RODY BUANG STORMS TO VICTORY IN RD 1 OF SPEEDWAY MALAYSIA NFC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Winners Rody (centre), Nazrie (left) and Zulkhairi in jubilant mood on the podium...
Presentation made by Chief Executive of Motorsports Commission of Malaysia, En. Nordin Yasin.
First Malaysian 500cc Speedway trainee, Rody Buang being introduced to the world.

Kuala Lumpur, Sunday – Rody Buang, 25, of Team Seri Putra stormed to a emphatic win in Round 1 of the Speedway Malaysia NFC Open Championship held at the Family Park circuit last night despite having to double up in making two demo appearances.

He charted 12 points to beat Nazrie Ramli of Team Titiwangsa who came in second with 11 points. Mohd Zulkairi Johar, of Team Motivasi finished third with 10 points.

“I am happy to win. It all points to hard work and discipline. There was no shortcut to success. A couple of smart strategies helped too,” said Rody. After a series of cautious preliminary runs, Rody turned on the power in the semi final and final and rode like a man possessed, finally worked his way up to take victory.

Rody’s victory completed a perfect opening round for Team Seri Putera whose riders Mohd Azlan Suparman and Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali won the Under 21 and Under 25 categories on July 21 and July 28 respectively.

It was also a memorable night for Rody as he also made appearances to become the first Malaysian rider to try out the World Championship JAWA 500 cc bike in public under the watchful eyes of Linden Warner who is Ivan Mauger’s assistant based in Malaysia.

The championships, promoted by Kuasa Maksima (a wholly owned subsidiary of Speedway Malaysia) and organised by the Malaysia Motorsports Organisers and Competitors Association (MMOCA), is held every Saturday night for 15 weeks until December. Last night’s race was the first of five rounds for the Open Category. The second round of the Under 21 championship begins on August 11.
A total of six team competed in the race last night. The teams are Team Titiwangsa, Team Maxi Alpha, Nova Racing Team, Team Seri Putra, Team Motivasi and Team Samudera.

Meanwhile, Hanifah Yoong, Speedway Malaysia consultant said all the winners from the three championships championships will be given the chance to test the JAWA 500cc bikes and be evaluated by 9-time Speedway world champion, Ivan Mauger. A total of four riders will be selected by Speedway Malaysia to join Rody in Malaysia’s elite training squad to be groomed for international Speedway racing.

Full results – Speedway Malaysia Open Championshp Round 1:
1. Rody Sofian Buang/Team Seri Putra-12 pts, 2. Nazrie Ramli/Team Titiwangsa-11 pts, 3. Mohd Zulkhairi Johar/Team Motivasi-10pts, 4. Azmi Kaseran/Team Seri Putra-9pts, 5. Khairul Azuad Mahamad Rosdi/Team Samudera-8pts, 6. Mohammad Azlan Abdullah/Team Nova-8pts, 7. Amli Jamat/Team Nova-6pts, 8. Juhari Mohd Jaafar/Team Samudera-5pts, 9. Ridzuan Kornin/Team Motivasi- 4pts, 10. Nur Azman Masdar/Team Titiwangsa-3pts, 11. Abdul Jamil Mokhtar/Team Maxi Alpha-2 pts, Zuhaili Norhan/ Team Maxi Alpha-1pt