IZAM WON WET AND WILD BATTLE
Round 3 of the 2025 AEON CREDIT MAM MALAYSIA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP delivered a heart-stopping Race 1 in the MSBK600 category at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit, with Muhd Izam Ikmal Izamli of HONG LEONG YAMAHA MALAYSIA emerging victorious after an intense battle with Muhd Helmi Azman of HONDA RACING MALAYSIA.
At the start, Izam surged ahead to take the holeshot, while his teammate Farres Putra Mohd Fadhil slipped past Helmi to occupy second place. Helmi regrouped quickly and began his charge, setting the pace with a blistering 2’29.120s lap and reaching 242.2km/h on Lap 3 as he chased down Izam. But Izam fought back with a faster 2’28.571s lap and a top speed of 243.8km/h, keeping the Honda rider at bay.
By Lap 6, a mistake from Izam allowed Helmi to close the gap to just 0.365s, while Helmi’s teammate Khairul Idham Pawi overtook Farres for third. The closing laps turned into a spectacular showdown as Helmi finally passed Izam on Lap 8, only for Izam to immediately retaliate. On Lap 9, Helmi took another risk but lost control and crashed, rejoining the race in third.
Izam capitalised on the incident to stretch his lead and crossed the line first with a commanding time of 25’02.084s. The drama didn’t end there, as Helmi launched a breathtaking last-corner move, snatching second place by just 0.001s ahead of Khairul, who settled for third.
Izam said, “In today’s race, I had a very good start. At first, I wasn’t too confident because I knew Helmi had strong pace here. Step by step, I observed whether Helmi could stay with me or not. Around six laps in, I started to struggle with my rear tyre, so I just kept my pace. I saw the board showing a 1.500s gap, and my pace was a bit slower compared to Helmi. In the last three laps, I knew I was on the podium, but I still wanted this victory because it’s been three years since I last rode a 600cc. I noticed Helmi was quite aggressive. He knew I wasn’t fast in the high-speed corners, but I managed to overtake in the slow corner. I didn’t expect Helmi to crash. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll see how things go, and we can battle again with Helmi and Khairul.”
SIC AND TWMR WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO AEON CREDIT (M) BERHAD FOR THE SUPPORT RENDERED THIS WEEKEND DURING AEON CREDIT MAM MALAYSIA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 1
1. MUHD IZAM IKMAL IZAMLI – HONG LEONG YAMAHA MALAYSIA (25’02.084s)
2. KHAIRUL IDHAM PAWI – HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (25’21.030s)
3. MUHD HELMI AZMAN – HONDA RACING MALAYSIA (25’21.031s)
4. FARRES PUTRA MOHD FADHIL – HONG LEONG YAMAHA MALAYSIA (25’23.403s)
5. ZHOU FENGLONG – CHINA (26’17.892s)