Britain’s Steve Martin continued his domination in the 1000cc Superstock Championship from last year at the opening round of the new Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSC) at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) today but was upstaged in the Superbike Championship.
Competing in two championships for a second consecutive year, Martin was cruised to win both races in the Superstock Championship on his Kawasaki ZX10R machine despite competing in a huge grid of 42 riders, who were divided into two classes.
In both Race 1 and Race 2 today, Martin edged out the challenge of former champion, Ahmad Nasrul Baharuddin of Team Project X, who had to be contended with second place on both occasions in a Honda CBR1000 machine. Naharuddin Mat Yusop finished a distant third for both races on his BMW S1000RR machine.
Three-times national motocross champion, Muhammad Al-Amirul Ashshahid Mohd Salleh, who finished sixth in the opening race for the class, improved his results for Race 2 taking fourth place on his Honda CBR100; finishing 6.397 seconds behind Nasarudin.
It was a different story, however, for Martin in the Superbike Championship where the British rider was unable to match the power and speed of former two-time Malaysian Moto2 rider, Muhammad Zamri Baba, who was competing with an injured shoulder.
Riding another Kawasaki ZX10 machine for the Superbike Championship, Martin had an even disastrous Race 2 when he was forced to retire after Lap 6 with mechanical problems. India’s Rajini Krishnan, who was third in Race 1, won Race 2 beating Zamri, who was clearly affected by his injury at the tail end of the race and finished second.
Like Steve Martin in the Superstock championship, lady rider Siti Norafizah Muhamad of BikeArt Racing Team scored a double victory in the Open 250 Cup to take home a perfect score of 50 points from the opening round.
Defending Supersport champion Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisham started his new season brilliantly to score a double victory despite facing as stiff challenge from his BikeArt Racing team-mate Hazlanshah Mohd Noor.
In the new Ducati 899 Cup race series, Syamsul Bakhtiar Esa won the opening race, which was red-flagged after Lap 3 and restarted for another three laps. Race 2 was won by Syamsul Bakhtiar Esa
Rebranded from the old Malaysian Super Series bike championships, Round 2 of the MSC will be held from 31 August to 2 July as the support races for eni FIM World Superbike Championship 2015 Malaysia Round.
The opening round of the MSC recorded an impressive entry 112 entries; divided in five categories with participation by international riders from as far as Britain (2); Germany (1); Singapore (7), Hong Kong (2) and two riders from India. Last year, the series had 102 participants for the opening round.
Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship – Round 1
Race Results – Podium Winners
Sepang Circuit (5,543m)
SUPERSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP
Race 1 (12 laps)
1.Steve Martin (GB/ Kawasaki ZX10R) 27:05.751s
2. Ahmad Nashrul Baharuddin (MAS/ Honda CBR1000RR) 27:15.455s
3. Nasarudin Mat Yusop (MAS/BMW S1000RR) 27:21.053s
Race 2 (12 laps)
1.Steve Martin (GB/Kawasaki ZX10R) 27:14.651s
2. Ahmad Nashrul Baharuddin (MAS/ Honda CBR1000RR) 27:25.931s
3. Nasarudin Mat Yusop (MAS/ BMW S1000RR) 27:40.441s
SUPERBIKE OPEN
Race 1 (12 laps)
1.Muhamad Zamri Baba (MAS/ Honda CBR100) 30:30.795s
2. Steve Martin (GB/ Kawasaki ZX10) 30:33.443s
3. Rajini Krishnan (IND/ Kawasaki ZX10R) 30:45.002
Race 2 (12 laps)
1. Rajini Krishnan (IND/ Kawasaki ZX10R) 27:31.440s
2. Muhamad Zamri Baba (MAS/Honda CBR1000) 27:37.549s
3. Sharulnizam Ramli (MAS/ BMW S1000R) 27:37.665s
SUPERSPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Race 1 (12 laps)
1.Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisham (MAS/ Kawasaki ZX6R) 27:51.691s
2. Hazlanshah Mohd Noor (MAS/ Kawasaki ZX6R) 27:52.509s
3. Mohd Muzakkir Mohamed (MAS/ Kawasaki ZX6R) 28:27.496s
Race 2
1.Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisham (MAS/ Kawasaki ZX6R) 27:10.485s
2. Hazlanshah Mohd Noor (MAS/ Kawasaki ZX6R) 27:22.719s
3. Ahmad Afif Amran (MAS/ Yamaha YZF R6) 27:23.573s
OPEN 250
Race 1 (8 laps)
1. Siti Norafizah Muhamad (MAS/ Kawasaki Ninja 250) 21:28.628s
2. Azroy Hakeem Anuar (MAS/ Kawasaki Ninja 250) 21:28.676s
3. Ammar Dhiyauddin (MAS/ Kawasaki Ninja 250) 21:35.274s
Race 2 (8 laps)
1. Siti Norafizah Muhamad (MAS/ Kawasaki Ninja 250) 21:31.313s
2. Azroy Hakeem Anuar (MAS/ Kawasaki Ninja 250) 21:31.351s
3. Angelo Neo (SIN/ Honda CBR250) 22:21.733s
Ducati 899 Cup race series
Race 1 (6 laps – restart after Lap 3)
1. Syamsul Bakhtiar Esa (MAS/ Ducati) 14:45.449s
2. Muhammad Akhimullah Zalani (MAS/ Ducati) 15:10.507s
3. Muhammad Hidayat Harun (MAS/ Ducati) 15:14.113s
Race 2 (8 laps)
1. Syamsul Bakhtiar Esa (Ducati) 19:31.413s
2. Muhammad Akhimullah Zalani (Ducati) 19:42.717s
3. Muhammad Hidayat Harun (Ducati) 19:52.728s
