Sports

Friday October 23, 2009

Elly, Zulfahmi mark Malaysia’s return

THE curtains will be raised again for Malaysian acts in the world motorcycling racing championships in Sepang today with Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin in action in the 125cc class of the Malaysian GP.

Elly is the lead rider for Air Asia Team Malaysia and he will be astride an Aprilia 125 RSW with the support from Ongetta ISPA team while Zulfahmi will be riding a Yamaha TZ125.

And they are in the fray thanks to the efforts of Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM), Two Wheels Motor Racing (TWMR), Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM).

Elly and Zulfahmi will pick up from where Sharol Yuzy left off as a full-season rider on the world stage in the 250cc class in 2002.

Team manager Ron Hogg, who is also the promotions director of TWMR, said: “We are proud of them for making the cut as wildcards and I know both of them have worked very hard to reach this level.

“I believe many parties are excited about their participation but let us not get too carried away and set sky-high targets for them.

”Let’s set the expectations right and I hope that, at the end of the day, other parties do not criticise the riders’ performance or question the success of our (wildcard) programme.

“This is only the first year and I would say that everything has gone smoothly thus far. This is a long-term programme and definitely we need to have more time to achieve the desired results.”

On his expectations on both Elly and Zulfahmi, Ron hoped to see them produce quality results throughout the race weekend.

“Anything better than just finishing the race is a bonus. They are likened to babies who are just learning how to crawl and they are up against toddlers who already know how to run,” he said.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story

Sports Poll