HAYKHAL HELD FIRM ON OPENING DAY
Md Irfan Haykhal Amidi of HRM MOTUL RACING TEAM continued his impressive form in the MSBK250 A category after finishing at the top of the combined practice standings on the opening day of Round 3 of the MAM Malaysia Superbike Championship 2026 at PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit.
The Malaysian rider once again established himself as the rider to beat heading into Saturday’s Qualifying after delivering a strong and consistent performance across both Practice sessions. His blistering lap time of 2’25.349s set during Practice 1 remained unbeaten throughout the day, allowing him to maintain the top spot in the combined standings despite increased pressure from his rivals.
Haykhal demonstrated excellent pace from the opening session by setting the benchmark early in Practice 1. Although he was unable to better his morning lap during Practice 2, his impressive pace proved enough to fend off the chasing pack, highlighting both his consistency and the team’s strong preparation ahead of Saturday’s Qualifying.
While Haykhal maintained the advantage in the combined standings, the battle behind him intensified as several title contenders produced encouraging improvements throughout the day, setting the stage for a closely fought Qualifying session.
Danial Syahmi Ahmad Shahril from Malaysia emerged as Haykhal’s closest challenger after topping Practice 2 with a best lap of 2’25.868s. The rider improved on his morning pace to secure second overall in the combined standings, finishing just 0.519s behind Haykhal’s benchmark.
Indonesia’s championship leader, Irfan Ardiansyah of NWN CZ1 SCK RACING TEAM, produced one of the biggest improvements of the day after lowering his lap time by more than a second in Practice 2. His effort elevated him from fourth in the opening session to third overall, finishing just 0.011s behind Danial in the afternoon session and reinforcing his status as one of the strongest contenders this weekend.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Huu Tri of HONDA RACING VIETNAM TEAM retained his place among the leading contenders after carrying over his strong pace from the morning session, while Malaysia’s rider Nazirul Izzat Muhd Bahauddin also impressed by making significant gains in Practice 2 to secure a place inside the overall top five heading into Qualifying.
Irfan Haykhal commented, “Alhamdulillah, today’s sessions went quite well. Compared to Round 2, the team and I made a lot of changes to the bike’s setup and brought several new components for this weekend. Throughout the practice sessions, we focused on testing each setup to understand which combination works best. Practice 1 was encouraging because I was able to set a competitive lap while riding on my own, so overall I’m quite satisfied with today’s performance.”
“There’s still room for improvement, and together with the team we’ll continue working on the bike ahead of Qualifying. I’ll give my best tomorrow and hopefully we can fight for pole position before focusing on Race 1.”
TOP 5 FASTEST – COMBINED PRACTICE
1. MUHD IRFAN HAYKHAL AMIDI – HRM MOTUL RACING TEAM (2’25.349s)
2. DANIAL SYAHMI AHMAD SHAHRIL – MALAYSIA (2’25.868s)
3. IRFAN ARDIANSYAH – NWN CZ1 SCK RACING TEAM (2’25.879s)
4. NGUYEN HUU TRI – HONDA RACING VIETNAM (2’26.343s)
5. NAZIRUL IZZAT MUHD BAHAUDDIN – MALAYSIA (2’26.352s)