Izam and Syamil put aside friendship as they battle at Batu Kawan

PETALING JAYA: It will be a keen race between Syamil Amsyar and Mohd Izam Ikmal (pic) in the fight to decide the CP125cc overall champion in the Petronas Malaysian Cub Prix Championship at Batu Kawan Stadium in Penang this weekend.

Syamil from Petronas Sprinta Yamaha 31 Racing came close to securing the championship title in the eighth round of the championship in Johor last week but failed to finish the race.

That resulted in his 34-point lead at the top of the championship reduced to just 11 points coming into the final round of the championship in Penang.

Syamil’s setback that weekend had turned out to be an added advantage for his closest contender Izam, who is out to pounce on the opportunity.

“To win the championship title for the CP125 race category, Syamil cannot be on the podium,” said Izam, who has amassed 123 points for second place in the overall CP125 standings.

“That is also the only way for me to move up to the first spot, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.”

Izam is just happy with his better performance this year.

“The whole season has given me a new inspiration more so with the positive outcome and the enhanced performance compared to last season,” he said.

“I raced in the CP150 race category last season and the machine was also different.

“The race in Batu Kawan is hard to predict because everything is different this season compared to the last. All I know is that I want to go all out to fight competitively so that I can win again.”