The blue and white hue of the TVS Apache machines set a stunning sight at the Sepang International Circuit as riders went on a feat to further accentuate its character. Among them, Md Muzakkir Mohamed of Malaysia made a striking remark when he emerged with a winning move in Race 1, Round 2 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.
In the qualifying session earlier this morning, Malaysian duo Md Ramdan Rosli and Md Muzakkir Mohamed emerged with the top two fastest lap time at 2’21:772s and 2’21:809s respectively which placed them at a good position on the grid for the race. Following suit at the third position was Vorapong Malahuan when he clocked in at 2’22:212s.
When the race began, Muzakkir pulled strength from his 2nd spot on the grid and raced ahead to take lead with Ramdan close behind. By lap 2, a huge gap was formed between Malaysian duo and Indonesian rider, Decky. At the end of lap 2, Piyawat broke into P3. The leader of the troop seemed poised as he went on drawing gap with the equally strong contender at P2.
By the end of lap 4, Malaysian duo teamed up with Thai rider, Piyawat as they together formed a gap in between the troop behind. Meanwhile, Fugo Tanaka, Decky and Vorapong were trying to close the gap however the chances were slim. By the end of lap 5, Muzakkir has established his position firmly at the lead position. Piyawat who overtook Ramdan started making his move against Muzakkir and succeeded making a swipe past. Muzakkir was not about to be defeated. At the last turn, the battle heated up as the top trio bolted ahead and in what was a tight fight, Muzakkir hit it ahead of the rest at 14’19:677s.
Commenting on the race, Muzakkir said, “Today is an extremely special day for me because my last win was in 2020 in the CP150 race category. With the increase in age, I had to work hard. I do my training everyday without fail and that has become a routine. Therefore, I am truly grateful for the victory today and I am proud to have presented the nation, family, friends and the team with a win. For tomorrow, I will do my best. We can’t go very fast like today as we will be using the same tires as today’s but I will try to maintain my momentum in the front troop and perhaps work towards the podium at the last lap.”
“The atmosphere is definitely different when riding the AP250 because we fight it with different teams. Here, we are one team except that we are from different countries. So, there is a different kind of feel to it. It is fair and square here and we draw lots to decide on the machines for the week. The TVS Apache is an extremely stable machine and TVS has definitely done an amazing job on the machine. The technology is world-class and each part are selected carefully to ensure the standards are of the best. Compared to the AP250, this machine is probably about a second faster and I am confident that this machine will continue to develop for the better in motorsports.”
At the second spot was Md Ramdan Rosli of Malaysia, clocking in at 14’19:689s.
Third place went to Piyawat Patoomyos of Thailand, logging in at 14’19:735s.
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