Kasma gets wildcard to ride in Malaysian GP

SEPANG: Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin (pic) will be the fourth local rider in the fray at this year’s Shell Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circit from Oct 27-29.

The 17-year-old has been given a wildcard entry to race in Moto3, said SIC chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali yesterday.

Kasma, who is also the defending champion in the CP150 category of the Malaysian Cub Prix Championships, will race under the Yamaha banner alongside SIC Racing Team’s Adam Norrodin.

The other two local riders – Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah and Khairul Idham Pawi – will race in Moto2.

“We just received the confirmation of entries for the Malaysian GP and we will have four local riders this year.

“Kasma is a very talented rider but the Malaysian GP will be an excellent benchmark.

“You may be good at the national and Asian level, but it is a different stage altogether when it comes to the world championships.

“It will be a good learning curve for him,” said Razlan.

SIC also announced yesterday the ticket prices for the 2018 edition of the Malaysian GP from Nov 2-4.

There will be a 10% increase in ticket prices but SIC will launch their Super Early Bird Promotion beginning today.

The Main Grandstand tickets will be sold at RM166.50 from today until Oct 30.

The tickets will then cost RM210.90 during the Early Bird period from Oct 30 to March 17, 2018.

The normal rate for the 2018 ticket is RM244.20.

“Given the current economic climate, we are unable to maintain the total cost of organising this event. So, it is inevitable that ticket prices will increase,” said Razlan.

“This is the first time in 27 years of organising the MotoGP since 1991 that we are announcing the ticket prices a year in advance.

“We want to ensure that fans can book their dates and travel plans for next year to avoid the hassle of getting them at the last minute.”

Razlan added all Main Grandstand tickets for this year’s race have been sold out.

“We only have limited tickets remaining for the Shell and C2 Hillstand areas. We believe these tickets will also be taken up by race week,” he said.

“We are targeting 95,000 spectators for race day and we’re confident of breaching the 160,000 mark for the whole weekend.”