Newcomer Azroy Anuar, 16, will join four existing and young Malaysian riders comprising of Adam Norrodin, 16; Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, 18; Helmi Azman, 15 and Shafiq Rasol, 18 for the 2015 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup (SAATC).
They will be among the 22 riders from across Asia and Australia competing for honours in the prestigious 2015 season of the SAATC championship, which made its debut last year.
According to Adam, who competed last year: “I am excited to return and represent Malaysia at the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup this year. I have learned a lot from my previous races and look forward to applying the lessons learned on the track. I hope to improve my performance even more and further pursue my passion in competitive motorcycle racing. I’m thankful for this opportunity once again.”
The SAATC is a competition that promotes the best young talent from world of motorcycle racing, giving them a formal path into competitive road racing. The Cup is led in part by renowned and successful talent scout Alberto Puig, the legendary Spanish ex-500c racer who was also responsible for developing talents as Australian Casey Stoner and Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. Puig, who last worked as the mentor for Pedrosa in the championship-winning Repsol-Honda squad, is also the leader of the successful MotoGP Academy, had hand-picked all the 22 riders to compete in the 2015 season for over six rounds, starting in Thailand on March 22, Qatar on March 29, Malaysia on August 2, China from September 20, Japan from October 11 and back to Sepang in Malaysia on October 25 in conjunction with the 2015 Malaysian MotoGP round.
This year, Japan will be represented by seven riders. Indonesia and Thailand will have three riders each while China has two. Australia and Philippines will be represented by one rider each.
Riders will race on Honda NSF250R Moto3 bikes powered by Shell V-Power racing fuel and lubricated with the new Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology fully synthetic motorcycle engine oil. Shell PurePlus Technology is a revolutionary gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that converts natural gas into crystal-clear base oil with virtually none of the impurities found in crude oil. GTL base oil delivers higher levels of cleansing and superior wear and corrosion protection.
Troy Chapman, who is the Shell Lubricants Cluster General Manager for Southeast Asia told the motorsports media that the company, whose fuel and lubricants had been at the forefront of international motorcycle racing for years, was delighted to leverage its technological leadership and work closely with other sponsors to provide a formal path into competitive motorcycle racing for aspiring young Asian riders.
“Shell Advance is honoured to support the second year of this exciting championship. For the many budding talents across Asia, SAATC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train and race at a very competitive and professional level under expert guidance. We are committed to helping them make clean and winning starts at every race and turn their potential into performance,” said Chapman.
Just one year since its inauguration, the SAATC has already shown results by opening doors for those who excelled to pursue their dreams. Four riders from the 2014 season would now have the opportunity to further showcase their talent on the international stage following their stellar performances.
Reigning SAATC champion Kaito Toba and the runner-up, Yuta Date, both from Japan; as well as Malaysia’s Adam have been selected to compete 
under the newly formed Asia Talent Cup Team sponsored by the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in the Moto3 Junior World Championship. Toba and compatriot Ayumu Sasaki will also be participating in the 2015 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
