Pengurus pasukan SIC Racing Team, Zulfahmi Khairuddin berpuas hati dengan pencapaian Syarifuddin Azman pada Pusingan 5 Kejuaraan JuniorGP Dunia di Litar Algarve, Portugal minggu lalu.
Beliau berharap tempoh rehat sehingga September dapat memberi ruang buat Syarifuddin atau lebih dikenali sebagai Damok memperkemaskan tunggangannya bagi mengharungi pusingan seterusnya di Litar Misano.
“Secara keseluruhan, saya sangat gembira dengan prestasi Damok minggu lalu kerana meraih podium ketiganya musim ini dan sekali gus meletakkan dirinya berada di kedudukan kedua keseluruhan ketika ini.
“Ini adalah sesuatu yang bagus buat kami. Diharap, ketika tempoh rehat ini, dia dapat melihat secara mendalam apakah yang boleh dipertingkatkan lagi untuk ke depan lagi,” kata Zulfahmi.
Ahad lalu, Damok meraih podium ketiganya musim ini di Litar Algarve, Portugal selepas menemui garisan penamat kedua dengan catatan 29 minit 07.323 saat (s) dan dipisahkan 6.551s di belakang pemenang, Jose Rueda (29:00.772s) manakala Adrian Cruces melengkapkan pentas podium di tempat ketiga, 29:07.437s.
Pelumba lain yang bawah kendalian pasukan, Danial Syahmi Ahmad Shahril yang turut beraksi dalam kelas sama pula menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat ke-18 dan kini berada di tangga ke-19 keseluruhan.
Seorang lagi pelumba yang beraksi dalam saingan European Talent Cup (ETC), Hakim Danish Ramli tidak menamatkan perlumbaan selepas jentera mengalami masalah mekanikal dan kini berada di tangga kelima keseluruhan.
“Untuk Danial, ini adalah tahun untuk dia belajar. Dia masih belajar untuk menjadi pantas menggunakan motosikal Moto3. Untuk Danish pula, agak malang yang dia berdepan masalah mekanikal.
“Secara keseluruhannya, Danish adalah seorang pelumba kompetitif di ETC dan diharap, dia akan kembali dengan lebih kuat di pusingan seterusnya,” kata Zulfahmi.
Malaysian motorcycle accessories giant, RCB, has partnered with Petronas Sprinta Racing and SIC Racing Team.
The deal sees RCB as a technical partner for the rest of the 2018 season.
RCB is better known as Racing Boy among the biker community.
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.
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.
“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.”
The SIC Racing Team has found their new permanent rider in the form of Niki Tuuli, a WorldSSP rider from Finland.
The 22-year-old started his WorldSSP riding career in late 2016 but has impressed the entire field with his results.
CEO of Sepang Circuit Datuk Razlan Razali believes that Tuuli will be able to make the SIC Racing Team competitive.
After the unexpected announcement of Zulfahmi Khairuddin prematurely ending his 2018 Moto2 rookie season, the SIC Racing Team has revealed yet another surprise in the form of his replacement rider. Finnish WorldSSP rider Niki Tuuli will be riding the Kalex machinery starting next round this weekend at the HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France. (more…)
Some news have reported that Zulfahmi Khairuddin has decided to retire from Moto2 effective IMMEDIATELY.
After just four rounds, the Moto2 rookie called it quits after struggling to get any decent performance and results.
There’s is still no news on whether the team will continue with a replacement rider.
News broke out late last night regarding one of our national motorcycle racers in MotoGP. Zulfahmi Khairuddin who has been actively competing in the intermediate Moto2 category this year has called it quits after just four rounds of the 2018 season despite being a rookie. (more…)
There’s a possibility that Sepang International Circuit (SIC) will run the first-ever Malaysian MotoGP team in 2019.
Rumours have indicated that the folks from SIC are heading to Jerez this weekend to work something out with MotoGP and Yamaha.
SIC might partner up with one of the existing private teams with hopes that they can bring in Hafizh, Yamaha, and some funds along with the deal.
We all know that 2019 will be a major season for the entire MotoGP grid. With the changes and additions satellite bikes and the possible reshuffling of riders, there are also rumours on Sepang International Circuit (SIC) securing the first Malaysian MotoGP team next season. (more…)
Zulfahmi Khairuddin telah memperkenalkan motosikal perlumbaan Moto2 Kalex terbarunya semalam di Litar Antarabangsa Sepang.
Baru sahaja dipanggil bagi menunggang untuk pasukan SIC Racing Team, penunggang berusia 26 tahun itu tidak sabar untuk kembali berlumba dalam kategori kelas pertengahan paling berdaya saing di dalam dunia.
SIC Racing Team telah bekerjasama dengan KBS Malaysia bagi menaja usaha Moto2 mereka untuk tahun 2018.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin revealed his latest Kalex Moto2 race bike yesterday at the Sepang International Circuit.
Newly appointed to race for the SIC Racing Team, the 26 year old is eager to get back into racing in the world’s most competitive intermediate class.
The SIC Racing Team has partnered up with KBS Malaysia to sponsor their Moto2 efforts for 2018.
One of Malaysia’s top motorcycle racers that is Zulfahmi Khairuddin who was recently announced as one of two Moto2 riders representing Malaysia for the 2018 season has unveiled his brand new bike and livery at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) just yesterday. The 26 year old national rider will be racing for the SIC Racing Team with KBS Malaysia as their main sponsor. (more…)
Ujian pra musim Moto2 dan Moto3 2018 telah berlangsung baru-baru ini di Valencia.
Ketiga-tiga hari ujian berkenaan telah dibantutkan oleh hujan yang telah menyebabkan litar menjadi sejuk.
Penunggang dari Malaysia, Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Moto2) dan Adam Norrodin (Moto3) meluangkan masa tersebut menyesuaikan diri dengan jentera masing-masing.
The 2018 Moto2 and Moto3 pre-season tests got underway at Valencia recently.
All three days were hampered by rain and subsequently cold track.
Malaysian riders Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Moto2) and Adam Norrodin (Moto3) spent time adapting to their machines.
Malaysian Moto3 and Moto2 riders found the going tough during their respective class’ pre-season tests.
The three-day test session held at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain saw rain and subsequent cold weather, hampering the quest for racking up more track time and faster laps.
Moto2
Returning rider, Zulfahmi Khairuddin, now riding for the SIC Racing Team saw his track time cut down just three 70-minute sessions and completing only 72 laps in total over three days.
There were nine sessions (three per day) for each class. In Moto2, the first day was a total washout. No riders went on track in Session 1. Sessions 2 and 3 saw only Dominique Aegerter riding for 12 and 14 laps, respectively.
The weather stayed more or less the same on the second day. Session 4 saw only five riders posting very few laps, with Isaac Vinalez completing the most number of laps at 20. The next closest riders Stefano Manzi and Jorge Navarro completed only 7 laps apiece.
All riders saw action in Session 5 and 6 but posted times slower than the normal pace.
Session 7 on Day Three was another washout and only Mattia Pasini went out riding, completing a token 4 laps. All riders rode in Sessions 8 and 9, however, just the days before, no one put in a large number of laps to be of true meaning.
Test sessions in good weather usually see riders completing many more laps as they work on setting up their bikes.
It was a learning experience for Zulfahmi as he adapts to the Kalex, having been roped in to replace Hafizh Syahrin at almost the 11th hour.
“The first day was rain and the second day we did only a few laps to check the bike and get a feel for the bike,” said Zulfahmi.
Zulfahmi continued, “The hardest part for me is getting used to the tyres; we are now working on the engine braking to make me more comfortable to brake harder.”
Zulfahmi Khairuddin – Picture from MotoGP.com
Riders need time to adapt to the characteristics and limits of new tyres, especially when they make the switch from road-legal race compound tyres to full-on race tyres. Race tyres may provide more grip, but it remains as potential grip if the rider could not find the way to make them work i.e. keeping them in the optimal working range.
He remains optimistic and cheerful, however, “It’s fantastic to be going to Sepang next week because the weather is so much better than in Europe right now.”
Team Manager, Johan Stigefelt said, “This test was the first time riding the Moto2 bike for Fahmi; a week ago he didn’t know he would be here, so of course it’s quite nerve-wracking for him to have a complete new bike and new crew around him.”
Moto3
As with Moto2, the Petronas Sprinta Racing team’s riders Adam Norrodin and Ayumu Sasaki (from Japan) saw rain disrupting their plans. Only four riders completed a few laps throughout the day.
Day Two’s Session 4 in the morning saw only four riders completing 4 laps each; while 17 out of 24 riders went on track in Session 5.
All riders finally went on track in Session 6, which saw Sasaki posting the 11th fastest time, while Adam was way back in 24th.
Day Three was almost the same, having full participation in Session 8, only. The most lap completed was a measly 30.
Both riders crashed due to cold tyres and Adam injured a finger. “It’s been quite a frustrating first test with the weather being so cold! We couldn’t ride at all on the first day because of the rain and then even when it stopped it was too cold to get any real heat in the tyres,” he lamented.
About the last day, “Today it has been sunnier but still so cold, so when we went out I just concentrated on getting used to the bike again.”
Adam Norrodin in the 2017 Argentina GP
“Today has been a better day,” said Sasaki, “it’s been a lot sunnier but still very cold.”
Ayumu Sasaki – Picture from MotoGP.com
Both teams will head home to the Sepang International Circuit for private testing from
