Prinsipal pasukan PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor, Yong Yin Hoe meletakkan harapan tinggi terhadap pelumba muda berbakat, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin terutama menjelang pusingan pembukaan Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS 2016 di Litar Tapak Ekspo Pertanian Malaysia Serdang (MAEPS), Selangor, 12 dan 13 Mac ini.
Pelumba sensasi berusia 16 tahun yang mencatat pelbagai kejayaan luar biasa pada musim lepas akan beralih ke kelas CP130 pada musim ini dan Yong percaya Kasma mampu menyamai rekod Hafizh selaku pelumba termuda memenangi gelaran CP130 dalam sejarah Cub Prix.
Peralihan Kasma ke kelas CP130 sudah dalam jangkaan terutama selepas pencapaian cemerlang memenangi enam daripada sembilan perlumbaan sekaligus bergelar juara keseluruhan CP115 musim lepas.
Musim ini Kasma akan bergandingan dengan dua pelumba berpengalaman, Ahmad Fazli Sham dan Abdul Muhaimin Roslan.
“Saingan kelas CP115 musim lepas agak mudah bagi Kasma. Dia sentiasa menamatkan perlumbaan dengan berada jauh di hadapan pelumba lain. Jelas dia berada pada tahap tersendiri dan saya fikir dia juga sudah bersedia untuk berhadapan perlumbaan lebih mencabar pada tahun ini,” jelas Yong.
“Mungkin ramai masih ingat ketika pembabitan awal Hafizh di Cub Prix, Kasma juga mempunyai persamaan dengan pelumba Moto2 negara itu. Kedua-duanya mempunyai karisma tersendiri, perwatakan yang ceria, berbakat dan begitu kompetitif. Kasma juga mempunyai sikap yang adakalanya mendatangkan kesusahan kepada diri sendiri. Contohnya pada musim lepas dia melakukan ‘wheely’ walaupun bendera penamat belum dikibarkan. Dia berjaya menghiburkan penonton dengan aksinya namun tidak bagi petugas perlumbaan.”
Meskipun begitu, pasukan percaya Kasma akan mempamerkan aksi lebih matang pada tahun ini. “Saingan kelas CP130 tahun ini sangat kompetitif. Kasma perlu memberi sepenuh tumpuan untuk berhadapan pelumba-pelumba termasuk rakan sepasukan, Ahmad Fazli Sham, Zaqhwan Zaidi dan juga juara bertahan, Ahmad Fazrul Sham. Saingan tahun ini penting untuk proses pembangunan karier Kasma. Kita tidak sabar melihat apa yang mampu ditunjukkan oleh Kasma,” jelas Yong.
Peminat sukan permotoran boleh menyaksikan aksi pertama Kasma dalam kelas CP130 di Tapak Ekspo Pertanian Malaysia Serdang (MAEPS), Selangor pada 12 dan 13 Mac ini. Masuk adalah percuma.
Yong Ying Hoe: Possible for Kasma to pull of a ‘Hafizh’
PETRONAS Maju Motor Yamaha team principal, Yong Ying Hoe, has high hopes for latest and youngest talent under his care, the mercurial 16-year-old Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin. Newly arrived in the CP130 class of the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, Yong has stated that it is highly possible for Kasma to equal Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah’s record as the youngest CP130 Champion in the Cub Prix history books.
Kasma’s upgrade into the CP130 class comes as now surprise, particularly after the way he blew the competition apart last year. Kasma won six out of nine races to clinch the 2015 CP115 title. This season, Kasma joins seniors Ahmad Fazli Sham and Abdul Muhaimin Roslan in team PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor’s CP130 line-up.
“The CP115 class was probably too easy for Kasma last year. He consistently finished races by more than half a track length ahead of the chasing pack. He was clearly in a league of his own and I believe that he is more than ready for tougher races,” said Yong.
“For those who remembered Hafizh during his early Cub Prix days, Kasma bears a lot of resemblance to the current Malaysian Moto2 rider. Both are charismatic, colourful, talented and highly competitive. Kasma also possesses the same devil-may-care attitude that had landed him in plenty of trouble last year,” Yong recalled the many rounds in which Kasma had performed wheelies before he even reached the chequered flag. That flamboyance pleased the crowd. Race officials, however, were less amused.
However, the team believes that Kasma will have less time for on-track shenanigans this year. “The CP130 class will be too competitive for him to be thinking of crowd-pleasing antics. He will have his hands full dealing with the likes of Ahmad Fazli Sham, Zaqhwan Zaidi, and defending champion Ahmad Fazrul Sham. This will be a good year for Kasma’s development as an upcoming talent. Under pressure from his senior riders, we are looking forward to see what Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin is really made of,” Yong concluded.
Selangor motorsports fans can catch Kasma’s first CP130 appearance at the Malaysia Agro Exhibition Park (MAEPS) in Serdang, Selangor this weekend (March 12 – 13, 2016). Entrance and parking for spectators are free.
