STRIKING IT RIGHT!
Round 2 of the MAM Malaysia Superbike Championship will take place this weekend at PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit. Geared up for the robust challenge are Gerry Salim of Honda NWN SCK Racing Team in MSBK250 A and teammate Rakha Bima Sakthiansyah in MSBK250 B.
Indonesian rider Gerry may be a newbie in the MSBK250 A race category but he definitely has what it takes to compete competitively among the much-seasoned riders, especially with his experiences in the racing scenes of his local ground as well as the Asian and international front. In Round 1, he was defeated by his teammate with a 5-point difference in Race 1 and in Race 2, he once again fell short by 5-points in his attempt to take the win. However, his consistency in both races and his ability to defend his position awarded him with 40 points in total and a seat on top of the chart. The rider finally returned to the racing scenes after his injury last year and is certainly making up for the losses with the right scores.
Commenting on the race, Gerry said, “Racing in MSBK this year has helped me try out new bike setups for ARRC Round 5 that will be held at Sepang. In my opinion, the standards of MSBK are great as the regulations are almost on par with that of ARRC for the AP250 race category. Only difference is that there are two different race categories that run in parallel. The Malaysian riders definitely inject better challenge because of their experience on the circuit ground and for me, it is a good experience to learn from them. At the moment, I have a good machine setup because I also get support from the Honda Indonesia Team. They too have a lot of experience on the Malaysian soil so, I have high hopes and trust on the team and mechanics. On the circuit, I love it. I have had my fair share of experiences and I guess that also means that I have a slight upper hand here. It is a circuit with many technical sectors and it is all about mastering it. For the upcoming round, there will be some changes to the setup compared to the first round as there have been some changes to the regulations. Therefore, some settings need to be changed to adhere to that. My goal for this season is to win the MSBK overall. Keeping my fingers crossed!”
Rakha on the other hand may also be new in the MSBK250 B but the Indonesian rider has showcased quite a remarkable performance when he went on to compete with great dexterity to score the Weekend Champion title. Being in the championship for the first time, Rakha has demonstrated the ability to fight competitively and utilise the right technical skills to guard his position all the way. The MSBK250 B race category is not one that is easy to dominate especially with the huge troop flooding the circuit ground nevertheless, Rakha stood out, maintained his composure well and stayed focused before clocking in victory in both races.
Commenting on the race, Rakha said, “For me, the most significant difference would be the opponents. I find them less competitive compared to those in the Mandalika Racing Series that I have been racing in. For the coming round, I have prepared myself physically and practiced on machines in Indonesia to compete against those riders in the MSBK250 A race category. Apart from that, I have also been honing my skills so that I can be competitive enough. I can’t say much about the machine at the moment but the machine is very fast. I like the Sepang circuit because the atmosphere and the level of safety is really excellent. Only thing that I didn’t quite like during the first round was the hole on the asphalt at corner 9. My target for the year is to make it as a leader in the overall chart and perhaps fight well with the other group.”