Meskipun telah mengesahkan gelaran selaku juara keseluruhan kategori Wira, Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin tidak akan ‘memperlahankan jenteranya’ pada saingan pusingan kesembilan Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS 2015 yang akan berlangsung di Jempol, Negeri Sembilan, minggu ini.
Pelumba Kozi Yam Honda Racing berusia 16 tahun itu meletakkan sasaran untuk mengatasi rekod pencapaian rakan sepasukan yang juga juara musim 2014, Khairul Idham Pawi yang berjaya meraih lapan kemenangan berturut-turut dalam 10 perlumbaan semusim dimana ketika ini dia telahpun memenangi tujuh perlumbaan berturut-turut.
Harith percaya ini adalah masa terbaik untuk membuktikan kemampuan sendiri dari terus dibayangi nama Khairul Idham.
“Beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini merupakan era kegemilangan bagi pelumba-pelumba Honda. Semua pelumba remaja diberikan peluang dan pendedahan terbaik sebagaimana mereka membantu karier Khairul Idham. Khairul bermula dari perlumbaan satu pengeluar Cabaran Honda Future dan kemudiannya melangkah ke kelas terbuka dan muncul juara Wira pada musim lepas. Khairul kemudiannya diserap ke program pembangunan pelumba Honda di Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM iaitu siri saingan Honda Asia Dream Cup (ADC). Begitu juga dengan pelumba Grand Prix Dunia, Hiroki Ono yang beraksi dalam kelas Moto3 ketika ini,” jelas Harith.
“Sudah tentu saya tidak boleh mengelak daripada dibandingkan dengan pencapaian Khairul Idham. Kami bermula dari siri perlumbaan yang sama dan kemudiannya ke kelas Wira, kami berlumba dan memenangi perlumbaan untuk pasukan yang sama. Cuma mungkin Khairul Idham lebih awal menonjol berdasarkan pencapaiannya manakala saya memerlukan lebih masa sebelum mempamerkan keputusan serupa,” jelas Harith yang menamatkan saingan musim 2014 di kedudukan ke-10 dalam perlumbaan Asia Dream Cup dan kelapan dalam kelas Wira.
Namun musim 2015 Harith tidak disenaraikan untuk cabaran ADC sebaliknya peluang diberikan kepada dua pelumba rookie, Hafiz Nor Azman dan Saiful Azhary Muhammad.
“Saya sering dibayangi Khairul Idham sepanjang musim 2014. Sekarang saya percaya sudah tiba masanya untuk membuktikan kemampuan saya. Tidak kira sama ada kembali menyertai perlumbaan di bawah program pembangunan Honda ataupun meneruskan karier sebagai pelumba profesional di Malaysia, saya perlu keluar dari bayang-bayang tersebut.
“Cara terdekat adalah dengan mengatasi rekod kemenangannya. Saya sudah memenangi tujuh perlumbaan berturut-turut setakat ini dan dengan berbaki dua pusingan lagi, saya ada peluang untuk mengejar rekod sembilan kemenangan. Cuma paling penting, saya perlu memenangi perlumbaan pada minggu ini,” ujar Harith.
Saksikan aksi Harith dalam mencapai impiannya. Peminat sukan permotoran dijemput beramai-ramai hadir ke Jempol. Masuk adalah percuma.
HARITH FARHAN GOES AFTER KHAIRUL IDHAM’S RECORD
SubHead: “I Need To Forge My Own Path”
As the competition in the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship winds down to its two final legs of the season, newly minted Wira Champion, Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin of team Kozi Yam Honda Racing is hardly letting his guard down. The 16-year-old has announced his winning intentions for Round 9 in Jempol, Negeri Sembilan this October 31 and November 1, all in an effort to beat Khairul Idham Pawi’s record of eight straight wins.
Harith believes that he will need to outshine his former team mate in order to forge his own onward path.
“These last few years have been an exciting era for the Honda riders. All the junior riders are really thrilled at how Honda has supported Khairul Idham Pawi up the ranks of racing, going from the single-make Honda Future Challenge to the open make classes of Cub Prix, before pushing him into Honda’s talent developmental platform in the Asia Road Racing Championship, which is the Honda Dream Cup. Another current GP rider who has experienced the same support is Hiroki Ono who is now racing full season in the Moto3 class,” said Harith.
“It was inevitable that the Honda bosses would draw comparisons between myself and Khairul Idham Pawi. We both started out from the same talent identifying class and in the age-capped Wira category, we both raced and won, for the same team. However, unlike Khairul whose talent was immediately apparent, I needed some time to find my footings before I could deliver the results,” said Harith who ended the 2014 season 10th overall in the Asia Dream Cup category of the Asia Road Racing Championship and 8th overall in the Wira class of the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship. Consequently, Harith was dropped from the Asia Dream Cup line-up in favour of rookie riders Hafiz Nor Azman and Saiful Azhary Muhammad.
“I spent 2014 in the shadows cast by Khairul Idham Pawi. Now I believe that I am finally ready to make an impact. Whether it is to rejoin Honda’s developmental path or to forge my own career as a professional racer in Malaysia, I will need to step out of that shadow. The surest way to do that would be to beat his record. My advantage is that I have already seven wins in the bag. With two more rounds to the end of the year, there is still a chance for me to set a new record of nine wins,” Harith concluded.
Catch Harith Farhan in action as he goes after his target. Entry to the race venue in Jempol is free to the public.
