Upcoming racing star, Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin received a confidence booster ahead of his upcoming debut in the Moto3 Junior World Championship. Racing at the Tangkak Racing Track for Round 2 of the 2017 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, the 17-year-old rider scored his second consecutive win with a time of 15’14.809s.
The PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Maju Motor protege started the CP150 race on pole position. A slow start as the lights went off gave the holeshot to Motul Zeneos Yamaha YY Pang rider Mohd Adib Rosley. However, Adib was unable to hold back the charging Kasma as soon as the Maju rider got into his racing rhythm. Kasma took the lead at the end of Lap 1 and was consistently the fastest rider on the track.
“Today was a challenge against myself. The tyres were losing grip due to the extreme heat. I had to focus hard to maintain my pace,” said Kasma who cruised unchallenged to the finish line with a 6-second margin between him and Adib.
Meanwhile, second placed Adib added that he was unable to match Kasma’s pace. “The tarmac was breaking up at certain spots and the condition was getting worse with every lap. I didn’t dare to push too hard, which was why I opted to remain in second place.”
While Kasma and Adib raced solo at the front, a five-rider battle for P3 provided much of the racing thrills. Honda’s top performing rider of 2017, Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi, clearly struggled against a weight disadvantage. Despite his best efforts, Zaqhwan lost ground to his nimbler Yamaha rivals. The race for third place was finally won by Norizman Ismail of team Onexox TKKR Racing with a time of 15’24.089s.
Team PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Maju Motor had thrown up a seemingly insurmountable wall of defence not only in the CP150 category, but also in the CP115 class. The team’s CP115 duo, Mohd Akid Aziz and Mohd Haziq Fairues, picked up another double podium in Tangkak.
19-year-old Akid Aziz was particularly impressive. He put up a gritty and determined performance when he fought his way back up to the front despite crashing out on Lap 2. Akid picked up his second win with a time of 11’54.345s. Team PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha-CKJ’s Ahmad Syukran Aizat finished second with 11’56.690s. Haziq Fairues was third with 11’56.787s.
Finally, Md Aiman Tahiruddin won the Wira Final with a time of 9’40.633s, followed by his team PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha-AFB team mate Md Khairi Asyraf Mahmood in second place with 9’42.552s and Md Syarifuddin Azman in third place with 9’46.410s.
Round 3 of the 2017 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship will take place in Kemaman, Terengganu in May. But before that, many of the Cub Prix regulars are expected to make a showing at Round 1 of the 2017 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship that will be held at the Johor Circuit from March 31 to April 2, 2017.
