MCP RD05:AFIF BOOSTED BY ARRC STRONG RUN

Yamaha’s Ahmad Afif Amran returns to action in the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship in Temerloh, Pahang this 21 and 22 June following his commitments in the Asia Road Racing Championship in Indonesia last weekend.

The Terengganu born rider enjoyed a positive outing in the second round of the Asian Championship to finish 19th in Race 1 before improving to 13th in Race 2, his best finish since joining the SuperSports 600cc category this season.

Pleased with his performance, Afif now refocuses on the Cub Prix Championship and is eager to pick up where he left off.

Despite his rookie status, the PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ rider holds a strong position in the CP130 standings, sitting in second overall with 65 points, just 10 points adrift championship leader, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi of Givi Honda Yuzy Racing with 75 points.

“Being able to finish within the points just after two rounds racing in the ARRC motivates me to do better for my Cub Prix campaign,” said Afif.

“Unlike 600cc bikes, I am well-adjusted with underbone machines and I have a strong team of engineers supporting me. There is no reason why I can’t perform this weekend in Temerloh,” he added.

Reflecting on his performance in the first four rounds this season, Afif commented, “Everything went better than expected. Initially we expected to be with the midfielders and finish among top 10 but we secured three podiums from the first four rounds instead.”

“However, I do not want to get carried away by the results. It’s too early to be thinking about the championship and I have a lot to learn about racing with the big boys. So I will take a race-by-race approach and try my best to within top-five and only think about the title towards the end of the season,” he said.