Qabil’s glory ride

Sensational: Qabil Irfan celebrating with his team members after clinching the overall champion title in the ESBK Talent series in Portugal. On the right is team manager Zulfahmi Khairuddin.

PETALING JAYA: Remember his name: Qabil Irfan.

The 13-year-old gave an early Malaysia Day present to the nation by romping to a double victory in the ESBK Talent (Spanish Superbike Championship) at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal.

With the impressive double victory on Portuguese soil, Qabil was crowned overall champion in the ESBK Talent series with one round remaining in Jerez, Spain in November.

The Malaysian youngster put up a flawless performance to win Race 2 comfortably, finishing 2.755s ahead of Oliver Cantos while fellow Spaniard Izan Rodriguez (+4.447s) completed the podium.

Qabil had already won Race 1 on Saturday and the back-to-back wins gave Qabil (252 points) an unassailable lead in the series for the 2025 season.

The Terengganu-born rider, now a full-time athlete supported by Sepang International Circuit, is the first Malaysian to be crowned overall champion in an international two-wheel racing series.

Overjoyed: Qabil Irfan celebrating on the podium after winning Race 2 in the ESBK Talent (Spanish Superbike Championship) at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal.

Qabil described the feat as a dream come true, made sweeter by hearing “Negaraku” played twice over the weekend.

“It was my dream to win this ESBK title and today it became a reality,” said Qabil.

“Obviously, I am over the moon. I dedicate this win to the team, my parents, my sponsors and all my supporters who followed me,” said Qabil, who has won six races so far this season.

It was not a good day, however, for another Malaysian motorsports talent Hakim Danish Ramli.

His hopes to end his Red Bull Rookies Cup season on a positive note were dashed after he crashed in Race 2 in Misano, Italy yesterday.

The 18-year-old started from sixth on the grid and did well to embed himself in the leading group.

Luck was, however, not on his side as he crashed with seven laps remaining.

This ended his hopes of ending the season in second place behind championship winner Brian Uriarte (236 points).

Veda Pratama came in second overall on 181 points while Danish settled for third with 171 points this season.