Three youngsters make it to Malaysia’s premium one-make race rider development programme.

SEPANG, June 29, 2008 - It was an exciting day for the 16 young riders who turned up at the Junior GP Racing Dream 50cc selection process today at the Sepang International Circuit.

They had their first chance to ride a proper race-prepared bike, receive instruction from a  world class rider and had the opportunity to ride in anger on the Sepang International Circuit’s challenging South Track.


The programme started in the early morning with former 250cc MotoGP rider Sharol Yuzy giving them the basics before letting the youngsters loose on the Aprilia RS50. Their first test involved a set of cones where Yuzy would spot them for their basic skill level and bike handling abilities.

From early on he could see that this year’s crop had far fewer potential racers even if they did not lack enthusiasm.

Some of the young riders could barely touch the ground when seated on the bikes and this was a good sign that Malaysians are indeed starting young in their quest to become racers. Many had been cutting their teeth on pocket bikes and were still grappling with the difficulty of juggling clutch and throttle.

As early as 8.30am, the organisers saw a steady flow of young participants, accompanied by their families and guardians, at the car park area of SIC where the Junior GP Racing Dream registration tent was set up. About an hour later, the organisers had registered a total of 16 participants.

At 10.30am, all the participants were then introduced to the programme’s instructor, Shahrol Yuzy who briefed them on basic track rules, racing flag colours, racing tips, attitude and also the all important aspect which was what the rider needs to qualify for the selection.

Yuzy drew deep from his experience as a competitor in the 250cc world championship, he also gave the participants and their parents’ valuable pointers throughout the day.


The day’s session was divided into two; The morning session included motorcycle handling techniques that was held at the paddock car park area while the afternoon session, which was held on the South track of the Sepang International Circuit allowed Sharol Yuzy and to evaluate the participants on their ability to handle the track with minimal supervision.

During the morning session one could see the first fruit of the Junior GP Racing Dream rider development programme as two former graduates, Muhammad Shafique Omar Ali, 16 and Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisam, 15 were introduced to the participants.

These young mentors briefed the newbies on the importance of having proper attire for a motorcycle race, such as helmets, suits, back protectors and boots. Shafique and Farid also shared their experience of racing in last year’s programme with the youngsters.

At about 11am, mechanics rolled out the Aprilia RS50 Junior GP Racing Dream motorcycles and the participants had the first look at the machines  they will be spending their day on.


Shafique and Farid shared more of their knowledge by explaining the proper sitting position on the bikes before doing several demonstration rounds along the pylon-lined course. By getting the young riders to share their experience and teach the hopefuls, they will develop further understanding of the importance of proper training for a racing rider.

After the initial briefing, the 16 who registered were then divided into three groups and they took turns to try out the bikes on the test course.

From there, Shahrol Yuzy was at hand to personally gauge the abilities of every rider. This test course was a crucial component of the selection process as it has been specially designed to find out whether the participants can handle the Aprilia RS50 and test their basic bike handling capabilities before proceeding further.

Among the main skills observed during this session was handling of the clutch, bike control, manoeuvring, braking and turning techniques.

After the lunch break, participants were given a quick reminder of track safety and proper etiquette by Shahrol Yuzy before they took on the South Track. Once trackside they were briefed on the basics of track riding and later shown the racing lines by Shafique and Farid.


Despite the turnout of 16 participants, Shahrol Yuzy was determine to impose high standards for the selection process and proceeded to have another track run by the participants to weed out the weaker riders.

By the time the session was over, it was 5.30pm and most of the youngsters were keen to know the verdict despite being tired from a full-day’s riding.

At the end of the day, Shahrol Yuzy selected only three candidates and they were Khairul Azwan from Sekolah Agama Menengah Paya Jaras in Selangor, Zaqhwan Zaidi from SMK Bandar Tasik Kesuma in Selangor and, Fatin Nur Amira from SMK Sains Dungun in Terengganu. Fatin Nur Amira was the first girl to make the cut
Junior GP programme director, Razak Al-Malique was rather disappointed with the low success rate but is determined to find enough talented riders to ensure that they can have a strong programme for this year.

“We are a racing school and we want to develop racers, not teach young hopefuls how to ride. If they do not even have basic riding skills then we cannot teach them how to be a racer.

He said the low success rate meant that they will have to hold another selection process to make up a full grid.

“We cannot have a rider development programme with just three people, it would not be competitive enough so we will have to hold another selection process soon.

Backgrounder
The 50cc Junior GP Racing Dream began last year as the initial step in our effort to find a MotoGP rider for Malaysia. Last year 11 riders were given the opportunity to shine and they did.

At te end of the season, 70 per cent of our riders have been snapped up by Cub Prix teams. They are now paid riders.

The fantastic performance of these young riders convinced us that the country has much to offer in terms of rider talent and we are expanding the programme to include a 125cc programme to dovetail with the entry-level class of the MotoGP.

For further information you can call Moto Millia at 03-2287 3878 or e-mail talktous@aprilia.com.my