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Monday, September 20, 2010

Malaysia to have Moto2 wildcard rider

Sepang International Circuit is spearheading a second MotoGP Wildcard programme that will see a local rider competing in the new Moto2 class at the upcoming 2010 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix which will be held at Sepang International Circuit from 8-10 October 2010.

The collaboration between SIC, Two Wheels Motor Racing, PETRONAS and Japanese chassis provider, MORIWAKI, which came to Sepang International Circuit recently for a development test, made the entry possible for ARRC Championship Rider Mohd Zamri Baba as he had a unique experience to test the Moto2 bike earlier today at Sepang International Circuit along with his teammate Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman.

As another landmark move in Malaysian Motorsports history, SIC and its partners - TWMR, PETRONAS, Dunlop, Moto Milia, Motorsports Association of Malaysia, AAM and the Youth and Sports Ministry - brokered the inaugural GP wildcard programme last year which saw Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin granted wildcard entries to compete in the 125cc at the 2009 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

SIC CEO, Razlan Razali said that the programme for next year's Moto2 GP Wildcard ticket will still continue as this year's entry is an added bonus. In the 2011 plan, SIC had offered to the top three finishers in the 600cc Supersports Championship category of the Malaysian Super Series a seat for a selected group for a final selection for the wildcard ticket in the Moto2.

Commenting after the Moto2 test earlier today, both Zamri and Azlan agreed that the Moto2 bike is ever more challenging than their Yamaha R6 bikes which they usually ride in the ARRC and the Malaysian Super Series Supersports Championship.

Introduced this year in replacement of the World 250cc category, the Moto2 GP championship runs bikes with both engines and chassis provided by a single manufacturer from the Honda Racing Corporation.

For Zamri, it was a lifelong dream that finally came through and a perfect incentive for him after his sensational performance scoring the first victory for Malaysia this season at the just concluded Round 4 of the Asian Road Racing Championship in Madras.

"It will be a fantastic and unprecedented Malaysian MotoGP come October with a local representative in the 125cc by Fahmi and now Zamri Baba in the Moto2. We expect a full support of the Malaysian motorsport fans to make the 20th edition of the Malaysian MotoGP the biggest ever", Razlan Razali added at the press conference held at Sepang earlier today.

Sepang will be hosting Round 15 of the MotoGP Championship from 8-10 October 2010, and are offering tickets from as low as RM30 for fans to enjoy top class entertainment on and off track at the 2010 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

For the local fans, it would be a rare opportunity to see their own local hero Zulfahmi and now Zamri Baba to test their skills with worlds best at home soil apart from catching the other top Malaysian riders in action at the support races.

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