AKID CELEBRATED VICTORY AT NEW CIRCUIT

The final race of Round 8, PETRONAS Malaysian Cub Prix Championship took place at the Bandar Medini Iskandar circuit. Md Akid Aziz of PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha – CKJ Racing bagged victory today.

Following an incident that happened during the Super-Pole session earlier today, the session was cancelled and the CP150 riders were placed on the grid with their lap time from the qualifying session. With that, Akid Aziz took the pole position followed by Azroy Hakeem on the second grid and Afif Amran on the third.

During the race earlier, Akid was quick to find his footing at turn one, taking the P1 followed by Azroy at P2 and Iqbal at P3. Afif, who faced some technical issues with his machine, was out of the race for the day. At P5, Helmi tried to close the gaps with Kasma who was at P4. Iqbal at P3 looked for opportunities to strike Azroy down. At lap 5, Nazirul who was at P6 overtook Helmi and Kasma and moved into P4 but Kasma was swift with his moves to take back his position. On lap 7, Iqbal finally overtook Azroy. The gap between Iqbal and Akid at that time was 0.599s.

Photo : Official Malaysia Cub Prix

With 10 more laps to go, Nazirul went on a chase, trying to take Kasma down but Kasma kept up with his momentum. Meanwhile, at P1, Akid seemed steady and confident on the circuit with his machine. At the end of lap 14, he carved a gap of 1.172s away from Iqbal. At P3, Azroy wasn’t satisfied. He went on to move closer to Iqbal while looking for ways to strike but Iqbal who realised the pressure behind him did not budge from his position. Azroy tried again and finally made it on lap 16. He went on to increase his speed to chase Akid. At the last lap, Akid who maintained his momentum from lap 1 to lap 20 worked towards victory, clocking in at 14’29:313s.

Commenting on the race, Akid said, ““The circuit is quite a tough one. There were many adjustments that needed to be made during the weekend. In terms of the machine, there were no issues with the machine so far. Everything has been good. But to catch up and maintain a consistent speed was not easy because the circuit has many narrow corners. It is quite a technical circuit and it was not smooth all the way. During the race earlier, I thought that I would be battling a fight with at least two or three riders but I did not expect to take the lead from the beginning till the end without any pressure from the other riders. I did realise that Azroy was at the back of me, getting faster and closer to me. I also reduced my speed on the last lap to avoid making any mistakes. As for the condition of my machine, I discussed it with Afif on the settings. It has been my biggest advantage. My goal for this season is to take the champion title. It is one of the toughest goals because both rider and the machine have to be always ready.”

Azroy Hakeem Anuar made it second, logging in at 14’30:938s.

Md Iqbal Amri of GIVI Tekhne Yamaha took third at 14’33:707s.

For the CP125 race category, Md Khairi Ashraf of Jetron Yamaha YYPang Racing Team celebrated victory at his home-ground.

Photo : Official Malaysia Cub Prix

In the morning, during the Shoot-Out session, all three riders of Jetron Yamaha YYPang Racing Team emerged with an excellent performance. Khairi Ashraf logged in fastest with his best lap time at 45’174s followed by Shafiq Ezzariq with his best lap time at 45’365s and Fareez Afeez with his fastest lap time at 45’456s. With that, the three riders took the front row on the grid.

As soon as the race flagged off, Khairi went on quickly to take the P1 position followed by Fareez at P2. At the end of lap 2, Fareez overtook Khairi. At the back of the duo was Amirul Ariff with a gap of 0.827s. Shafiq was at P4. At P5, Adie tried to overtake and made it from the inside at the last turn before lap 4 ended. Thereafter, he went on a chase to bring the rider ahead of him down. Once again, Adie utilised his strengths from the inside and overtook for the P3 position.

During that time, YYPang duo were steadily leading at P1 and P3. Adie was 2.046s away from them and inched closer towards them. Nevertheless, luck was not on his side when he took a fall consequently making way for Hafiza to take over P3. The YYPang duo went on to inject pressure on each other before Khairi superseded Fareez. Behind them, Syukran overtook Hafiza. With 3 more laps to go, Khairi and Fareez avoided mistakes. Syukran was trying to get closer to the duo. Nevertheless, he did not get the opportunity as Khairi went on to complete the race first at 11’34:554s.

Commenting on the race, Khairi said, “The circuit is quite new therefore it is quite difficult to find the compatibility. But I tried to do my best. During the race earlier, it was all good in the beginning but I began having some technical issues with my machine. At that time, all I did was to be in control and maintain my position. Overall, I am quite pleased with my achievements for the season. My goal is to definitely take the overall champion title and I will not give up until the end.”

His teammate Md Fareez Afeez took second place at 11’35:047s.

Ahmad Syukran Aizat of Tekhne Yamaha made it third at 11’35:654s.

Meanwhile, Md Farish Iqmal of Bad Lab Honda KC Racing embraced the challenges at Medini circuit before emerging victorious in the Wira KBS race category.

In the qualifying session that was held yesterday, Farish Iqmal and Adib Hareez of Bad Lab Honda KC Racing made the fastest and second fastest lap time which consequently gave them the added advantage in grid one and two. On the third grid was Emil Idzhar of Yamaha Estremo 27 Racing.

Photo : Official Malaysia Cub Prix

During the race earlier, Farish was quick to advance into P1 at the first turn. He was swiftly followed by Emil at P2 and Amirun at P3. Although Amirun was challenged by Adib Hareez in the beginning of the race, Amirun managed to steer away from Adib Hareez and formed a gap before lap 2 ended. In front of them, Emil tried to close the gaps with Farish. Before lap five ended, Emil and Amirun overtook Farish. The battle between the trio heated up as the riders tried to dominate the circuit. While at it, Emil lost control for a moment and that gave Iqram a shot at P3.

With five more laps to go, Amirun went on to take P1 followed by Farish at P2. Both the riders of Honda and Yamaha entangled in an exchange of positions as they went on to fight for the best spot. With two more laps to go, Farish overtook Amirun and took speed to create a gap. At the final lap, Amirun chased after Farish, looking for ways to strike. Farish however was adamant in his pursuit to take the win. He glided towards victory at 9’28:803s.

Commenting on the race, Farish said, “For me, the track is quite a challenging one because it has many small turns, narrow ones. That for me is quite a challenge but I tried to overcome that. During the race, I tried to pull away from the rider behind me and create a gap but mid-race, I was overtaken by Emil and Amirun. I then went on to catch up and finally made it at the top spot in this race. The advantage of my machine would be the straight and the turns. This is where I usually make my move to strike. My goal for this season is to make it as the overall champion.”

Amirun Haziq Johan of PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha – 31 Racing took the second place at 9’29:081s.

Ahmad Iqram Danish of Yamaha Estremo 27 Racing took third, clocking in at 9’33:021s.

TOP 5 WINNERS

FINAL RACE

CP150

1. Md Akid Aziz, PETRONAS SPRINTA YAMAHA – CKJ RACING, 14:29.313

2. Azroy Hakeem Anuar, HONDA YUZY ESTREMO TEAM, 14:30.938

3. Md Iqbal Amri Abdul Malek, GIVI TEKHNE YAMAHA, 14:33.707

4. Nazirul Izzat Md Bahauddin, PETRONAS SPRINTA YAMAHA MAJU MOTOR, 14:36.434

5. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, PETRONAS SPRINTA YAMAHA MAJU MOTOR, 14:36.920

CP125

1. Md Khairi Asyraf Mahmood, JETRON YAMAHA YYPANG RACING TEAM, 11:34.554