The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Exciting battle in store for ARRC season-ender under floodlights
- Karamjit overhauls Rafiq to claim his 12th MRC title in style
- Project squad players free to play in MJHL next year
| Exciting battle in store for ARRC season-ender under floodlights Posted: 11 Dec 2011 03:29 PM PST PETALING JAYA: The Petronas Asia Road Racing Championships (ARRC) contingent head to the Losail International Circuit in Qatar for the season-ender this weekend. This is the second time Losail is playing host following last season where Decha Kraisat of Yamaha Thailand Racing was crowned SuperSports 600cc overall champion while Hadi Wijaya (Kawasaki NHK Rextor Manual Tech) bagged the Underbone 115cc category. Staged under floodlights, the battle for the Underbone 115cc title will be between Indonesian riders Rafid Topan Sucipto and defending champion Hadi. Rafid of Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing heads to Qatar leading the standings with 211 points, a 49-point advantage over Hadi, having won seven of the 10 races held in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Japan and China. Malaysian rider Mohd Rozaiman Mohd Said (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) sits in third place on 79 points. Interest remains high in the SuperSports 600cc event despite Katsuaki Fujiwara (Manual Tech BEET Kawasaki Racing) having already secured the title in Zhuhai in October. The focus will be on Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (Boon Siew Honda Racing Malaysia) who is looking to defend his second place against compatriots Mohd Zamri Baba (Petronas Yamaha Malaysia) and Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Petronas Syntium Moto Yamaha Raceline). Azlan has 140 points while Zamri is third on 107 and Hafizh fourth on 94. Two Wheels Motor Racing Sdn Bhd (TWMR) promotions director Ron Hogg said the race in Qatar would be an interesting one. "We can expect a keener battle this year as the riders know what to expect. A bit of familiarity will go a long way for the riders," he said. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Karamjit overhauls Rafiq to claim his 12th MRC title in style Posted: 11 Dec 2011 04:41 PM PST PETALING JAYA: Karamjit Singh wrapped up the fourth and final round of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) in Jempol yesterday to claim his 12th MRC title. The Flying Sikh was unbeatable as he won both legs in Jempol to overhaul Mohd Rafiq Udhaya who held a two-point lead going into the final round. Karamjit and co-driver Vivek Ponnusamy amassed 44 points over the four rounds while Rafiq-Sean Gregory finished on 42. In the final leg yesterday, Karamjit completed the race in 1'36:13.2 while Rafiq struggled to finish in 1'42:25. Taking third place were Mike-Maruthi Ariokiasamy in 1'46:09.5. "It has been a long and hard season. I'm happy that I have picked up my 12th title. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of my team-mates. "I am looking forward to title No. 13 next year. I believe I still have a few more years of rallying left in me," said the 48-year-old Karamjit. Rafiq was philosophical in defeat. "Karamjit is an extraordinary rally driver and to lose to him is no shame at all. Hopefully, we will have better luck next year," said Rafiq. The organisers of the MRC announced yesterday that the event would have five rounds, instead of four, next year. RESULTS 1. Karamjit Singh-Vivek Ponnusamy (Penzoil GSR) Mitsubishi Lancer 1'36:13.2, 2. Mohd Rafiq Udhaya-Sean Gregory (MRU Motorsports) Subaru Impreza 1'42:25.5, 3. Mike Ariokiasamy-Maruthi Ariokiasamy (MRU Motorsports) Proton Satria 1'46:09.5, 4. Faidzal Alang-Hazwan Fauzi (Penzoil GSR) Proton Satria 1'54:11.1, 5. Kenneth Koh-Nicole Anne Gill Proton Satria 1'54:29.1. Championship points |
| Project squad players free to play in MJHL next year Posted: 11 Dec 2011 03:29 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Players from the Project 2013 team need not worry about getting a release to play in the Malaysia Junior Hockey League (MJHL) next year. The team have agreed to release the players for all MJHL matches but they will still have to attend training in mid-week. The Project team are preparing for the Junior Asia Cup in May. This is a qualifying tournament for the 2013 Junior World Cup. Project 2013 coach K. Dharmaraj said yesterday that only six players would be affected as the rest are all above 19 years of age. The MJHL is for Under-19 players. The six players eligible for the MJHL are Mohamad Hazrul Faiz Ahmad Sobri, Shazrul Imran Nazli, Mohd Fitri Saari, Mohamed Firhan Ashaari, Shazril Irwan Nabil and Mohamed Hafiz Zainol, all of whom are 18. "I don't foresee any major problem in releasing these players. Of course we will have our training in mid-week which they will have to attend. We do have a full programme to prepare for the Junior Asia Cup but there are some dates which have not been finalised yet," he said. The MJHL is expected to start on either Jan 13 or 19. But since the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) plan to implement a zonal system, the tournament could see a delay until the format is confirmed. The Project squad are already in training and, starting this Friday, will play five matches with the visiting South Korean Sports University team from Seoul. "This will be good test as the Korean team have the bulk of their national squad in their side. They are supposed to arrive on Dec 15," said Dharmaraj. In January, the Project boys will play two matches with the China senior team who will be in Kuala Lumpur for a Test series with the national side. The juniors also hope to play three matches with teams coming for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in February. "We have matches arranged for the next two months. This will help us reassess the players before we trim the squad for the final phase, which should start after the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup," said Dharmaraj. The squad will likely move their training base to Malacca for the final phase. The Junior Asia Cup will be held in Malacca from May 11-22. "We need to get used to the ground there as quickly as possible, Most of the players have played in Malacca during the Razak Cup earlier this year. "But still we need to start working from Malacca so as to have a slight advantage over the other teams," said Dharmaraj. The coach is hoping that a planned visit by the Australian Development team will materialise either in late February or March so that his boys will get a chance to play more quality matches. "We plan to play those matches in Malacca if the Australians do come. If they don't, we have to look at going to Australia for matches. We do need some qualifty matches just before the tournament," he added. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan