Ahmad Afif Amran fired the first salvo by topping the CP130 opening practice for Round 3 of the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship at Dataran Tanjung Emas, Muar in Johor on Friday.
Afif, currently placed at the bottom of the standings with just four points regained his missing form to set the pace in his fourth lap with 53.917s and remained unbeatable throughout the session.
The Terengganu rider edged out seasoned contender, Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) by 0.588 seconds with Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali in tow, 54.506s.
Norizman’s teammate, Zamri Baba crashed while attempting to close the gap on Afif ended the day fourth with 54.539s while Azhar Abdul Jalil (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) rounded up the top five in 54.774s.
Pleased to have finally found his pace, Afif said, “I’m relieved now we are competitive again after struggling with setup issues in the past two rounds. It was a disaster, especially in Batu Kawan (Round 2) where I failed to finish the race. But here in Muar, things are finally looking up.”
He went on to talk about his strategies for the SuperPole and 18-lap race tomorrow, “It’s crucial to secure front row start because this track has limited room for overtaking and the corners are narrow. Adding on to that, some of it are blind corners meaning there is a lot of risk.
“Nevertheless, I will give my very best. My mission is to collect maximum points and bridge the point gap with the leaders. We cannot afford anymore slip-up if we intend to fight for the championship.”
Besides the top five, others who qualified for SuperPole that will determine the top-10 starting position includes Mohd Taufiq Roslan and Abdul Muhaimin Roslan, Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman, Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Mohd Affendi Rosli.
Meanwhile PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor’s Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin set a blazing pace in the CP115 class to become the only rider to log his laptime under 54 seconds.
The youngster who stepped on the podium in Temerloh (Round 1) posted the best lap out of 28 riders in 54.551s.
Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) who is on the hunt for a hat-trick this weekend was 0.601 seconds adrift while Ahmad Syukran Aizat (PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ) was third fastest with 55.491s despite sustaining an injury from crashing twice today.
Reigning CP115 Champion, Izzat Zaidi Salehan registered fourth ahead of Afiki Supaat’s stand-in, Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Givi Honda Yuzy Racing), recording their best laps in 55.620s and 55.762s respectively.
Others that made the cut for Saturday’s Shoot-Out – Khairul idham Pawi who just returned from the opening leg of the CEV Repsol in Portugal, Mohd Fhahmin Abdul Mutalib, Mohd Fareez Afeez, Mohd Syafiq Rosli and Emir Firdaus Hasan.
In the age-capped WIRA category, Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir of Weststar Motorsport appeared quickest with 56.331s, a slim 0.331 seconds ahead of Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Espada William Racing) with Shafiq Ezzariq (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) logging in third in 56.881s
Practice Results
CP130
1.Ahmad Afif Amran (Yamaha) 53.917s 2.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 54.505s 3.Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali (Yamaha) 54.506s 4.Zamri Baba (Honda) 54.539s 5.Azhar Abdul Jalil (Yamaha) 54.774s
CP115
1.Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (Yamaha) 54.551s 2.Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin (Yamaha) 55.152s 3.Ahmad Syukran Aizat (Yamaha) 55.491s 4.Izzat Zaidi Salehan (Yamaha) 55.620s 5.Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda) 55.762s
WIRA
1.Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir (Yamaha) 56.331s 2.Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Yamaha) 56.667s 3.Shafiq Ezzariq (Honda) 56.881s 4.Akid Aziz (Yamaha) 56.883s 5.Isa Josri (Yamaha) 56.985s
Afif temui sentuhan, ungguli sesi ujian masa di Muar.
Ahmad Afif Amran kembali menemui sentuhan apabila berjaya mencatat masa terpantas pada sesi ujian masa kategori CP130 Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS 2015 yang berlangsung di Dataran Tanjung Emas, Muar, Johor, hari ini.
Pelumba PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ itu mencatat masa terbaik 53.917s, 0.588s di hadapan Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) yang mencatat masa 54.505s. Rakan sepasukan Afif, Mohd Fitri Ashraff Razali mencatat masa ketiga terpantas dengan masa 54.506s.
Prestasi pemenang tempat ketiga keseluruhan musim 2014 itu agak tidak menentu pada peringkat awal musim ini apabila gagal melayakkan diri ke peringkat Superpole dan menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat ke-12 pada pusingan pembukaan di Temerloh sebelum memperbaiki kedudukan dengan mencatat masa keenam terpantas pada sesi kelayakan di Batu Kawan.
Namun, agak malang apabila Afif gagal menamatkan perlumbaan di Batu Kawan dan kini sekadar berada di kedudukan ke-18 dalam senarai keseluruhan dengan hanya mengumpul empat mata.
“Saya mahu bangkit mengejar podium pada perlumbaan minggu ini. Saya tidak boleh tercicir banyak mata lagi seandainya mahu bersaing menduduki kelompok pelumba teratas,” jelas Afif.
“Saingan minggu ini memberikan sedikit kelebihan kepada saya kerana selain faktor jentera yang semakin baik, berlumba di litar baru juga menjadikan peluang lebih terbuka kepada mana-mana pelumba. Siapa yang cepat menguasai litar, dia mempunyai kelebihan ke atas pencabar lain. Tambah pula saya sukakan bentuk litar ini cuma perlu lebih berhati-hati kerana permukaan litar yang sedikit licin dan juga sempit,” jelas Afif lagi.
Mengulas tentang prestasi sepanjang dua pusingan lepas, Afif berkata, “Keadaan jentera tidak begitu baik kerana kami gagal menemui pelarasan yang dikehendaki. malah jurutera pasukan pula perlu menyiapkan jumlah jentera yang agak banyak kerana berada di dalam pasukan ‘factory’ seperti ini, selain CP130, Yamaha turut mempunyai pelumba di dalam kategori CP115 dan Wira.
“Hanya pada pusingan kali ini kami berjaya menyiapkan jentera pada prestasi yang sepatutnya dan mudah-mudahan jurutera dapat meningkatkan lagi keupayaan pada sesi Superpole dan perlumbaan akhir nanti,” jelas Afif.
Sementara itu, dalam kategori CP115, pelumba PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor, Kasma Danniel Kasmayudin mempamerkan aksi memukau apabila mencatat masa terpantas 54.551s, catatan yang mampu meletakkan di kelompok lima pelumba terbaik yang beraksi dalam kategori CP130.
Kasma muncul pelumba tunggal CP115 dengan catatan di bawah 55s manakala Tengku Amirul Haffirudin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) muncul pelumba kedua terpantas dengan masa 55.152s manakala Ahmad Syukran Aizat ketiga, 55.491s.
Dalam saingan Wira, Mohd Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir (Weststar Motorsport) muncul pelumba terpantas dengan catatan masa 56.331s diikuti Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Espada William Racing) dengan masa 56.667s dan Mohd Shafiq Ezzariq (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) ketiga, 56.881s.
Keputusan Ujian Masa
CP130
1.Ahmad Afif Amran (Yamaha) 53.917s
2.Norizman Ismail (Honda) 54.505s
3.Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali (Yamaha) 54.506s
4.Zamri Baba (Honda) 54.539s
5.Azhar Abdul Jalil (Yamaha) 54.774s
CP115
1.Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (Yamaha) 54.551s
2.Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin (Yamaha) 55.152s
3.Ahmad Syukran Aizat (Yamaha) 55.491s
4.Izzat Zaidi Salehan (Yamaha) 55.620s
5.Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda) 55.762s
WIRA
1.Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir (Yamaha) 56.331s
2.Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Yamaha) 56.667s
3.Shafiq Ezzariq (Honda) 56.881s
4.Akid Aziz (Yamaha) 56.883s
5.Isa Josri (Yamaha) 56.985s
