Round 2 of the Malaysian Super Series sees the domination of Dilantha Malagamuwa, scoring his double win in both rounds 1 and 2 last weekend. The Sri Langkan driver now faces tougher battle in the remaining rounds as he prepares life without his mean Lamborghini LP560 machine.
Dilantha, in a post race interview, said that his LP560 will be used for the GT Asia Championship, which means, he will only make do with his Porsche 994 to continue in the battle for this years' championship.
"It will be different now that I will not have the Lambo. It's going to be very difficult as the other drivers are clearly much faster this season. It's going to be very tough", the two-time MSS Champion added.
It always has been a close battle between Dilantha and his close friend, three-time MSS champion, Mok Weng Sun of Clear Water Racing Singapore, who managed to score third and second placing for round 2 and tipped to be the strongest driver for the next three rounds in the absence of Dilantha's Lamborghini.
Malaysian Azlan Shah Kamarulzaman was denied the opportunity to deny Australian Glen Allerton from winning the opening round after the second and final race was cut short by rain, giving him only half points for victory.
Azlan, who came in second in the opening race, was only awarded 12.5 points for his win in Race 2 with Allerton getting 10 points and taking the Australian total haul for the round to 35 points against Azlan's 32.5 points.
Azlan said that it was unfortunate that the race had to be cut short due to the rain, as he was already leading the race on Lap 3, going all out for the win after starting from second on the grid.
Allerton, who rides for Team Looi Motor Singapore riding a BMW S1000R said that he was happy with the win and that it was a good decision to stop the race in view of the safety of the riders.
"It was getting slippery and I had to be very cautious in my approach to keep pace with Azlan", Allerton added, in his debut for the Malaysian Super Series.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
Malaysia to have Moto2 wildcard rider
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.
Azlan and Kuhara double victory
Azlan, who missed the opening round in April earlier this year, took a double victory at Round 2 in July, hauls the gap closer with championship leader Mohd Suhadi Ali Rahmat with just two more rounds to go for this years' season 2010.
Suhadi, on the other hand, had to settle with the double second placing who finished the race behind Azlan. The former 2009 Superstock champion added another 40 points to stay 10 points ahead of Azlan Shah in the championship standings.
Rathapong Walairot, the younger brother of Moto2 rider Rathapak Walairot who upstaged Azlan and Suhadi in the qualifying session on Saturday, topped the Junior Category, though was unable to equal the race pace of the two Malaysian riders.
In the Superbike Championship, defending champion Yasuhiro Kuhara also managed to score a double win to add another 50-points to his total championship points as he closes in to his third MSS title. The Japanese rider for Team HKL Racing has now 145-championship points and looked strong to seal the crown at the next round during the Round 4 which will be held during the Malaysian GP as support races.
Ahmad Zamani Baharuddin managed to open up a gap of 25-points ahead of Ramon Azrem in the Superstock Championship category after a second placing in Race 1 and a winner in Race 2. Ramon, will have to perform well in the next two rounds to snatch the championship title away from Zamani when he did not finish the race in the second heat, although winning the first race.
The next round will be held as support races to the 2010 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix from 8-10 October 2010, and the final round in November.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Disappointment for Zulfahmi at San Marino
Disappointment for Zulfahmi Khairuddin as his battle for championship points in the MotoGP's 125cc category was denied after his machine faced technical problems after completing only 2-laps out of the 23-lap race at Misano yesterday.
Zulfahmi managed to rise from 28th to 20th position on the starting grid after a great performance in the qualifying session on Saturday. His target was to gain at least another championship point for the round in Misano.
He was very disappointed with the technical problem he faced with his bike when the engine came to a halt and the rear wheel jammed right after the second lap of the race.
Fahmi, who also encountered technical difficulties which ended his race early at the Indianapolis Speedway in United States last week, said that he had hoped for a better race at San Marino after a team effort in improving the bike's overall engine performance.
"My Aprilia machine looked very promising as the team improved the machine's performance", he added looking sad and disappointed with his performance.
Zulfahmi managed to rise from 28th to 20th position on the starting grid after a great performance in the qualifying session on Saturday. His target was to gain at least another championship point for the round in Misano.
He was very disappointed with the technical problem he faced with his bike when the engine came to a halt and the rear wheel jammed right after the second lap of the race.
Fahmi, who also encountered technical difficulties which ended his race early at the Indianapolis Speedway in United States last week, said that he had hoped for a better race at San Marino after a team effort in improving the bike's overall engine performance.
"My Aprilia machine looked very promising as the team improved the machine's performance", he added looking sad and disappointed with his performance.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Misano Adriatico Grand Prix Preview
There will be no rest for the Fiat Yamaha as they return to Europe and Marvellous Misano despite having just finished a punishing weekend's race in the searing heat of Indianapolis.
As for the Ducati Marlboro Team, they will return home this weekend looking up to put on a good show for the local crowd at Misano and make up for a rather disappointing race last year, which Casey Stoner missed through illness whilst Nicky Hayden was taken out by another rider in the first turn.
The MotoGP riders will be back on board in less than four days time for the twelfth round of the season at Misano Adriatico on Italy's eastern seaboard. It will be another 'home' race for the Fiat Yamaha Team, as it lies just a few hundred kilometres away from their Italian base, and both championship leader Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi will be planning on a big weekend at the Italian party town.
Misano lies just 30-kilometres away from Valentino Rossi's hometown of Tavullia, where the 31-year-old legend grew up and where he still lives today.
The Misano Adriatico circuit was built at the start of the seventies and has since undergone a series of modifications that have altered both the length as well as the layout and updates and upgrades of pit facilities and paddock. The current layout of the track which was switched from an anti-clockwise to clockwise in 2007 when MotoGP returned after 16-years of absence, looks straightforward but is far from it.
The twelfth round of 2010 season will be a race to be remembered as Rossi is hoping to give the fans a good show as it will be his last race for the Fiat Yamaha Team at his hometown circuit.
"Of course it's my home race and it's near my house so it's always very special to race there, in front of all my fans. I have won there the last two years but this year we come in slightly different circumstances. Still, we will be trying our hardest and I really hope I can give the fans a good show", Valentino Rossi.
Valentino Rossi still holds the lap record at Misano which he set in 2009 on his Fiat Yamaha with a best time of 1 minute 34.746 seconds.
In 2009, Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP race with a total time of 44 minutes 32.882 seconds with Jorge Lorenzo coming in second, just 2.416 seconds behind Rossi and Dani Pedrosa completing the top three finishers 12.400 seconds behind Rossi.
As for the Ducati Marlboro Team, they will return home this weekend looking up to put on a good show for the local crowd at Misano and make up for a rather disappointing race last year, which Casey Stoner missed through illness whilst Nicky Hayden was taken out by another rider in the first turn.
The MotoGP riders will be back on board in less than four days time for the twelfth round of the season at Misano Adriatico on Italy's eastern seaboard. It will be another 'home' race for the Fiat Yamaha Team, as it lies just a few hundred kilometres away from their Italian base, and both championship leader Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi will be planning on a big weekend at the Italian party town.
Misano lies just 30-kilometres away from Valentino Rossi's hometown of Tavullia, where the 31-year-old legend grew up and where he still lives today.
The Misano Adriatico circuit was built at the start of the seventies and has since undergone a series of modifications that have altered both the length as well as the layout and updates and upgrades of pit facilities and paddock. The current layout of the track which was switched from an anti-clockwise to clockwise in 2007 when MotoGP returned after 16-years of absence, looks straightforward but is far from it.
The twelfth round of 2010 season will be a race to be remembered as Rossi is hoping to give the fans a good show as it will be his last race for the Fiat Yamaha Team at his hometown circuit.
"Of course it's my home race and it's near my house so it's always very special to race there, in front of all my fans. I have won there the last two years but this year we come in slightly different circumstances. Still, we will be trying our hardest and I really hope I can give the fans a good show", Valentino Rossi.
Valentino Rossi still holds the lap record at Misano which he set in 2009 on his Fiat Yamaha with a best time of 1 minute 34.746 seconds.
In 2009, Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP race with a total time of 44 minutes 32.882 seconds with Jorge Lorenzo coming in second, just 2.416 seconds behind Rossi and Dani Pedrosa completing the top three finishers 12.400 seconds behind Rossi.
Monday, August 23, 2010
ARTA HSV-010 gets first win of the season
GT500 class winner for the Round 6 of the 2010 AUTOBACS Super GT Series that was held at the Suzuka Circuit in conjunction with the 39th International Pokka GT Summer Special on 22 August 2010 was team ARTA HSV-010 with drivers Ralph Firman, Yuji Ide and Takashi Kobayashi, bagging their first win of the season.
Team ARTA HSV-010 started from the front row of the grid in pole position with Yuji Ide as the starting driver. The team completed the 121 laps of the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit in 4 hours 7 minutes 10.085 seconds.
The Motul AUTECH GT-R finished the race in second overall in the GT500 category with just 22 seconds behind team ARTA HSV-010 whilst Team RAYBRIG HSV-010 managing third overall in the GT500 category.
Ralph Firman was relieved with the win at Suzuka Circuit and was delighted that it was the team's first win in their ARTA HSV-010 for the season, even though it was a tough season so far. With the win at Suzuka, the team can now look forward to the remainder of the races for the season with a bigger confidence for the team as well as the drivers.
Yuji Ide added that he was also delighted as it was his first pole start for him for quite some time, as he managed to stay calm and get a good head start for the race.
"Since joining the ARTA team this year, I had not been able to contribute to a good race result, so I wanted to win here. What was the reason for my tears after the race? There are really just too many reasons.", he added.
Team R&D Sport Legacy B4 emerged as winners in the GT300 class with drivers Tetsuya Yamano and Kota Sasaki, after starting from 11th position on the GT300 class grid.
The teams will now move on to Round 7 of the AUTOBACS 2010 Super GT at Fuji Speedway for the OKAYAMA GT 300 kilometre Race round the 4.563-kilometre Fuji Speedway track on 12 September 2010.
Team ARTA HSV-010 started from the front row of the grid in pole position with Yuji Ide as the starting driver. The team completed the 121 laps of the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit in 4 hours 7 minutes 10.085 seconds.
The Motul AUTECH GT-R finished the race in second overall in the GT500 category with just 22 seconds behind team ARTA HSV-010 whilst Team RAYBRIG HSV-010 managing third overall in the GT500 category.
Ralph Firman was relieved with the win at Suzuka Circuit and was delighted that it was the team's first win in their ARTA HSV-010 for the season, even though it was a tough season so far. With the win at Suzuka, the team can now look forward to the remainder of the races for the season with a bigger confidence for the team as well as the drivers.
Yuji Ide added that he was also delighted as it was his first pole start for him for quite some time, as he managed to stay calm and get a good head start for the race.
"Since joining the ARTA team this year, I had not been able to contribute to a good race result, so I wanted to win here. What was the reason for my tears after the race? There are really just too many reasons.", he added.
Team R&D Sport Legacy B4 emerged as winners in the GT300 class with drivers Tetsuya Yamano and Kota Sasaki, after starting from 11th position on the GT300 class grid.
The teams will now move on to Round 7 of the AUTOBACS 2010 Super GT at Fuji Speedway for the OKAYAMA GT 300 kilometre Race round the 4.563-kilometre Fuji Speedway track on 12 September 2010.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
BRNO Tests
Bad weather at Brno afforded the MotoGP teams just half a day's testing in the second and final official one-day post-GP session schedule, setting their self up for the rest of the eight races for the 2010 MotoGP Season.
Jorge Lorenzo of the Fiat Yamaha Team, who picked up from where he left-off during the first session the day before, was still the fastest round the track with a total time of 1 minute 56.269 seconds whilst his team-mate Valentino Rossi, only able to clock fourth fastest with a total time of 1 minute 57.129 seconds.
The Fiat Yamaha team tested their new engine upgrade as well as a new suspension setting for their M1 bikes for both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo, on the other hand, was able to complete some laps on Yamaha's 2011 prototype YZR-M1.
Being the fastest round the track, Jorge Lorenzo was happy with the 2-day post-GP official tests held at Brno, as he finds that the tests were important and rather interesting for them. Unfortunately, the heavy rain forced all the teams to stop early.
Casey Stoner of the Ducati Marlboro Team managed to clock second fastest completing yesterday's post-GP test session with his team-mate Nicky Hayden, only managing tenth fastest on the time sheets. Nicky Hayden who injured his left wrist was riding a more conservative lap round the track to ensure he is able to be back to full fitness in time for his home race at Indianapolis on 29 August.
"We tried a new fork today and as far as we could tell, the feeling is positive. Unfortunately we were only able to get a couple of hours in this morning because immediately after lunch, it started to rain and we couldn't complete the test.", Casey Stoner of the Ducati Marlboro Team.
Meanwhile, Dani Pedrosa from the Repsol Honda Team completes the top three Unofficial Lap Times for the 2-day post-GP Season Test yesterday finishing third fastest with a lap time of 1 minute 56.944 seconds, just 0.1 seconds slower than Casey Stoner.
The current circuit record is still being held by Jorge Lorenzo which he clocked 1 minute 56.670 seconds in 2009 with an average speed of 166.716 Km/h while Rossi having holding the Best Pole lap with a fastest time of 1 minute 56.145 seconds, which he also recorded in 2009 on his Yamaha.
The teams will now have a weekend off before making headway for the next GP at Indianapolis in The United States of America for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship.
Jorge Lorenzo of the Fiat Yamaha Team, who picked up from where he left-off during the first session the day before, was still the fastest round the track with a total time of 1 minute 56.269 seconds whilst his team-mate Valentino Rossi, only able to clock fourth fastest with a total time of 1 minute 57.129 seconds.
The Fiat Yamaha team tested their new engine upgrade as well as a new suspension setting for their M1 bikes for both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo, on the other hand, was able to complete some laps on Yamaha's 2011 prototype YZR-M1.
Being the fastest round the track, Jorge Lorenzo was happy with the 2-day post-GP official tests held at Brno, as he finds that the tests were important and rather interesting for them. Unfortunately, the heavy rain forced all the teams to stop early.
Casey Stoner of the Ducati Marlboro Team managed to clock second fastest completing yesterday's post-GP test session with his team-mate Nicky Hayden, only managing tenth fastest on the time sheets. Nicky Hayden who injured his left wrist was riding a more conservative lap round the track to ensure he is able to be back to full fitness in time for his home race at Indianapolis on 29 August.
"We tried a new fork today and as far as we could tell, the feeling is positive. Unfortunately we were only able to get a couple of hours in this morning because immediately after lunch, it started to rain and we couldn't complete the test.", Casey Stoner of the Ducati Marlboro Team.
Meanwhile, Dani Pedrosa from the Repsol Honda Team completes the top three Unofficial Lap Times for the 2-day post-GP Season Test yesterday finishing third fastest with a lap time of 1 minute 56.944 seconds, just 0.1 seconds slower than Casey Stoner.
The current circuit record is still being held by Jorge Lorenzo which he clocked 1 minute 56.670 seconds in 2009 with an average speed of 166.716 Km/h while Rossi having holding the Best Pole lap with a fastest time of 1 minute 56.145 seconds, which he also recorded in 2009 on his Yamaha.
The teams will now have a weekend off before making headway for the next GP at Indianapolis in The United States of America for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship.
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