The top team currently dominating the national motorcycle racing scene, team Maju Motor, had elected to field two teenage hotshots as their entry for the 2017 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The team, which is known as team UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor in the Asian series, had decided to race 19-year-old Mohd Akid Aziz and 16-year-old Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues in the Underbone 150cc category.
Both youngsters have been popping up on the Malaysian talent radar lately. Akid, the defending champion in the Malaysian Cub Prix CP115 class, had had a strong start to the season with two solid consecutive wins. Haziq, on their other hand, though one of the youngest riders on the Asian Underbone grid, managed to net two podium finishes and one win in the ARRC’s UB130 category last year.
“Akid and Haziq had been performing to our expectations and it is time for them to be exposed to the Asian series. Even though the championship is introducing the 150cc class this season, the team feels that it will be good exposure for these two young riders,” said team Maju principal, Yong Ying Hoe.
“Because both riders race in the CP115 class in the national championship, moving to the 150cc bikes will take some time before they are fully comfortable. During the official pre-season test, they were about a second off the front runner’s pace. Nevertheless, we feel that it is very important for both riders to continue gaining more experience racing against seasoned campaigners on the Asian stage. This is especially so for Akid who had been earmarked by Hong Leong Yamaha to attend the Valentino Rossi’e VR46 Master Camp later this year.”
Round 1 of the 2017 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will take place at the Johor Circuit in Pasir Gudang this weekend (April 1 and 2, 2017). Spectator entry is free.
