Norizman Ismail won the Underbone 130cc race

Norizman Ismail made clear he would not hesitate to go all out to halt Gupita Kresna from taking home the Underbone 130cc title in the penultimate round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Qatar this weekend.

The Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing rider, currently ranked second in the overall standings with 117 points is 34 points adrift his Manual Tech KYT Rextor rival.

The 29-year old will need to finish third or higher in both races at the Losail International Circuit or hope his title contender to end the weekend without any points to bring the title fight to the season finale in Thailand this December.

“We lost precious points having retired from Race 1 in Thailand due to a malfunction with the gearbox. Fortunately we recovered by winning Race 2 and that made the point gap between us a bit more manageable,” said Norizman.

He went on to talk about his expectations racing under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit this weekend and said, “It will be tough trying to regain ground and cut the point deficit but I am confident we can delay Gupita’s celebration in Qatar and bring the title fight to the final round.”

“The bike is competitive and mentally, I am strong. The team needs to focus on getting the bike to its maximum potential and on my end, I will do my best to win or finish on the podium ahead of him in both races.

“It’s been a while since a Malaysian won the Underbone title. The last person to do so was Affendi Rosli back in 2009 and I’m hoping to be the next.”

 

NORIZMAN SEDIA TANGGUH HASRAT GUPITA

Norizman Ismail akan berjuang habis-habisan bagi menggagalkan usaha Gupita Kresna untuk membawa pulang gelaran juara Underbone 130cc pada pusingan kelima Kejuaraan Motosikal Asia FIM yang akan berlangsung di Doha, Qatar, minggu ini.

Pelumba Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing itu kini menghuni tangga kedua keseluruhan dengan 118 mata, 33 mata ketinggalan di belakang seteru utamanya dari pasukan Manual Tech KYT Rextor itu.

Pelumba berusia 29 tahun itu perlu sekurang-kurangnya muncul naib juara dalam kedua-dua perlumbaan seandainya Gupita berjaya memenangi kedua-dua perlumbaan bagi meneruskan saingan ke pusingan terakhir di Thailand, Disember nanti.

“Kami kehilangan banyak mata berharga setelah gagal menamatkan Perlumbaan 1 di Thailand akibat masalah kotak gear. Mujurlah saya berjaya memenangi Perlumbaan 2 dan kembali merapatkan jurang perbezaan mata,” jelas Norizman.

Menyentuh tentang perlumbaan malam di Litar Antarabangsa Losail, Norizman berkata, “Memang agak susah untuk merapatkan jurang mata dengan Gupita namun setidak-tidaknya saya yakin mampu melengahkan Gupita daripada memenangi gelaran di sini dan gelaran juara hanya akan ditentukan di Thailand nanti.

“Dari segi persediaan mental dan fizikal, semua berada dalam keadaan terbaik, begitu juga dengan jentera. Pasukan kami perlu memberi tumpuan untuk menyediakan jentera dengan kuasa maksimum pada keadaan cuaca yang berbeza untuk pusingan kelayakan dan perlumbaan akhir, manakala saya sendiri pula perlu berusaha untuk menaiki podium dan menewaskan Gupita.

“Sudah lama rasanya pelumba Malaysia tidak membawa pulang gelaran Underbone 130cc ini. Kali terakhir ketika Affendi Rosli melakukannya pada tahun 2009. Saya berharap saya dapat melakukannya.”

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