The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Hafizh creates history after second placing in Spain
- Teenager Hafiza on threshold of Wira category title after hat-trick of wins
- Title-holder Vignesa zooms past father-daughter threat
| Hafizh creates history after second placing in Spain Posted: 26 May 2013 06:35 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Moto2 rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah raced his way into the history books as the first Malaysian to claim a podium finish in the intensely competitive CEV Repsol Spanish Championships in the second leg at the Motorland Aragon Circuit in Spain yesterday. A smooth start combined with a well prepared machine saw the Petronas Raceline Malaysia rider storm his way from fifth on the starting grid to second place to record his maiden podium finish. Hafizh finished the race in 29:27.524, just 0.075 seconds ahead of American Kenny Noyes (29:27.599). Spaniard Roman Ramos won the 15-lap Race 1 in 29:11.275. It was a much cherished moment for the 19-year-old Hafizh, who started the race determined to make amends after finishing empty handed in the opening leg in Catalunya early this month. During the opening leg, Hafizh had dominated the weekend in Catalunya, including taking pole position in qualifying but he crashed out on the first lap. It was only his second front row start in Catalunya and Hafizh, in his second season, can breathe a sigh of relief to prove the faith in him to make it in the top level is not unfounded. "It's hard to believe I finally made it on the podium after a tough time in the unofficial practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday due to harsh weather conditions. "I am extremely pleased and I would like to extend my gratitude to the team and sponsor for making all this possible," said an elated Hafizh, who rode his way to a 22nd finish in his first wildcard appearance in France Grand Prix in Le Mans last week. "It was tough. A lot of riders pushed for a good position early but the cold tarmac means less grip and this resulted in a lot of crashes. "I did not want to repeat another mistake of crashing out of the race so I kept a steady pace throughout to ensure I pick up championship points," said Hafizh in a telephone interview from Aragon yesterday. Hafizh finished fourth in Race 2 and is currently fourth in the championship standings with 20 points. |
| Teenager Hafiza on threshold of Wira category title after hat-trick of wins Posted: 26 May 2013 03:37 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Teenage rider Hafiza Rofa is on course for his first major title in the Petronas AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship this season. The 17-year-old Warner Pumps YSP rider with a 35-point lead, has taken a near-unassailable lead in the Wira category following a hat-trick of wins in Batu Kawan (Round 1), Malacca (Round 2) and Kuala Terengganu (Round 3). Warner Pumps YSP team manager Lee Waye Siang said Hafiza has a good chance of the winning the Wira crown and should be ready to move to the CP115 class next. "He is more than ready to go up to the CP115 class. However, the team decided that we should allow him one more season in the Wira class to build on his basics and his confidence before moving up," said Waye Siang. In the last three years, Hafiza remained as one of the consistent podium finishers in the Wira class, but was often overshadowed by the more flamboyant riders such as Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman, Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, Zulsyafiz Rosli and Adib Rosley. Following a successful one-make race debut in 2010 in which he was second overall in the Honda icon Challenge, Hafiza joined team YSP and finished the 2011 season as runner-up in the Wira category. Last year, the team gambled on a change from Yamaha to Honda. The drastic change affected Hafiza's performance and his ranking dropped to fifth overall. This year, YSP is back in the Yamaha camp and Hafiza's performance now looks more commanding than ever. "This weekend's win is very memorable for me. We came prepared, had a strong bike that performed brilliantly throughout the race and all these factors put together allowed me to achieve a hat-trick. More importantly, I scored the hat-trick in front of family and friends who braved the heat to show me support." |
| Title-holder Vignesa zooms past father-daughter threat Posted: 26 May 2013 06:32 PM PDT SEPANG: Twenty-year-old Natasha Seatter and her father Stewart took second place in Round 2 of the Malaysian Super Series (MSS) at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) to take over leadership of the premier GT Open Class in the 12th edition of the racing series yesterday. The series' first ever father- daughter partnership managed to complete 25 laps in the one-hour endurance race around the 5.543km circuit to finish 1:29.507 behind defending champion Vignesa Moorthy, who partnered Macau's Rodolfo Avila in a Radical SR8 machine. With two second places and 40 points in the opening round, Natasha has taken her total haul to 60 points after two rounds with Vignessa, who only managed 10 points from Round 1, now having 35 points. Angus Kirkwood – winner of the opening round in March, failed to add any points after failing to finish the race, which was stopped after 15 minutes on the order of the race stewards and resumed later in another rolling start format. Starting from third on the grid, Natasha took over the race lead as early as the first lap with Vignesa, who started from pole, dropping to third position. Natasha, a former Formula Gulf FG1000 Series driver, opened up a 24 seconds on her closest rivals when the race was stopped. "The re-start clearly affected us. We would have opened up a bigger lead. We are delighted to finish second today and take over the leadership of the championship. "With three races to go, we are in a very good position to win the overall title," said Natasha, who clocked 2:10.636s as her fastest lap in Lap 10. Stewart echoed the sentiments raised by Natasha on the red-flag incident but was quick to add that it was part and parcel of racing and that they accepted the decision. "That's racing. But, overall, we are happy with the performance of our car and today's results. We will be working hard to work further on this performance … I may need to get some tips from Natasha to improve on my speed," he quipped. Results Malaysian Super Series ( Round 2) GT Open Class: 1. Vignesa Moorthy-Rodolfo Avila (Radical SR8) 25 laps (1'15:310), 2. Natasha Seatter-Stewart Seatter (Radical SR8) 25 laps, 3. Noel Becker (Radical SR8) 24 laps. Touring Production Class: 1. Perajun Krishnan- Hideharu Kuroki (Honda Integra DC5) 22 laps, 2. Damien Dielenberg-Tommy Lee (Honda Integra DC5) 22 laps, 3. Desmond Yee-Mark Darwin (Honda Integra DC5) 22 laps. Malaysian Touring Car Challenge: 1. Syafiq Ali (Satria Neo) 21 laps, 2. Lai Wee Sing-Tai Choo Xiang (Proton Satria Neo) 21 laps, 3. James Veerapan-Tengku Djan Ley (Proton Preve) 21 laps. |
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