Nazirul shows his class
spending half the season on the sidelines last year, Nazirul Izzat Bahauddin scored a meaningful victory in CP150 in the second round of the Petronas Malaysian Cub Prix Championships yesterday.
The Petronas Sprinta Yamaha Maju Motor rider, who started from sixth on the grid, timed his move to perfection on the final straight to snatch a tight, albeit deserved, victory at Sepang Circuit (North layout).
Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda Yuzy Idemitsu Team) settled for second, a mere 0.068 seconds adrift while Izam Ikmal Izamli (SCK Honda Racing) was third (+0.263s).
The wide-open tarmac of the Sepang Circuit made it an unpredictable race with little separating the field.
The elbows came out in the closing stages and claimed a few victims.
Among them included Nazirul's teammate Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin, who crashed after clashing with Khairul Ikhwan Ajis (Yamaha Genblu AHM Motor Sports).
Nazirul was also lucky to escape unscathed after making contact with another rider in the final lap.
“This win means a lot to me. I was close to tears after the finish because I broke my right-hand last year and missed the last four races of the season,” said Nazirul.
“It was a tight race today (yesterday), but
I enjoyed the competition.
“I felt another rider had made contact with me, but I could not see who it was. I consider it to be part of racing.
“My goal was to stay close to the front, maintain my racing line and make my move when I had the chance.
“I am very happy to clinch my first race win since 2019. I hope to fight for the overall title at the end of the season.”
Nazirul, whose last CP150 win came in Kangar in the 2019 season, added that his journey back from injury had been challenging.
He suffered the injury, which required the insertion of metal plates to aid recovery, after crashing at the Sepang (South layout) round in September.
“I first tried to ride again on a Motocross bike in December, but I was only able to
complete four laps.
“I was only able to start properly riding a Cub Prix bike in late January.”
Nazirul, who finished 12th in the opening round race a fortnight ago, now leads the championship on 29 points.
Round one winner Muzakkir Mohamed (Onexox TKKR Racing Team), who placed 13th yesterday, is second overall on 28 points while Izam is third on 25.
Meanwhile, Ipone Yamaha YY Pang Racing Team’s Adib Rosley emerged victorious in the CP125 race, while Aqil Danial Nasrul (Petronas Sprinta Yamaha 31 Racing) took top honours in the Wira KBS class.
The championship will take a short break for Ramadan before returning with the third round at the Tangkak Circuit on May 22-23. Fadhli Ishak