Can’t wait to vroom!
Zaqhwan all revved up for action to return at SIC
Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi can’t wait to blaze the track again now that the action is set to return to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
After waiting for months, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) rider has welcomed the efforts taken by the motorsport fraternity to convince the government to allow competitions to start at the SIC as early as this month.
If all goes well, the 24-year-old Zaghwan will explore the opportunity to race in local competitions like the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship and the Malaysia
Superbike Championship.
Zaqhwan said the resumption of motorsport action locally would surely keep all the Malaysian riders on their feet.
“I do feel empty inside not racing at all and so, it’s so good to hear that there are moves to restart motorsport competitions in Malaysia,” said the Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa rider yesterday.
“We riders couldn’t do much because there have been no races especially in the Asian region which is hit quite badly by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I’ll try to get some mileage by competing in Sepang in either the Superbike which is organised by SIC or the Malaysia Cub Prix. But first, I need to get the clearance from my team, Honda Asia.”
Zaqhwan’s excitement is understandable as he had missed the first round of the ARRC in Sepang as his team had to pull out due to the Covid19 situation and have yet to compete in any races.
Yesterday, Zaqhwan was one of the few riders who were present when the Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican visited the SIC yesterday.
Reezal credited the Motorsport Association of Malaysia (MAM), the SIC and the other motorsports stakeholders for putting into place the standard operating procedures (SOP) to run the races in Sepang.
“I’m happy with the SIC’s presentation, it’s very comprehensive, they have produced a video to explain their SOPs and I believe we will be able to convince the National Security Council (NSC),” said Reezal.
“Personally, I’m optimistic that some sports competitions can resume after the NSC (National Sports Council) meeting on July 9 ... We’ll go one step at a time, we start with domestic competitions first.”
Sports organisations have not been given the green light to hold competitions under the recovery movement control order but there could be an exception to several non-contact sports, including motorsport.