Fighting chance for Malaysian champion in Idemitsu Asia talent cup

Friday, 20 October 2017 – The Asia Talent Cup, which is hailed as the springboard to the Moto3™ World Championship, enters its final round for the 2017 season at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) next weekend with a young Malaysian – Azroy Anuar having a fighting chance to be the overall champion.

Currently fourth in the championship with 113 points, the 18-year old Malaysian trails championship leader, Deniz Oncu of Turkey by 21 points with two more races to go and a maximum of 50 points up for grabs.

“Looking at his performance in the last few races, there’s a chance. And, in motor racing, anything is possible. So, my call to all Malaysians fans, let’s all be there at SIC next weekend to support this young boy in chasing his dream to be an Asian champion and perhaps, a seat to Moto3™ world championship next year.

“A few riders from this series – with the likes of Japan’s Ayumu Sasaki and Kaito Toba; Thailand’s Nakarin Atiratphuvapat and Malaysian Adam Norrodin, have actually won their seats in Moto3™ through strong performance here. They showed their determination, dedication, commitment and skills in the ATC and earned their seats. Azroy can just be the next candidate.

“No Malaysian rider has come this close of winning the overall title. With your support, Azroy might just do it,” says SIC Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Razlan Razali.

After five rounds including a leg and two races in Round 4, Oncu has a 10-point lead over Japan’s Haruki Noguchi, who has 124 points. Another Japanese rider, Ryusei Yamanaka is third with 123 points. Two other Malaysians – Syairul Yuslie Suhaimi and Haziq Hamdan are currently placed 17^th and 18^th in a 24-rider contest.

With four second places this season, the Kajang-born Azroy has shown that he is capable to match the speed and acceleration of his rivals to take top spot in Sepang. In the last round in SIC, Azroy took second place in Race 1 but was unlucky to finish fourth in Race 2.

“I strongly urge Malaysian fans to come watch the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup race, but, you would need to come early on Saturday and Sunday as the race starts at 10.30am.

“Apart from catching the races, it’s always good to come early because there’s plenty to enjoy at the track. You will also escape the heavy traffic as we are expecting a record turnout this year,” Dato’ Razlan added.

First introduced in 2014, the competition sees Asian stars of the future participate in a ten race championship held over five rounds throughout the year, with all of the riders on homogenised Honda NSF250R Moto3™ bikes.

This season begins in February in Sepang, with two days of practice for the selected riders, allowing them to become acquainted with their bikes for the season ahead. Two intense days of testing gives them a closer look at the characteristics of the Honda NSF250R Moto3™, a world-class machine in terms of performance.

The riders learn the trajectories and the response of the suspension, whilst also getting an understanding of the limits of the brakes, a challenge for the talented young riders as they take a step up onto this more demanding machinery.