MCP RD03:RACE REPORT

CP130

A last minute slip up proved to be a costly mistake for Ahmad Fazli Sham as he missed out on what could have been a victory in Round Three of the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship at Stadium Sultan Mizan Gong Badak in Terengganu on Saturday.

A smooth take off saw the PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor rider propel into lead while satellite Yamaha riders, Mohd Affendi Rosli and Ahmad Afif Amran held back Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi who proved to be a dominating force in the practice and qualifying session.

This gave Fazli Sham the opportunity to open up a gap but unfortunately it was short lived.

A masterful display of riding technique and skill saw Zaqhwan powering past Affendi Rosli and Ahmad Afif Amran and closed down the gap within two laps. A final aggressive move forced Fazli into a mistake, and it was the opening that Zaqhwan had been looking for.

Zaqhwan completed the grueling 18-lap race in 12’27.695s. Fazli Sham settled for second and Afif Amran third with 12’30.120s and 12’30.883s respectively.

Hauling 50 points from this round, Zaqhwan regains control of the CP130 overall standings followed by rookie, Afif Amran with 49 points and Fazli Sham third, 40 points.

CP115

Zaidy Mohd Zaifaizal is back in business as he rode to his season’s first victory in a dramatic CP115 race that was red-flagged with three laps remaining.

The Motul Yamaha YY Pang rider capitalized on his front row start to pressure Elly Idzlianizar Ilias out of the lead and went on to finish the race in 8’30.402s, 0.310 seconds ahead of Mohd Amirul Ariff Musa with 8’30.712s. Locking out the podium steps was Zaidy’s teammate, Mohd Izzat Zaidi Salehan with 8’31.781s.

Picking up 25 points, Zaidy now sits a top of the CP115 standings with 58 points while Izzat takes second six points adrift. Tengku Amirul who crashed out of the race sits in third with 48 points.

WIRA

Khairul Idham Pawi chalked up his second consecutive victory after Muar to push Khairul Ikhwan Ajis down the order in the age-capped WIRA category.

The Kozi Yam Honda Racing rider battled for lead with FELDA PbafB Tech Racing’s Mohd Fairuz Nasir before the latter crashed out in the fourth lap, leaving Khairul to pull away and finish the 12-lap race within 8’41.249s with a 4.413 seconds advantage.

Adding on to Khairul’s joy, teammate Harith Farhan Baharin put on an impressive show to fend off Afiki Supaat of Jetron Apido Team PJM and finish second in 8’45.662s in front of his home crowd while Afiki was forced to be content in third place with 8’47.585s.

Khairul now leads the WIRA standings with 66 points followed by Khairul Ikhwan with 55 points and Harith Farhan third, 49 points.

The fourth round of the 2014 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship will take place at Stadium Hang Jebat in Malacca this 31 May and 1 June.