Five young Malaysian riders, aged between 15 and 18, will be among 22 riders from across Asia and Australia competing for honours in the 2015 season of the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup (“SAATC”).
Four riders who competed in the inaugural season last year Adam Norrodin, 16; Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, 18; Helmi Azman, 15 and Shafiq Rasol, 18 will be joined by new rider Azroy Anuar, 15.
According to Adam Norrodin, who competed last year, “I am excited to return and represent Malaysia at the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup this year. I have learned a lot from my previous races and look forward to applying the lessons learned on the track. I hope to improve my performance even more and further pursue my passion in competitive motorcycle racing. I’m thankful for this opportunity once again.”
The SAATC is a competition that promotes the best young talent from world of motorcycle racing, giving them a formal path into competitive road racing. The Cup is led in part by renowned and successful talent scout Alberto Puig, the legendary Spanish ex-racer who was also responsible for developing such talents as Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Puig, who is also the leader of the successful MotoGP™ Academy, hand-picked the 2015 season riders who will compete over six rounds in Thailand (March 22), Qatar (March 29), Malaysia (August 2), China (September 20), Japan (October 11) and Malaysia (October 25).
This year, Japan will be represented by seven riders. Indonesia and Thailand will have three riders each while China has two. Australia and Philippines will be represented by one rider each.
Riders will race on Honda NSF250R Moto3™ bikes powered by Shell V-Power racing fuel and lubricated with the new Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology fully synthetic motorcycle engine oil. Shell PurePlus Technology is a revolutionary gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that converts natural gas into crystal-clear base oil with virtually none of the impurities found in crude oil. GTL base oil delivers higher levels of cleansing and superior wear and corrosion protection.
Speaking at the presentation of the Malaysian riders for the 2015 SAATC, Shell Lubricants Cluster General Manager – Southeast Asia, Troy Chapman, said that the company, whose fuel and lubricants had been at the forefront of international motorcycle racing for years, was delighted to leverage its technological leadership and work closely with other sponsors to provide a formal path into competitive motorcycle racing for aspiring young Asian riders.
“Shell Advance is honoured to support the second year of this exciting championship. For the many budding talents across Asia, SAATC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train and race at a very competitive and professional level under expert guidance. We are committed to helping them make clean and winning starts at every race and turn their potential into performance,” he said.
Just one year since its inauguration, the SAATC has already shown results by opening doors for those who excelled to pursue their dreams. Four riders from the 2014 season would now have the opportunity to further showcase their talent on the international stage following stellar performances.
Reigning SAATC champion Kaito Toba and runner-up, Yuta Date, both from Japan; and Adam Norrodin from Malaysia; have been selected to compete under the newly formed Asia Talent Cup Team sponsored by the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in the Moto3™ Junior World Championship. Toba and compatriot Ayumu Sasaki will also be participating in the 2015 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
For more information on the 2015 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup, please go to: www.asiatalentcup.com. More updates can be found in the social media sites — https://www.facebook.com/AsiaTalentCup, https://twitter.com/AsiaTalentCup, andhttps://instagram.com/asiatalentcup/.
