As part of a holistic approach to help the young Malaysian riders taking part in the 2015 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup (“SAATC”), Shell Advance recently organised a special 3-day 2-night Rider Development Programme at Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort. The four Malaysian riders who attended were Azroy Anuar, 16, Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, 19; Helmi Azman, 16, and Shafiq Rasol, 19. The idea for the rider development programme was first mooted at a roundtable discussion between Shell Malaysia and Sepang International Circuit back in March 2015.
Shell Lubricants Marketing Manager (Malaysia and Singapore), Alex Lim, said that the programme for the inaugural camp was designed to help mould the young riders into potential champions.
“We have no doubt that our Malaysian riders are blessed with an abundance of natural talent for motorcycle racing. We hope that by imparting professional guidance; and a scientific, systematic and disciplined approach, they can go even further,” he said.
Alex added, “The second season of the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup is more competitive than ever. Our riders were somewhat off the pace in the first two rounds in Thailand and Qatar. We hope that this holistic development programme can give them a boost when the season resumes in August. This is purely a Malaysian initiative driven by national pride,” said Alex.
The programme for the 3-day camp was carefully segmented with a different focus every day.
On the first day, the focus was on communications and media handling skills. Coached by Shell Malaysia Operational Excellence Manager, Lingesh Lechmanan, and consultants from Accenture, the four riders learned how to overcome their shyness, project confidence and prepare their answers when meeting with the media.
The second day’s programme at Sepang International Kart Circuit was easily the favourite with the riders. They cherished every moment of the time they had on the track and demonstrated how at home they were astride a motorcycle.
Certified coaches Haizal Omar and Remon Azrem from Alpha Track Academy (ATAC) observed every rider as they were put through their paces on the track.
“The boys are skilful, enthusiastic and highly determined but need to be more scientific in their approach. They must learn to break down their race into parts, analyse areas for improvement and strategise on how to overcome challenges. A true champion is one who has planning skills when he is not racing. He is always taking notes, organising his thoughts, analysing his performance and planning on how to ride better,” they said, while also stressing on the importance of theory sessions to equip the riders with the necessary technical understanding to complement their natural talent.
On the last day, trainers from Rebel Boot Camp were called in to help with the fitness and nutrition aspects. Each rider was put through a grueling series of physical tests at the resort gym to assess their fitness and strength levels. Their eating habits during mealtimes were also observed. By the end of the day, the riders were given a structured fitness regime and dietary advice to follow to help improve their strength, especially in core muscles, and endurance.
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. Twenty-two handpicked riders from all over Asia compete over six rounds in Thailand (March 22), Qatar (March 29), Malaysia (August 2), China (September 20), Japan (October 11) and Malaysia (October 25). The riders 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.
For more information on the 2015 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup, please go to www.asiatalentcup.com.
