Boon Siew Honda Racing Team’s Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi was clearly in a class of his own as he stamped his authority in the MSBK1000 class of the 2020 Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSBK).
In the absence of his peers such as Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, Zaqhwan raced virtually unchallenged to pocket all three wins from the season opener at the Sepang International Circuit last weekend.
Quickest in the first day of practice, Zaqhwan took pole position on Day 2 and subsequently won the first race on Saturday.
The 21-year-old rider kept his winning momentum through to Day 3 when he claimed the top spot in Race 2 with 21’34.639s and Race 3 with 21’35.569s.
“I wouldn’t call it an easy win. I was racing against myself, challenging myself to go at ARRC (FIM Asia Road Racing Championship) pace throughout the weekend. The bike we are using here at the MSBK is drastically different from what we had in the ARRC last year.
“Yes, it’s the same model, but this version is very close to standard. In effect, it’s a training bike and I used the opportunity to challenge myself to stay as close to ARRC race pace as possible,” said Zaqhwan who now leads the 2020 MSBK1000 title hunt with the maximum 75 points.
Zaqhwan’s presence, however, has brought an immediate impact for the rest of the field when Farid Badrul Hisam and rookie Mohd Daniel Haiqal showed visible improvement throughout the weekend.
Both riders finished second and third respectively in all three races. Young Daniel Haiqal from the MME Racing Team Malaysia was especially impressive when he brought his laptime down to 2’09s for the first time over the course of the season opener.
Team Hiap Aik Suzuki Racing’s lead rider CY Khoo finished fourth in all three races.
Equally successful in the MSBK600 class was SIC Racing Team’s Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Norrodin. The closed borders had denied the 600cc class of many of its usual foreign riders.
As a result, the 600cc class raced alongside the 1000 on the same grid. For Ibrahim, this presented a unique challenge to chase down a bigger cc bike.
“We tried out different settings from Race 1 all the way up to Race 3. My target was to lap within the same second as the 1000cc bike ahead of me,” said Ibrahim whose efforts rewarded him with the triple-win. He pipped Azroy Hakeem Anuar to the win Race 2 by a mere 0.083 seconds and checked in to the top spot of the 600cc podium with 21’49.556s in Race 3.
Boon Siew Honda Racing Team’s Mohd Idlan Hakimi Raduan, SIC Racing Team’s Mohd Danial Syahmi and Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing Team’s Mohd Izam Ikmal shared top billings in the MSBK250 class when they picked up a win each over the weekend.
Idlan drew first blood when he won Race 1 but lost out to Daniel Syahmi in Race 2. Izam Ikmal came back strong in Race 3 which he won with a time of 20’11.054s.
While Idlan is the nominal MSBK250 championship leader after Round 1, the real show stealer was Danial Syahmi’s successful comeback.
After 13 months in a hospital following his horrific injury in 2018, Danial’s achievements in Round 1 was something to be celebrated.
“My injuries are completely healed and I am rapidly regaining my confidence,” said the 18-year-old who trails leader Idlan by only four points.
Finally, seasoned campaigner Ahmad Fazrul Sham was on fire in the MSBK150 class when he finished second in Race 2 and picked up another victory in Race 3 with 15’39.778s.
The Cardinals Racing Team rider is now leading the MSBK150 class by 30 points and looks to be in a good position to create history as the first MSBK150 champion.
RACE 2 RESULTS (TOP THREE)
MSBK1000
1. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 21’34.639s
2. Mohd Farid Badrul Hisam (BMW) (Horizon Racing Team), 21’48.525s
3. Ahmad Daniel Haiqal (BMW) (MME Racing Team Malaysia), 21’51.641s
MSBK600
1. Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Norrodin (Yamaha) (SIC Racing Team), 21’56.746s
2. Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 21’48.525ss
3. Mohd Helmi Azman (Honda) (Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing), 21’51.641s
MSBK250
1. Mohd Danial Syahmi A Shahril (Kawasaki) (SIC Racing Team), 20’09.244s
2. Mohd Idlan Hakimi Raduan (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 20’13.064s
3. Mohd Izam Ikmal (Honda) (Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing Team), 20’13.151s
MSBK150
1. Mohd Izzat Zaidi Salehan (Yamaha) (JR Performance Wossner YYPang Racing Team), 15’55.392s
2. Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) (Cardinals Racing Team), 15’55.715ss
3. Mohd Akid Aziz (Yamaha) (UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team), 15’55.762s
RACE 3 RESULTS (TOP THREE)
MSBK1000
1. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 21’35.569s
2. Mohd Farid Badrul Hisam (BMW) (Horizon Racing Team), 21’46.165s
3. Ahmad Daniel Haiqal (BMW) (MME Racing Team Malaysia), 22’14.920s
MSBK600
1. Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Norrodin (Yamaha) (SIC Racing Team), 21’49.240s
2. Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 21’46.165s
3. Mohd Helmi Azman (Honda) (Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing), 22’14.920s
MSBK250
1. Mohd Izam Ikmal (Honda) (Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing Team), 20’11.054s
2. Mohd Idlan Hakimi Raduan (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 20’11.481s
2. Mohd Danial Syahmi A Shahril (Kawasaki) (SIC Racing Team), 20’11.552s
MSBK150
1. Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) (Cardinals Racing Team), 15’39.778s
2. Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues (Yamaha) (UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team), 15’44.395s
3. Mohd Akid Aziz (Yamaha) (UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team), 15’44.417s
STANDINGS
MSBK1000
1. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 75 pts
2. Mohd Farid Badrul Hisam (BMW) (Horizon Racing Team), 60 pts
3. Ahmad Daniel Haiqal (BMW) (MME Racing Team Malaysia), 48 pts
MSBK600
1. Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Norrodin (Yamaha) (SIC Racing Team), 75 pts
2. Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 60 pts
3. Mohd Helmi Azman (Honda) (Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing), 48 pts
MSBK250
1. Mohd Idlan Hakimi Raduan (Honda) (Boon Siew Honda Racing Team), 65 pts
2. Mohd Danial Syahmi A Shahril (Kawasaki) (SIC Racing Team), 61 pts
3. Mohd Izam Ikmal (Honda) (Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing Team), 57 pts
MSBK150
1. Ahmad Fazrul Sham (Yamaha) (Cardinals Racing Team), 70 pts
2. Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues (Yamaha) (UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team), 40 pts
3. Mohd Iqbal Amri Abdul Malek (Yamaha) (Cardinals Racing Team), 38 pts