PETALING JAYA: Championship leader Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman has thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals after topping the SuperSports 600cc practice session in the third round of the Petronas Asia Road Racing Chamapionships at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai.
With the race making a return to the MMRT after a year it was closed for renovations, Azlan didn’t waste any time getting reacquainted with the track to set the best time of 1:45.492.
The Musashi Boon Siew Honda rider was closely followed by Mohd Zamri Baba (Petronas Hong Leong Yamaha) in 1:45.541 while Azlan’s team-mate Ryuta Kobayashi was third fastest in 1:46.115.
However, Azlan was still far from pleased with his time as it was a second slower than his 2001 lap time at the MMRT.
“Everything went well today but we are not where we expected to be. Initially, our target was to clock under 1:44 like last time, instead we came in a second slower,” said Azlan, who is gunning for a double win this weekend.
“It all comes down to bike set-up. We thought that with the circuit having been upgraded, our work would be easier but it turns out to be quite the opposite. Still, I’m confident the engineers can turn things around.”
Meanwhile, Mohd Rozaiman Mohd Said, was quickest in the Underbone 115cc category.
The Givi Honda Yuzy Pachie rider clocked a personal best of 2:01.163 followed by Mohd Affendi Rosli (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) in 2:01.672 and Gupita Kresna (Kawasaki KYT Rextor Manual Tech) in 2:01.863.
“I’m happy with my results today. I never expected to be fastest because competition i n the Underbone 115cc is really fierce,” said Rozaiman.
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