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Wednesday October 14, 2009

Fazli gives up on title chase, sets sights on the SuperSports

PETALING JAYA: After making a name for himself in the Underbone arena, Ahmad Fazli Sham is determined to advance in his racing career by stepping up to the SuperSports 600cc category.

The two-time expert champion in the national Cub Prix and 2005 Underbone 125cc winner will make his first appearance in SuperSports 600cc racing in the fifth round of the Petronas Asia Road Racing Championships in Zhuhai this weekend.

Fazli of Shell Advance Yamaha Maju Racing has chosen to give up the chase for the championships’ Underbone 115cc title in which he is in seventh place in the standings on 60 points.

“I have been waiting for a long time for this chance to race on a more powerful machine. The opportunity has arrived and I will not let it slip away,” he said.

“Currently, I am trailing the Underbone championship leader Mohd Affendi Rosli by quite a huge margin — 39 points. I don’t mind letting go of the title chase.”

After the round in Madras, Affendi of Suzuki Harian Metro SCK has 99 points followed by compatriot Mohd Iskandar Raduan (Petronas Sprinta Raceline) and Indonesian Fitriansyah Kete (U Mild U Bikers Indonesia Racing) on 88 and 78 points respectively.

Fazli’s team manager Yong Ying Hoe feels that the time is right for the rider to test his ability on the bigger capacity machine.

“I know of his desire to race on a Yamaha R6 and we have rented a bike in China for him to test it out. If we see his potential and we have the budget, we will consider giving him a full season next year,” he said.

Fazli added that he would make full use of Friday’s practice session in Zhuhai to adapt quickly to riding on the SuperSports bike.

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