QABIL IRFAN IS MALAYSIA’S MINIGP WORLD CHAMPION

Last year’s SIC Ohvale Junior Championship champion, Qabil Irfan Azlan continued to show greatness by winning the FIM MiniGP Malaysia Series 2022 premier competition at the Sepang Kart International Circuit here today; thereby booking a ticket to represent the country at the FIM Mini World Finals stage, which will be held in Valencia, Spain next month.

QABIL IRFAN MINIGP 2023 FILM WORLD CHAMPION FOR MALAYSIAN NAMES
VALENCIA, 24 November 2023 – The country’s young rider, Qabil Irfan Azlan made new history in the country’s motor sports by raising the name of Malaysia on the international motor sports stage when he emerged as the overall champion of the 160cc class for the FIM MiniGP World championship series, which took place in Valencia, Spain ahead of the final race the 2023 MotoGP World championship is here this weekend.

Fastest in the time trial and qualifying sessions, Qabil Irfan, who made his second appearance in the World Finals, proved unbeatable by winning all three races held to make a perfect collection of 100 points. Compatriot Ariel Marzuki, who made his debut in Valencia, also excelled to qualify for the Final Race and finished 14th overall with 11 points.

Still only 11 years old, the rider from Kuala Terengganu demonstrated a spirit of precision and high confidence beyond his years to create a new national history by opening the opportunity for the Jalur Gemilang to fly on the victory podium and the Negaraku national anthem to be played three times at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

After winning Race 1, Qabil continued the momentum to repeat the success in Race 2 to outpace 19 other riders with Japanese rider Kotaro Togashi trailing him in second and Britain’s Ethan Sparks in third. Airel finished 12th for the race.

Offering double points, the Superfinal Race highlighted the prowess of Qabil, who started brilliantly from pole position to lead the 20-lap race from start to flag. Ariel was unlucky to fall; thus failing to finish the Superfinal race, which saw Togashi in second and Enzo Zaragoza in third. This gave Qabil an extra 50 points to put him on the championship podium with 100 points; Togashi was second overall with 76 points and host country rider Enzo Zaragoza was third with 65 points.

The competition in the 190cc class saw Farish Hafiy as the only rider in the finals after the challenge of two other national riders, Adi Putra and Emil Idzhar, got stuck in the qualifying round. Race 1 saw Farish Hafiy finish in seventh place with the win going to Spaniard Alvaro Lucas.

Bad luck befell Farish Hafiy in Race 2 when he crashed and had to settle for 13th place and three points. However, the youngster from Bandar Seri Putra, Selangor bounced back in the Superfinal Race to finish fourth to end the world championship in fifth place overall with 38 points. Spanish rider Alvaro Lucas was crowned overall champion with Italian rider Lorenzo Pritelli as runner-up.

ZULFAHMI KHAIRUDDIN
ZK Racing Team Manager
“At this year’s world finals, we have three riders competing in the 190cc class – Farish Hafiy, Adi Putra and Emil Idzhar; and two for the 160cc class namely Qabil Irfan and Ariel Marzuki.

For the 190cc class, Adi Putera and Emil Idzhar failed to qualify for the Final Race. Congratulations to Farish Hafiy, who managed to place himself in the top five of the 190cc FIM MiniGP World Finals class.

The achievement in the 160cc class is very proud with Qabil Irfan not only becoming the world champion; but won all the races in addition to getting ‘pole position’. Ariel Marzuki also excelled in his first appearance at the World Finals.

Of course, this is a very proud moment for us in Malaysia, especially the ZK Racing team because together we helped Qabil Irfan become world champion. This is the first time Malaysia has a world champion in motor sports. I hope it will put Malaysia at a better level and be a catalyst for efforts to produce more talented riders. I hope all parties especially SIC, MAM and KBS will continue to support the effort to make motor sports an important sport in Malaysia and we can produce more racers like Qabil Irfan.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my media friends who have covered and supported ZK Racing’s efforts. I will continue to work together with my team to continue to advance Malaysian motorsport. God willing.

Qabil Irfan’s achievement at the World Finals here must be an amazing achievement because for the first time, Malaysia has a world champion in motor sports.

We at ZK Racing are quite happy and excited to be together with Qabil Irfan on this amazing journey. Indeed, he is a very talented rider a