Ramlan’s riding high and aims to vroom to top of podium in Zhuhai

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Mohd Ramdan Rosli (pic), boosted by a good outing in Round 4 at Lombok, is looking forward to Round 5 of the Asia Road Racing Championships (ARRC) at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China in November.

Competing in the TVS Asia One Make Championship, Ramdan finished third overall by clocking 14:14.991 and 14:08.971 in Race 1 and 2 respectively last weekend.

The 27-year-old Ramdan was racing for the first time at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit in Lombok, Indonesia and managed to staved off the challenges from the other top riders to make it a satisfying weekend outing.

“It was a great weekend and my first time here in Mandalika,” said Ramdan.

“Most of us, with the exception of the home riders, have never raced here before.

“I knew it was going to be tough because there are a few strong, competitive and experienced riders competing in this category this season.

“Double winner Hiroki Ono of Japan had a slight advantage because he is lighter than me, but I did everything I could to give my best to give him a fight. No matter what, I’m happy to be back on the podium.”

Ramdan got off to a bad start at the start of the season, failing to finish both races in Round 1 at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand in March due to technical issues.

In Round 2, Ramdan finished second in Race 1 with a time of 14:19.677 before emerging victorious in Race 2 (14:21.125) at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur in May.

He maintained his fine form to settle for third (9:59.457) in Race 1 of Round 3 before nailing another win (16:38.545) in Race 2 at the Sugo International Racing Course in Japan in June.

The consistent performance saw Ramdan climbed to second in the overall riders’ standings with 118 points and he is aiming to finish on the podium again in Round 5 at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China in November.

“So far, my momentum is quite good,” said Ramdan, who aims to vroom to the overall champion’s title.

“I have a good bike and setup, so my goal is to give it my all to gain more points, demonstrate my abilities to my sponsor, and return to the top.

“I’ve raced in Zhuhai many times before, but I don’t think it gives me an advantage because most of the riders have the same experience.

“I will try to earn a good grid position to finish on the podium.”