Malaysia’s premier racing series – the Malaysian Super Series (MSS) opens its five-round bike competitions this weekend with its Supersports Championship offering its top overall three junior riders a shot to be a Malaysia’s wildcard entry at next year’s Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang.
Announcing this today, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) Chief Executive Officer Dato Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali said that it would be a continuation of the GP wildcard programme, which last year saw the selection of youngsters Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisham, Mohd Shafique Omar Ali and Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah for the 2011 programme.
“The junior supersports championship will again serve as the GP wildcard programme for this year’s MSS … we will continue to select top three Malaysian junior riders in the category for wildcard first,” he said, adding that a good performance in Sepang could earn the rider an opportunity to compete in Valencia at the last race of the Spanish CEV and even a full season in the following year if budget permits.
“We are trying to emulate the success of Zulfahmi, whose progress in the MotoGP 125 championship is starting to bear fruits,” Razlan said in reference to Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin, a graduate of the first GP wildcard programme in 2009 and currently racing in his second season of the MotoGP 125 World Championship with AirAsia SIC AJO Racing.
Apart from the 600cc Supersports Championship, the MSS bike competitions would also feature the 1000cc Superbike Championship and Superstock Championship as well as the Bikerz Cup, which would be compete by the 250cc and 400cc machines.
The weekend would also feature Round 2 of the car competitions, which kicked off their opening rounds at the 2011 Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix weekend as the support races; guaranteeing spectators plenty of excitement and thrills as it would feature the best of Malaysian riders and drivers in action against some of the best racing talents in the region.
Elaborating further on the GP wildcard programme, Razlan said: “Through our collaboration with Dorna and with Malaysia hosting the MotoGP, this is a program that we managed to secure with Dorna via extension of our MotoGP contract from 2011 to 2013. This program will enable us to place a boy that we feel has the potential into the world championship starting with Fahmi.
“SIC started the second part of the program last year in the MSS and now we have two riders to select for the wild card this year. If the rider performs well in the Malaysian GP and in the top 20, we will send him to Valencia for the last race of the Spanish CEV. And, if rider performs well and after discussion with all stakeholders we will make the decision whether to send him for the full season in 2012.
“The path that we have paved for the Malaysian riders is quite clear. I hope when potential riders and parents see what our plans are and our objectives, they will encourage their aspiring kids into MSS,” added Razlan, who thanked AirAsia and Two Wheels Motor Racing for their support of the wildcard programme.
With Hafizh opting out of the wildcard programme due to contract commitments with his PETRONAS Yamaha Racing Team and currently competing in Australia, the slot is now opened to Shafique and Farid, who is skipping the MSS this year to compete in a full season of the prestigious British Superbike Championship in the 600cc supersports category.
On the current support for the two riders, Razlan said: “I think it’s excellent that Farid is competing and gaining experience at the British superbike championship. At the moment, we have advised both riders to continue with their fitness program and have a lot of time riding on track.
“We have allocated track days specifically for the potential wild card riders and they may not necessarily clocking fast times but to keep up and hone their skills and feel of racing,” he said, adding that the selected rider, however, would be competing at the Malaysian GP on a 125cc bike.
“We will still engage the services of TWMR to use the old Yamaha bikes that Fahmi trained on in 2009 and try and to get as close to a 125cc as possible. The riders will have at least two or three sessions practising on these bikes before Ajo Motorsports comes over with the race bikes for the actual testing and selection of the riders,” Razlan explained.
Commenting on the overall MSS bike championship, Razlan, who runs Pineapple Motorsports Racing Team before taking over the helm of SIC three years ago, said that series would always be special to him.
“This year will be the 10th edition of MSS including the bike races. It is something that is quite sentimental to me as I was one of the pioneer Malaysian riders participating in the inaugural race in 2002 and there were only seven riders in the superbike category … now in 2011, we are expecting an average of at least 25 riders in various categories – superbikes, superstock and supersport.
“We have riders from all over the world and international past champions from UK like Keith Perkins, Brent Odgers from Australia and Yasuhiro Kuhara for Japan, who would be defending his title this year. It has been a while since a Malaysian became a champion as the last local champion was in 2007 with Lee Ching Hooi.
“I hope 2011, Malaysians will be competitive in all categories in the MSS and fight for the Championship,” said Razlan, who made a significant change last year for the MSS to be run around a full track rather half track as practised in the first eight editions of the series.
“My plan is to position MSS in the bike category to be a platform and path to the world championship for Malaysians. We have always encouraged the entry of international competitors in order to push our young local riders to be better and faster and racing at the full track rather than half track.
“Racing a full track is totally different from competing on the half track … it’s a lot more demanding on the riders’ fitness and their concentration as well,” he added. For details, kindly contact SIC National Press Officer Norlina Ayob at 019-3174555 or e-mail to Norlina.ayob@sepangcircuit.com. For more details on the Malaysian Super Series, log on to www.sepangcircuit.com.
Source :-
Photo : CHiLLin Troy
Text : http://www.sepangcircuit.com/news/sepang-circuits-preview-malaysian-super-serie
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