MALAYSIA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP: STEVE MARTIN CONTINUES SUPERSTOCK DOMINANCE

Britain’s Steve Martin continued his domination in the 1000cc Superstock Championship from last year at the opening round of the new Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSC) at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) today but was upstaged in the Superbike Championship.

Competing in two championships for a second consecutive year, Martin was cruised to win both races in the Superstock Championship on his Kawasaki ZX10R machine despite competing in a huge grid of 42 riders, who were divided into two classes.

In both Race 1 and Race 2 today, Martin edged out the challenge of former champion, Ahmad Nasrul Baharuddin of Team Project X, who had to be contended with second place on both occasions in a Honda CBR1000 machine. Naharuddin Mat Yusop finished a distant third for both races on his BMW S1000RR machine.

Three-times national motocross champion, Muhammad Al-Amirul Ashshahid Mohd Salleh, who finished sixth in the opening race for the class, improved his results for Race 2 taking fourth place on his Honda CBR100; finishing 6.397 seconds behind Nasarudin.

It was a different story, however, for Martin in the Superbike Championship where the British rider was unable to match the power and speed of former two-time Malaysian Moto2 rider, Muhammad Zamri Baba, who was competing with an injured shoulder.

Riding another Kawasaki ZX10 machine for the Superbike Championship, Martin had an even disastrous Race 2 when he was forced to retire after Lap 6 with mechanical problems. India’s Rajini Krishnan, of team Chia Motor Racing who was third in Race 1, won Race 2 beating Zamri, who was clearly affected by his injury at the tail end of the race and finished second.

Like Steve Martin in the Superstock championship, lady rider Siti Norafizah Muhamad of BikeArt Racing Team Siti Norafizah Muhamad scored a double victory in the Open 250 Cup to take home a perfect score of 50 points from the opening round.

Defending Supersport champion Muhammad Farid Badrul Hisham started his new season brilliantly to score a double victory despite facing as stiff challenge from his BikeArt Racing team-mate Hazlanshah Mohd Noor.

In the new Ducati 899 Cup race series, Syamsul Bakhtiar Esa won the opening race, which was red-flagged after Lap 3 and restarted for another three laps. Race 2 was won by Syamsul Bakhtiar Esa

Rebranded from the old Malaysian Super Series bike championships, Round 2 of the MSC will be held from 31 August to 2 July as the support races for eni FIM World Superbike Championship 2015 Malaysia Round.

The opening round of the MSC recorded an impressive entry 112 entries; divided in five categories with participation by international riders from as far as Britain (2); Germany (1); Singapore (7), Hong Kong (2) and two riders from India. Last year, the series had 102 participants for the opening round.

Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship – Round 1

Race Results – Podium Winners

Sepang Circuit (5,543m)

SUPERSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP

Race 1 (12 laps)

1.Steve Martin (GB/ Kawasaki ZX10R) 27:05.751s