Round 2 of the MAM Malaysia Superbike Championship at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit featured the YAMAHA R15M Race Elites category practice sessions. Muhd Izam Ikmal Izamli of CHAI KEN MOTORSPORT topped the practice sessions. In Practice 1, Muhd Izam Ikmal Izamli of CHAI KEN MOTORSPORT set the fastest lap with a time of 2’49:826s. He was followed by Abdullah Qayyum Abd Razak of WELLY RACING TEAM at 2’50:725s and Muhd Iqbal Amri Abdul Malek of Y S CHONG at 2’50:936s. In Practice 2, Izam improved his time to a lap of 2’49:270s, securing the fastest position. Qayyum was second with 2’49:819s, and Iqbal finished third with 2’49:895s. Overall, Izam was the fastest across both sessions, with Qayyum and Iqbal taking second and third places. Izam commented, “Today, I was the fastest. We focused on finding the right setup, as it’s my first time riding the R15. So far, there isn’t much difference compared to the 600cc and 250cc bikes. We’ll work on finding the optimal setup for qualifying and the race tomorrow. My goal is to secure pole position for Race 1.” Combined Result – Top 5 Fastest Practice Session YAMAHA R15M Race Elite 1. Muhd Izam Ikmal Izamli – CHAI KEN MOTORSPORT (2’49:270s) 2. Abdullah Qayyum Abd Razak – WELLY RACING TEAM (2’49:819s) 3. Muhd Iqbal Amri Abdul Malek – Y S CHONG (2’49:895s) 4. Muhd Firdaus Mohd Hamdan – SOON CHYE MOTOR (2’50:937s) 5. Muhd Hafiza Rofa – HENN MOTOR BROTHERS (2’51:141s)
Round 2 of the Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSBK) will take on the grounds of the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit once again this weekend. Making its debut in the championship is a brand new one-make race category which is the Yamaha R15M Race Elites, geared up to make its grand entrance. The formation of this new race class was conceived upon the idea of providing riders with a different kind of experience and exposure in their transition from the underbone machine to a tank-machine. The effort seeks to accelerate the experiences of young riders by paving a pathway that would enable them to adapt to a more refined riding technique aboard a slightly higher capacity machine before potentially scaling up into the Asian-level championship. The Yamaha R15M machine is a 155cc machine that has been effectively modified to fit into the racing motorcycle specifications. The goal of MSBK over the years has been about developing motorsport and providing a platform for enthusiasts to experience the standard of excellence in motorcycle racing. In tandem with that, the collaborative initiatives with Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (HLYM) with the inclusion of this new race category will serve to groom talented riders in their aspirations to excel further in motorcycle racing. The race category which comprises 32 riders in total were handpicked from various race categories within the national motorcycle championship namely the PETRONAS Malaysian Cub Prix Championship (MCP) including the CP150, CP125 and ProAm race categories. On the other hand, The Berjaya Sompo Yamaha Y16ZR Race MasterClass race category will continue for the third consecutive year with a total of 32 riders beginning from Round 2. The riders were selected from the race categories within MCP namely the Wira KBS, Yamaha PETRONAS Super Series and AEON Credit Service Yamaha 135LC Tekhne Challenge and will compete till the end of Season 2024.