Juara bertahan CP139, Zaqhwan Zaidi gembira kerana dapat menjejakkan kaki di atas podium pada pusingan keenam Kejuaraan Cub Prix AAM Malaysia PETRONAS di Kangar, Perlis, semalam sekalipun dibayangi kejayaan Ahmad Fazrul Sham dan Ahmad Afif Amran.
Zaqhwan sememangnya cukup optimis dengan peluang di Kangar setelah mencatat keputusan positif ketika dua sesi ujian yang dilakukan pasukan bersama pasukan Givi Honda Yuzy Racing malah keyakinannya bertambah setelah berjaya berada di kelompok 10 pelumba terbaik ketika sesi latihan pada hari Sabtu.
Pelumba berusia 21 tahun itu juga berhasrat untuk memulakan perlumbaan dari barisan depan namun malangnya dia melakukan kesilapan ketika sesi Superpole yang menyaksikan dia sekadar bermula dari barisan ketiga.
Namun Zaqhwan tetap tampil dengan cemerlang apabila berjaya memacu jentera Honda yang digunakannya dengan baik untuk menaiki podium setelah berjaya mengetepikan cabaran pelumba Harian Metro Y- TEQ SCK
Honda, Rozaiman Mohd Said sebelum pencabarnya itu melakukan kesilapan dan ketinggalan di belakang.
Meskipun gagal untuk memberikan cabaran terhadap Ahmad Fazrul Sham dan Ahmad Afif Amran yang menamatkan perlumbaan sebagai juara dan naib juara, Zaqhwan tetap gembira kerana berjaya menghadiahkan podium buat pasukannya.
“Perasaan saya sangat gembira kerana dapat kembali ke podium,” jelas Zaqhwan.
“Banyak perubahan yang saya dan pasukan Givi Honda Yuzy Racing lakukan sebelum menuju ke Kangar dan kami terus mempertingkatkan keupayaan jentera sewaktu sesi latihan dan ujian masa. Namun kesilapan ketika
sesi Superpole menjadikan peluang untuk muncul juara agak sukar.
“Jika perlumbaan berlangsung dalam keadaan litar kering, mungkin peluang agak sukar namun kami bernasib baik kerana cuaca hujan dan litar basah sewaktu perlumbaan akhir. Sesiapa sahaja ada peluang dalam
keadaan seperti itu. Menyedari peluang agak terbuka, saya cuba untuk menempatkan diri di kedudukan terbaik dari peringat awal dan ditambah dengan beberapa pelumba yang terjatuh membuka lebih peluang untuk saya
menaiki podium.”
“Saya berharap momentum seperti ini akan berterusan pada baki empat pusingan akan datang. Dengan baki 100 mata maksimum yang ada, saya percaya peluang untuk berada di kedudukan lima pelumba terbaik keseluruhan pada penghujung musim nanti masih terbuka,” tambahnya
ZAQHWAN RELIEVED TO BE BACK ON THE PODIUM
Reigning CP130 Champion, Zaqhwan Zaidi said he is relieved to step on the podium in Round 6 of the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship in Kangar, Perlis last weekend, even though Yamaha’s Ahmad Fazrul Sham and Ahmad Afif Amran outpaced him.
Zaqhwan had come into the race optimistic about his chances having ran two successful off-season test with Givi Honda Yuzy Racing and had maintained his optimism after he made the top-10 on Saturday’s practice.
The 21-year old was hoping to increase his pace in the hotly-contested SuperPole but his efforts were hampered by a mistake and it saw him qualify for third row.
However that did not stop Zaqhwan from powering his Honda to the podium as he brilliantly took a safe-approach in the 18-lap rain-hit race, battling Rozaiman Mohd Said in the first eight laps before his Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing rival suffered a huge wobble and lost position.
Although his race pace was not good enough to match Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamalube AHM) and Ahmad Afif Amran (PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ), the Banting-born rider was overjoyed to put his team back on the podium.
“It feels great to step on the podium again where Yuzy Racing belongs,” said Zaqhwan.
“We made many improvements from the last race and continued working on the machine throughout the practice and qualifying. We clearly had the pace on Saturday but I made an error during SuperPole.”
“If it was a dry race, it would have been an uphill battle trying to reach the front but luck was on our side when it rained. With the track being extremely wet, I knew we had a fighting chance to get on the podium so I did my best to have a good start and steadily made my way to the front. A lot of riders crashed and I guess that helped us as well.”
“Hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling for the remaining four races. With 100 points up for grabs, I believe we still stand a chance to get into the top five by the end of the season,” he added.
Kangar winner, Fazrul Sham leads the CP130 standings with 95 points with PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor duo, Ahmad Fazli Sham and Abdul Muhaimin Roslan trailing behind with 70 points and 69 points respectively.
