Serdang, Selangor: Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin defied all expectations when he scored the opening win in Round 1 of the 2016 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship held at the Malaysia Agro Exhibition Park (MAEPS) last weekend. Contrary to his seniors’ predictions of a tightly fought race, Kasma put in a dominating lights-to-flag performance that was reminiscent of his 2015 title-winning performance in the CP115 category.
Kasma lost out to Zaqhwan Zaidi in Saturday’s timed practice session but bounced back with a fast lap during the SuperPole to win the all-important pole position. He then successfully converted his prime starting position into a race performance that left his competitors in the dust.
Behind Kasma, senior riders Ahmad Fazli Sham, Zaqhwan Zaidi, Norizman Ismail, Abdul Muhaimin Roslan and Izzat Zaidi fulfilled their self-prophecy with a no-holds-barred battle for second position. The heat of the chase caused first Norizman and then Muhaimin to drop out of the chase, leaving Fazli and Zaqhwan in second and third positions at the finish line.
“Everyone was saying that there was no way I would be able to run away at the front, that the race would be bitterly fought. I turned a deaf ear to all those predictions and just focused on staying true to the script that my team manager Yong Ying Hoe had crafted for me. I had two things going for me this weekend, which was my fitness level and a super fast bike. Stealing the holeshot at the start of the race gave me the momentum I needed to brush aside the competition and focus on winning from the front,” said Kasma who officially turns 16 this year.
Kasma and Fazli’s 1-2 position has given team PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor with the best possible start to the season. The outfit that has brought about numerous national and Asian-level legends such as Chia Tuck Cheong and Mohd Faisal Yahya, now leads the team award with a 19-point margin over GiVi Honda Yuzy Racing.In the CP115 category, poleman Tengku Amirul Haffirudin also enjoyed a strong start to the 2016 season when he won the 15-lap race ahead of Mohd Fareez Afeez and 2015 Wira Champion Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin. The age-capped Wira class saw newcomer Md Shafiq Ezzariq finishing at the top of the field with Mohd Qhuwarismi Mohd Nasir and S. Alif Nazirul S. Ismail in second and third positions respectively.
Malaysian Riders 