Before we go on, surely you have experienced a horrific visit or two to a motorcycle workshop. You have ridden motorcycles for decades, but there always seem to be something to surprise you. (more…)
This 28th to 29th July 2018 weekend is the most hectic for us than ever before, as motorcycle events are stacked on one another, albeit at different locations.
That means you are spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding what to do over the weekend. Here is the list the events by region for your easy reference.
Karnival Bikers Gen Blue Yamaha (Yamaha Gen Blue Bikers Carnival) is happening at Stadium Batu Kawan, Penang on Sunday, 29th July 2018.
Touted as the largest gathering for Yamaha motorcycle owners, the event includes the launch of a new Yamaha model. There will also be activities for the whole family, besides convoys to the event, best custom Yamaha competition, stunt show, gymkhana, service campaign, rock concert, fun and games, test rides, motorcycle showcase and lucky draws.
The Karnival Bikers Gen Blue Yamaha begins at 10am and ends at 6pm. Entry is FREE.
Please click on this link for more details.
Suzuki Malaysia is opening the Suzuki Direct Shop in Penang on Saturday, 28th July 2018.
To commemorate the opening, there will be a convoy for Suzuki big capacity bikes from Suzuki Assemblers Malaysia’s HQ at Prai at 10am.
Additionally, the company is organizing a test ride event at the same venue which is hilariously titled as “Suzuki Test Ride @ Penag (sic)” on their Facebook page.
Please click on this link for more information.
The national superbike racing series returns after a hiatus since mid-May, and it’s worth the wait. Round 2 will be held at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
The latest news has it that Malaysia’s current Moto3 rider, Muhammad Adam Norrodin, will contest in the SuperSport 600 class; the Asia Talent Cup will also join the party; as well as the addition of the TOC Desmo Cup for Ducati riders.
Grandstand viewing is free, but spectators may purchase special paddock passes to view the action up close.
Action starts today (Friday, 27th July 2018) for the qualifying sessions, Race 1 on Saturday (28th July 2018) and Race 2 on Sunday (29th July) for all classes.
The Art of Speed (AOS) is the largest gathering of custom builders, retro, ol’ skool and artists for everything automotive.
But that’s just part of the story because there’s always something for everyone in the family at AOS. There are art shows, toy displays, lo-riders (customized bicycles), concerts, and a lucky draw with a custom motorcycle as the grand prize.
Motorcycle manufacturers large and small will also be present, and the likes of Ducati and Kawasaki will use AOS as the platform to launch their latest models.
AOS has prepared the event thoroughly to make your visit an unforgettable experience. They’ve organized shuttles to transport you and your family from the parking lots to the exhibition halls, for example. Or conversely, you may choose to get there by MyCar who are offering RM3 off the total amount by using AOS2018 promo code.
The 7th Annual Art of Speed 2018 powered by Petronas will be held at MAEPS MARDI, Serdang on both Saturday (28th July) and Sunday (29th July).
Please click on this link to find out more.
Down south in Johore, KTM Malaysia is organizing the first stop for the KTM Malaysia Orange Carnival 2018.
Held at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) campus at Skudai, Johore, the carnival is a one-day affair, filled to the gills with a heady mix of activities for KTM owners, bikers in, motorcycle enthusiasts and the general public and families.
Planned are test rides of the latest KTM models, a fun-hana (gymkhana), service campaign, lucky draw (stand to win a KTM Duke 390 as the grand prize), stunt show by Gabit Saleh and much more.
KTM Malaysia will also launch the latest KTM 200 Duke Evo on the day.
RCB has always been involved in sponsoring teams and riders in motorsports and they have inked a deal with Petronas Sprinta Racing as a technical sponsor for the remainder of the 2018 season, the SIC Racing Team website reported.
Many Malaysian bikers would be familiar with the name “RCB” or better known as “Racing Boy.” RCB is our own homeground accessories maker with an entire catalogue chock full of strikingly coloured motorcycle bling, ranging from anodized hand levers to alloy wheels to braking parts such as brake discs and calipers to electronic items like LCD instrument clusters.
You’ve probably also recall seeing the “RCB” logo on Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinalez’s Yamaha YZR-M1. (Please click on the link below to read more.)
Racing Boy introduces Race Ready Collection 2018 for 150cc motorcycles!
Well, RCB has always been involved in sponsoring teams and riders in motorsports and they have inked a deal with Petronas Sprinta Racing as a technical sponsor for the remainder of the 2018 season, the SIC Racing Team website reported.
The Petronas Sprinta Racing Team contests in the world Moto3 championship, fielding Malaysian Muhammad Adam Norrodin and previous Asia Talent Cup Champion, Ayumu Sasaki from Japan as their riders.
RCB’s partnership also extends to the SIC Racing Team in Moto2 which has Finnish rider Niki Tuuli as the sole rider.
“It’s important to have RCB as our Technical supplier for our team because as a team we’re always looking for technical parts to improve our performance. This partnership has allowed us to make the most of RCB’s R&D to develop some important components for our Moto2 and Moto3 machines,” said Johan Stigefel, Team Manager for both teams.
Bruce Lee, CEO of RCB said, “The Petronas Sprinta Racing Team members are professionals who are passionate with motorcycle racing. For this reason, RCB is delighted to be part of the team’s project. Together, we believe, both parties’ philosophies match in terms of passion, innovation and work ethics. We are very confident this new partnership will help us achieve great things together. We believe both parties will benefit with this partnership and look forward to achieving great results together.”
We have been featuring the TechTOC with Foreman Oh column for a couple of weeks now and we’ve received a few interesting questions. Please click here for the first and here for the second column.
We’ve received many enquiries from our readers and followers in the past and although we attempted to answer every question, we couldn’t answer all due to our heavy schedule and time constraints.
But we now have “Foreman” Oh Kah Beng, also known as “KB” among his friends and “Sifu” by his students (us included).
We’ve featured KB and his current Most Fun Gym (MFG) motocross school extensively, as we discovered that riding in the dirt has immensely improved our riding skills. Please click on the link below about MFG.
As we’ve also written before, KB was the very first Malaysian GP rider, who raced on classic race bikes such as the two-stroke TZ750 against other GP greats such as Wayne Gardner and Ron Haslam. And won. Please click on the link below to read more about KB.
To refresh, KB has now been appointed as the Motorsports Consultant at the TOC Automotive College (TOC) due to his racing, wrenching and coaching background.
Not only that, the riders and even the mechanics of the TOC-HKM Toyo MSBK team are undergoing MX training at MFG in order to upgrade their skills.
So, since TOC and KB are providing motorcycle-based training, who better to answer your questions than the legendary Foreman Oh Kah Beng himself.
But it gets better, because in the interest of training more riders the fundamentals of handling a motorcycle:
Please send in your questions now (PM us at https://www.facebook.com/BikesRepublic/), but please be specific about the issue(s) you are facing, and include your full name and your city of residence. So, start typing!
Malaysia’s current World Moto3 rider, Muhammad Adam Norrodin, who is currently on MotoGP summer break, will put his time at home to effective use by taking part at the Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSBK) 2018, which enters its much-awaited second round this weekend in Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
Adam will contest in the 600cc Supersport Championship. His participation in the national championship is made possible through the hard work of his racing friend and ZK Racing team owner, Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who has flown the Jalur Gemilang in the 125cc, Moto3, Supersports World Championship and most recently, the Moto2 World Championship with SIC Racing Team.
“I am really looking forward to the weekend; especially with the opportunity to race side by side with my brother, Muhammad Ibrahim Norrodin under ZK Racing. I am using this event to prepare myself better for the second half of this 2018 Moto3 season. I would like to thank ZK Racing for this chance and I aim to make full use of this opportunity to do my very best for the best result possible,” Adam said when asked to comment on this weekend’s race.
Commenting on Adam’s participation, Zulfahmi said that it is truly an honour for his newly-formed racing team to have Adam and his SIC Racing Team mechanic, Habibtullah Fuad Mohamad in his team this weekend.
“I hope that my other riders will take this opportunity to learn as much as possible from Adam. Similarly, for the team crew, they can learn from Habib with his experience; preparing the bike for a very challenging world championship. Hopefully, everything works well and ZK Racing can achieve good results this weekend,” said Zulfahmi.
The MSBK enters its second round after a lengthy break with Round 1 held in mid-May. Apart from the Supersports Championship, which is run based on rules of the 600cc WSBK.
MSBK Round 2 will also feature the opening round of the Desmo Ducati and Round 3 of the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup apart from the traditional MSBK categories of the Superbike, Superstock and the Super 250.
After races at the Qatar Grand Prix in Losail and WSBK Thailand in Buriram, the Asia Talent Cup (ATC) is currently topped by Japanese youngster, Haruki Noguchi. He has a total haul of 95 points – courtesy of three wins and one second place after four races; holding a 25-point advantage over Australian Bill Van Eerde, who has 70 points. Mario Aji of Indonesia is third with 53 points. ATC is a junior development programme backed by the MotoGP worldwide rights holder, Dorna. Danial Shahril is the highest placed Malaysian in a field of 20 riders in 5th place; with a total haul of 35 points; trailing fourth placed Afridza Munandar of Indonesia by 13 points. Another Malaysian, Ibrahim Pawi – the younger brother of Moto2 rider Khairul Idham Pawi – is 15th in the championship standings with 14 points.
As for the TOC Desmo Cup 2018, it is organised by Desmo Owners Club Malaysia in collaboration with TOC Automotive College (TOC). The new season takes off this weekend for a three-leg championship this year. Riders in the competition are expected to be racing Ducati models such as the newly-launched Panigale V4, Panigale 899, Panigale 1299, Panigale 1199, Panigale 959, 848, 1098, and 1198. Each round will only feature a single 10-lap race around the 5.543-km MotoGP track.
The MSBK event officially opens this Friday with free practice sessions with qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday. Race 2 is on Sunday.
Fans can catch all the actions for free from the Main Grandstand. Fans can also purchase Paddock passes to access to the Paddock area and view from the covered rooftop of the Pit Building. The passes will be sold at the Paddock entrance. Fans can also follow the races LIVE on SIC’s Facebook. After the opening round of the MSBK, viewers have reached more than 417,813 people.
Friday, 27 July 2018
1130 hrs – 1200 hrs Idemitsu ATC Free Practice 1
1215 hrs – 1245 hrs Supersport Free Practice
Break / Friday Prayer
1415 hrs – 1445 hrs Super 250 Free Practice
1500 hrs – 1530 hrs Superstock Free Practice
1545 hrs – 1615 hrs Idemitsu ATC Free Practice 2
1630 hrs – 1700 hrs Superbike Free Practice
1715 hrs – 1745 hrs TOC Desmo Cup Free Practice
Saturday, 28 July 2018
0915 hrs – 0945 hrs Idemitsu ATC Qualifying
1000 hrs – 1030 hrs Supersport Qualifying
1045 hrs – 1115 hrs Super 250 Qualifying
1130 hrs – 1200 hrs Superstock Qualifying
1215 hrs – 1245 hrs Superbike Qualifying
1310 hrs – 1345 hrs Idemitsu ATC Race 1 (13 laps)
1415 hrs – 1445 hrs TOC Desmo Cup Qualifying
1510 hrs – 1550 hrs Supersport Race 1 (12 laps)
1615 hrs – 1645 hrs Super 250 Race 1 (8 laps)
1710 hrs – 1750 hrs Superstock Race 1 (12 laps)
1815 hrs – 1845 hrs Superbike Race 1 (12 laps)
Sunday, 29th July 2018
1000 hrs – 1040 hrs Supersport Race 2 (12 laps)
1105 hrs – 1135 hrs Super 250 Race 2 (8 laps)
1200 hrs – 1240 hrs Superstock Race 2 (12 laps)
1305 hrs – 1345 hrs Idemitsu ATC Race 2 (13 laps)
1415 hrs – 1455 hrs Superbike Race 2 (12 laps)
1515 hrs – 1555 hrs TOC Desmo Cup Race (10 laps)
As the momentum builds towards the start of the 2018 FIM Asia Supermoto Championsip season, Dato’ Eric Loo, the founder of the FIM Asia Supermoto and AAM Malaysian Supermoto Championships will operate his own team called Team DEL Michelin.
Any spectator and rider would have seen a fast and high-flying Danish rider in action during the final round last year at Bukit Jalil. He was Simon Vilhelmsen, the 24-year-old who hails from Denmark and finished 4th overall in the 2017 S-1GP championship.
The FIM S-1GP is the premier European supermoto championship. As there are no other FIM sanctioned “world” supermoto series, the S-1GP is considered the MotoGP for supermoto.
Dato’ Eric had always “imported” the world’s best riders in order for the Asian riders to gauge their own standards besides presenting a motivation to improve their skills. He had brought in Chris Hodgson, the 14-time British Supermoto Champion, among others in the past.
“Riders outside Asia aren’t allowed to compete in the FIM Asia Supermoto Series, actually,” explained Dato’ Eric, “that’s why we have the International Invitational Class.”
“But I would like to see our Asian and especially Malaysian riders going toe-to-toe with international riders to gauge their own levels and see how they stack up against international riders. Also, it’s a great opportunity for Asian riders to learn from those who are based in Europe as they (the latter) have lots of experience. So, Vilhelmsen is the best choice.”
Team principal Dato’ Eric Loo (hence “DEL”) is assures us that the team will compete in all five rounds of the 2018 FIM Asia Supermoto Championship.
On his decision to set up his own team, Dato’ Eric iterated, “We’re doing this to support the series. Seeing how it grew from just a few guys getting together to ride supermoto on the weekends to the stage of recognition it now enjoys, it’s only right that we continue to expand it.”
“I’d like to also thank our main sponsor, Michelin. We selected them because they have the best supermoto tyres. In fact, they make tyres specifically for supermoto racing.”
“We’d like to also thank our other main sponsors, Bike Nation and Wee Bikers. Bike Nation is now the official dealer for Husqvarna motorcycles in Malaysia and we are proud to be able to compete on one,” continued Dato’ Eric.
“Our co-sponsors are Ohlins, Tekmo, RK-Takagaso, MVD and Gaerne Boots. Thank you for your support.”
The 2018 FIM Asia Supermoto Championship starts on 11th August in Bangkok, Thailand. Stay tuned as we bring you’re the coverage of this exciting series.
