NST Online: Sports

Moto GP / Malaysian Grand Prix: Zulfahmi riding high

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:26 AM PDT

125cc wild card Mohd Farid Badrul Hisham crashes during the free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit yesterday. — Picture by Yazit Razali

WITH everything seems to be pointing in the right direction for Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin, he hopes to end his points drought in his home race.

He clocked the 15th fastest time on the opening day of the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix 125cc class at the Sepang Circuit yesterday.

In contrast to the troubled mid-season he suffered, Zulfahmi -- who celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday -- was right in the mix, and is well on course to meet his targeted top 15 finish.

AirAsia-SIC-Ajo wild card Mohd Farid Badrul Hisham endured a painful start to his 125cc World Championship career when he crashed hard in the opening practice session before getting back on the bike to post a 31st fastest time. However, Zulfahmi's outing should do well to inspire his compatriot to ride beyond himself.

"It wasn't exactly perfect. I had some trouble with the suspension in the opening session, but the team managed to find a solution, so I improved my time in the second session," said Zulfahmi.

"We're still fine-tuning the suspension to find the right set-up for qualifying. I must get a good grid position in qualifying and then hope for the weather to hold up so that we can have a good race."

Zulfahmi finished 20th in his Malaysian Grand Prix debut in 2009, but suffered the agony of just missing out on a point when he finished 16th last year.

This time, with 21 points already in the bag and ranked 18th in the championship standings, Zulfahmi believes he has it all set up for his first points on home soil.

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Mountain Biking: 'King of the Hill' Platt wary of rivals

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:24 AM PDT

TEAM Bulls rider Karl Platt claimed his second stage win at the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge (LIMBC) cross country point-to-point (King of the Hill) event yesterday after initial winner Dan McConnell of Australia was disqualified.

Platt had initially finished second in the race 40 seconds behind McConnell with a time of one hour three minutes and 57.10 seconds.

However, race organisers disqualified McConnell from the race for not competing in Tuesday's cross country marathon event as regulations require each rider to compete in all stages of the LIMBC.

German Platt said while he was pleased with the victory at Gunung Raya, he was more worried about keeping a solid lead over his main rivals in the overall title race, South African Burry Stander and Italian Johnny Catanneo, than amassing stage wins.

" I had a good race today (yesterday), my legs felt great and I felt there was no point in pushing too hard as my main rivals were behind me," said Platt.

"It does feel strange to have won the race after coming in second but the rules are there for a reason and it is rather unfair for the rest of us who get more fatigued from racing every day."

Specialised Racing Team rider Stander and Cattaneo were elevated to second and third with times of 1:03:57.10s and 1:03:58.1s respectively.

Former national road champion Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi showed his road racing pedigree on the 27.8km course by finishing 10th (1:04:15.4s).

The women's elite category saw Colnago Farbe Sudtirol rider Vivienne Meyer steal the limelight from compatriot and teammate Nathalie Schneitter.

Vivienne, who has mostly played second fiddle to her teammate at the LIMBC, took the race in a time of 1:14:36.79s while Nathalie, who remains the overall race leader, finished second on 1:15:00.52s. Third place went to Australian Naomi Hansen with 1:15:03.174s.

The cross country short circuit (criterium) event will bring the LIMBC to a close today.

Overall standings -- Men's elite: 1 Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls 6:19:33s, 2 Burry Stander (SA) Specialised Racing Team 6:23:59s, 3 Johnny Cattaneo (Ita) Full-Dynamix 6:27:57s.

Women's elite: 1 Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol 7:18:28s, 2 Vivenne Meyer (Swi) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol 7:27:04s, 3 Jodie Willet (Aus) 7:31:11s. -- FADHLI ISHAK

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Jumaat, 21 Oktober 2011

NST Online: Sports

NST Online: Sports

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