The inaugural round of the Malaysia Speed Festival Supermoto (MSF SM) series has taken place last weekend at Litar Lumba Rakyat Kuala Selangor (LLRKS), with the sanctioning and approval of the Motorports Association of Malaysia (MAM).
Sponsored by EXN Lube, Metzeler and Beringer Brakes, MSF Supermoto has attracted the participation of some big names in the Malaysian realm of two-wheeled motorsport. Though technical difficulties stymied the entry of Khairi Zakaria into the inaugural round of the motard-based series, the heat of competition would fire up between luminaries of the Asian motocross and supermoto circuits, Daniel Haiqal and Gabit Saleh.
With the fastest qualifying lap time of 47.933 seconds, Daniel fired the opening salvo heading into the race. The start of the race proper saw a prompt response by Gabit, taking the lead as the pack entered the first corner on the Kuala Selangor race circuit.
The melee of the leading duo continued as Daniel kept the pressure on Gabit corner after corner, eventually making his way past though only for a short while; Gabit responded in kind and retook the race lead. The lead continued to be up for grabs, and Daniel would then retake P1 and successfully held off Gabit for the finish.
For the Rookie class, the relatively fresh entries to competition saw no shortage of competitive spirit. Chong Chee Chin bounced back from a penalty following the qualifying session, and kept the heat on to pursue Ng Hoi Yew who commanded the lead in the Rookie class for a considerable length.
Chong kept the pressure on to eventually take the race lead, Ng certainly wasn’t about the let up and responded to keep the fight going for first, and at times it almost appeared that he would make the cut into first place. Chong put up strong defence, however, and would eventually hold on to take the race win.
Ng followed across the line just 0.5 second behind, while the third podium place was rounded out by Brian Kee, holding off Liew Chin Hooi who finished the race in fourth following a strong performance throughout the race.
A sign of more action to come? It sure looks set for the next round in Tangkak, Johor, where the next running of MSF Supermoto will take place on December 5, 2021.
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