March 14, is anything to go by. The riders from both teams locked out the top six results in the premiere CP130 class.
Mohd Zamri Baba, who has opted to stay on for a second season with team Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda, led the pack with 44.836s on the 1.082km Temerloh track but is still one second shy of cracking the existing track record held by 2014 Champion Zaqhwan Zaidi.
“The heat at Temerloh is even worse this year. The tyres are barely gripping the surface of the tarmac and it has been extremely difficult for all the riders,” Zamri explained.
0.10 seconds behind Zamri, Ahmad Fazli Sham and his PETRONAS Yamaha Maju team mate Taufiq Roslan proved to be equally competitive when they checked in second and third fastest with lap times of 44.846s and 44.996s respectively.
While Zamri, Fazli and Taufiq’s performances come as no surprise, most impressive was the performance of rookie rider Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman who clocked fourth fastest with 45.062s. Hafiz, who was the Wira Champion in 2013, had to sit out a year in 2014 due to contractual issues. Now finally able to return to the racing scene, Hafiz has skipped the CP115 class completely and has been placed by the SCK team straight into the premiere class.
The early domination by both teams SCK and Maju extended into the sixth position with Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda) and Abdul Muhaimin Roslan (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju) placed fifth and sixth respectively.
The two teams have a strong winning record in the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship. Team Maju holds the record for the highest number of titles won while team SCK is the only one to have ever won the CP130 title with three different motorcycle makes. In 2014, however, neither team was able to live up to their top billing. Behind the scenes, both team managers had admitted to working around the clock in their efforts to stop the rot.
“2014 was a season to forget, as far as team SCK is concerned. At best, the results were mediocre. The team engineers had pledged to come back strong this season and have been working nonstop throughout the season break. This time, we came to Temerloh confident that we have left no stone unturned in our developmental efforts to squeeze more power out of the engine,” said SCK owner, Soong Chee Kieong.
In the CP115 class, team Kozi Yam Honda Racing’s protege, Khairul Idham Pawi, is the new man to beat. The 2014 Wira Champion brought his winning ways to the new class and easily topped the results sheets with a time of 45.317s. The second fastest time of the day was earned by Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin of team Motul Yamaha YY Pang. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, who is racing in his sophomore year with PETRONAS Yamaha Maju, displayed clear improvements in third place with 45.826s.
Similarly in the age-capped Wira class, team Kozi Yam Honda Racing got their season off to a flying start when both their junior riders – Md Shafiq Ezzariq and Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin – recorded the fastest laptimes of the day. Shafiq leads the Wira class with 46.314s while Harith was second fastest with 46.370s. Md Qhuwarismi Md Nasir of team Weststar Motorsport (previously known as Cilik Racing) ended the first day of practice in third place with a time of 46.701s.
Results:
CP130
1. Mohd Zamri Baba (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 44.836s
2. Ahmad Fazli Sham (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 44.846s
3. Mohd Taufiq Roslan (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 44.996s
4. Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman (Harian Metro YTEQ SCK Honda Racing) 45.062s
5. Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 45.153s
CP115
1. Khairul Idham Pawi (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 45.317s
2. Tengku Amirul Haffirudin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 45.430s
3. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 45.826s
4. Mohd Emir Firdaus Hasan (Jetron Apido Team PJM) 45.861s
5. MohdFareez Afeez (Felda Pb Tech Racing) 46.060s
WIRA
1. Mohd Shafiq Ezzariq (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 46.314s
2. Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 46.370s
3. Mohd Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir (Weststar Motorsport) 46.701s
4. Mohd Khairul Ikhwan Ajis (Yamalube AHM) 46.798s
5. Mohd Izzat Rafiq (PETRONAS Yamaha) 46.821s