Long Time No See!

I haven't been posting for quite a while because of being totally awashed in developing the waterskiing sport for Malaysia via the activities in the big lake at Prescint 5 & 6 in Putrajaya. 

Please do visit these pages to keep up with me at: 

My FaceBook Page

My YouTube Channel

Waterski Malaysia Website

or visit this page again soon. 

Thank you all and may you all be in good health. 

Videos of Malaysia International Speedway Cup held on 27 Oct 2007

Grand Final won by Ricky Wells (NZL) followed home by Sam Taylor (AUS), Linden Warner (GBR) and Hideaki Ota (JPN).


Consolation Final won by Mohd Helmy Hamzah (MAL) with Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali (MAL) second, Abdussobur Turino (MAL) third and Mohd Haniff Borhan (MAL) fourth.


Prize Presentation ceremony with the New Zealand national anthem with trophies presented by the Honourable Minister of Youth & Sports Malaysia, Dato' Liow Tiong Lai. Ivan Mauger gave away the best-Malaysian trophy.


Other videos (click links below):
Semi Final A
Semi Final B
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Heat 6
Heat 7
Heat 8

For videos of the practice sessions held on the 25 Oct 2007 before the International Cup, please visit YouTube HERE.

Images of First Speedway International Cup in Asia - 3

What a night it was...a really historical occasion that many would have regretted missing...

More action photos below and full event media report plus results below.

All photos are high resolution (please click each photo to enlarge)...for more photos and for even higher resolution photos please contact: office@speedwaymalaysia.com

Images of First Speedway International Cup in Asia - 2

Images of First Speedway International Cup in Asia - 1

New Zealand's Ricky Wells wins Asia's first International Speedway Cup in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Sunday, 28 Oct 2007: New Zealand's 16 year old Ricky Wells thrilled thousands with dominant skills to win Asia's first ever FIM sanctioned speedway event held in Malaysia, the Malaysian International Speedway Cup, in Kuala Lumpur last night (27th Oct). He scored the maximum 12 points in the heats and recorded the fastest ever time at Speedway Malaysia's Family Park track with a time of 56.68s in heat 3.

Sam Taylor, 26, also from New Zealand but competing under the Australian flag won 2 heats and scored 12 points in the preliminar heats, tried hard to beat Wells in the grand final race but had to settle for second.

Competing for Britain after a long layoff from speedway, Linden Warner beat Japan's Hideaki Ota to third to grab the last podium spot.

Five young Malaysians who had never riden a 500cc speedway bike before 5 weeks ago could not match the winners over four laps but they won the crowd's and the foreign riders respect as they were able to race them for the initial laps.

Eighteen year old Mohd Helmey Hamzah eventually won the consolation final to win the coveted "best Malaysian" trophy from 21 year old reserve rider Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali. Ariff replaced Rody Sofian Buang after Rody had to retire from a recurring collar bone problem after a fall in heat 4.

The glittering prize presentation ceremony complete with the raising of the national flags and the winner's national anthem and confetti was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Youth & Sports Malaysia, Dato' Liow Tiong Lai.

At the post event press conference after his win, a jubilant Wells praised the Malaysian organisers and the Malaysian rookies for putting up a very good show saying, "This is my first international and I'm very happy to be on the record as the first ever winner of a first winner of an Asia Speedway Cup. The organising was very slick and the Malaysian boys amazed me with their performance as they had so little time on a proper speedway bike before this as compared to my 8 years in the sport. The sport can go very far in Malaysia."

“It was not an easy win … Sam was very fast as well and always pushing me from behind and I had to stay focus and push all the way throughout the race,” added Wells, whose achievement list included the 2007 US under-21 overall champion and the US Youth National Champion titles in 2005 and 2004.

Taylor had similar praises for the Malaysians, "I was here in July to demo the 500cc speedway bike in Malaysia's first ever speedsway event when not a single Malaysian has ever riden in speedway before. They had then just started on the 115cc small bikes. In a little over 3 months and a bit, they suddenly have a dozen Malaysian capable of racing with riders with 8 and more years experience. The Malaysians will definitely be giving us a big hurry up in next year's Malaysian International Speedway Cup."

“Looking at the event, I feel that the prospect of the sports progressing further is very good. The cost of having the speedway tracks and organizing the races are quite low as compared to many other events,” said Deputy Minister of Youth & Sports Dato' Liow, who also proposed that speedway tracks be built in all the states to popularize the sport further.

“Speedway racing has proven to be a popular sport among our youths especially among our rempits (illegal road racers).There is definitely a huge market for the sport and I hope more parties will come forward and play their part in promoting this sport,” he added.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Best rider, 18 year old Muhammad Helmy Hamzah thanked his family and friends for his achievement. “Speedway has changed me from a former rempit (illegal road racer) to a professional rider. This sport has taught me to be a disciplined and a better person. It’s the best thing that has happened to me,” he said.

Representing Speedway Malaysia, Hanifah Yoong said the good progress of this new sport of speedway in Malaysia owes it's success to many people and organisations, "Without the foresight of the Minister of Youth & Sports Malaysia, Dato' Seri Azalina to support the implementation of the speedway project, the invaluable advice of Ivan Mauger, the support of the FIM and AAM, the training of key officials by Matthias Rohde and the coacing of Linden Warner as well as the dedication of the scores of officials and riders, we will not be here tonight celebrating the year's efforts in this prestigious and historical event which Malaysia made her mark."

Speedway Malaysia also announced that next season's 2008 calendar will be released shortly before the end of November.

FULL RESULTS:
1. Ricky Wells (NZL), 2. Sam Taylor (AUS), 3. Linden Warner (GBR), 4. Hideaki Ota (JPN), 5. Mohd Helmy Hamzah (MAL), 6. Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali, 7. Mohd Abdussobur Turino (MAL), 8. Mohd Haniff Borhan (Malaysia)

Selamat Hari Raya to all! Come watch our boys race international racers on 500cc bikes after Raya...

Rody, Helmy, Abdussobur & Haniff will race Ricky Wells (NZL), Sam Taylor (AUS, Hideaki Ota (JPN) & Linden Warner (GBR), with Ariff, Azizi and Nazrie as reserves at Bukit Jalil on the 27 Oct 2007 starting from 8.30pm... (click on image to enlarge)

The first International Speedway Cup week will open one week before 27 Oct with the first Malaysian National Speedway Championships... (click on image to enlarge)

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI!

Have a safe journey home or to whatever destination you are going to...

Do come over to the Bukit Jalil Family Park Speedway circuit on the 20 & 21 Oct to watch Malaysia's best 12 Speedway racers fight to claim Malaysia's first National Championship title. Rd. 1 & 2 will be run on Saturday, 20 Oct starting from 5pm. Rd. 3 & 4 will be on Sunday, 21 Oct also starting from 5pm.

The curtain raiser above will be followed by the 2007 season climax where our magnificent 7 will take on some of the world's top Speedway racers on the night of 27 Oct starting from 8.30pm.

Admission is free for all the above events.

Images of Excitement & Celebration at Speedway Malaysia (part 1)

Each photo tells a thousand words!

Click on each photo to enlarge...

Nazrie of Team Titiwangsa crowned Speedway Malaysia NFC Open champion

Nazrie wins round 4 and takes the Open championship...
Nazrie in action...
Ivan Mauger congratulates Nazrie at the post race press conference...
The top 3 of round 4 at the podium...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia– Monday, 30 September 2007: Seasoned racer Nazrie Ramli won an action-packed and dramatic Round 4 of the NFC Open Speedway Malaysia 2007 at the Malaysian Speedway Circuit near the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex last night to take the overall crown of Malaysia’s newest motor racing series.

Nazrie, 28 of Team Titiwangsa who also races go-karts and saloon cars, kept his composure to win a hugely tense final race, which was twice restarted after the riders got themselves entangled and crashed as they attacked the corners in their efforts to surge ahead of their rivals.

“It was a very hard and very tense final race. Everybody was equally good and everybody desperately wants to win. Everybody was trying to get the best racing line and I am glad that I eventually won the race,” said Nazrie, who also won Round 3 a fortnight ago and ended the championship with a massive 46 points to take the overall title.

Mohd Azlan Abdullah of Nova Racing Team who finished third for the round, took second overall with 36 points while Azmi Kaseran of Team Seri Putera is third in the overall standings with 35 points. Scoring his first podium win with second placing at Round 4 last night, Nova Racing’s Amli Jamat is fourth overall with 33 points.

Watched by nine-time world Speedway champion and Speedway Malaysia’s Rider Development Director Ivan Mauger together with some 500 Speedway fans, Nazrie intelligently focused on his strategy by taking things easy in the heats, to finish fifth to place himself among the 10 qualifiers for the semi-finals.

“When I first tried this new event, I sincerely did not believe that I would end up as the overall champion. It’s a dream come true. I like to thank my family, friends and team members as well as the guidance and patience of the Speedway coaches – Ivan Mauger and Linden Warner. I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart,” said Nazrie.

“Now that I am champion, I aim to go all the way…to do my best in the Malaysian National Speedway Championship and then hopefully be selected to represent Malaysia at the first ever FIM Malaysian International Speedway Cup,” he added.

Unlike the NFC Speedway Championships and the upcoming national event where riders would compete on the 115cc Speedway machines, the international championship would be competed on the powerful Speedway 500cc bikes.

Built by Speedway Malaysia, the machines had already been tested upon by Nazrie and six other selected riders since early September to prepare them for the Oct 27 event.

A total of six teams competed in last night’s race. The teams are Team Titiwangsa, Team Maxi Alpha, Nova Racing Team, Team Seri Putra, Team Motivasi and Team Samudera. Last night’s race was also the finale of the NFC Speedway championships. Organised by the Malaysia Motorsports Organisers and Competitors Association (MMOCA) and promoted by Speedway Malaysia, the NFC Speedway Championships series were held every Saturday night from July 21 at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex’s Speedway Circuit.

The twelve top Speedway riders from the championships will compete in the Malaysian National Speedway Championship on 20 and 21 October. Speedway Malaysia has also shortlisted seven riders to be evaluated by Ivan Mauger. Of the seven, four riders will be selected to represent Malaysia in the the FIM Malaysian International Speedway Cup 2007 on Oct 27.

Top six results, Round 4, Open: Nazrie Ramli / Team Titiwangsa (12 pts), Amli Jamat / Nova Racing Team (11 pts), Mohammad Azlan Abdullah/ Nova Racing Team (10 pts), Mohd Saufi Wang / Team Seri Putra (9 pts), Azmi Kaseran / Team Seri Putera (8 pts), Nur Azman Masdar / Team Titiwangsa (7 pts)

Top 6 championship points after Round 4: Champion: Nazrie Ramli / Team Titiwangsa (46 pts), Runner-up: Mohammad Azlan Abdullah/ Nova Racing Team (36 pts), 3rd: Azmi Kaseran/ Team Seri Putra (35 pts), 4th: Amli Jamat / Nova Racing Team (33 pts), 5th: Nur Azman Masdar / Team Titiwangsa (27 pts), 6th: Rody Sofian Buang / Team Seri Putra (24 pts)

Temerloh's Azizi pips Haniff to the Under 25 title

The champion...
Jubilant Azizi takes the chequered flag in the final race...
Azizi in action in round 4...
Azizi's supporters led by his father turned up in strength...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Monday, 24 September 2007: Team Samudera’s Azizi Anuar pipped Mohd Haniff Borhan to win the overall NFC Speedway under 25 Championship after winning last night's final round of the Under 25 NFC championship. Both Azizi and Haniff finished the championship on level points of 42 but Azizi took the title by virtue of his two wins in round 3 and 4 to Haniff's one win in round 2.

“I'm absolutely thrilled to secure a double win tonight. It's the best moment in my life. I knew before the race that it would be tough and I just told myself to go for it and win this Round. I’d never thought about winning the overall title too, never, not even a second. I thank God, my family and coach Linden Warner for my win. Everything worked perfectly today. I was fast at the beginning and able to avoid many clashes. Unbelievable!” exclaimed Azizi who travels from Temerloh in Pahang for the races in the Speedway Malaysia circuit in Kuala Lumpur each week.

A devastated Haniff could not avoid his tears as he finished fourth in round 4 when all he needed was a third finishing spot to clinch the Under 25 title.

In last night's final round, Azizi silenced Sunday night’s supporters of Haniff as he extended his gap from the start. Team Seri Putra’s Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali was the only rider able to keep up with Azizi but his challenge fell off as the race proceeded. “Azizi is quick and on top of that he rode very well today. He deserves to be champion,” said Mohd Ariff who finished second and third overall with 38 points.

Another surprise performance of the night came from Team Titiwangsa’s Mohd Emy Nordin Ahmad who charted his first podium win by winning third. "I really wanted to get a good result and I definitely didn't like losing in the finals like in the previous rounds. I’m glad I gave my all to win a podium spot once," said Mohd Emy who is fourth overall in the championship.

A total of six teams competed in last night’s race. The teams are Team Titiwangsa, Team Maxi Alpha, Nova Racing Team, Team Seri Putra, Team Motivasi and Team Samudera.

The NFC Speedway championships, organised by the Malaysia Motorsports Organisers and Competitors Association (MMOCA) and promoted by Speedway Malaysia, is held every Saturday night at the Family Park near the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex until October.

Top six results, Round 4, Under 25: 1. Azizi Anuar /Team Samudera -12 pts, 2. Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali / Team Seri Putra - 11 pts, 3. Mohd Emy Nordin Ahmad / Team Titiwangsa -10 pts , 4. Mohd Haniff Borhan / Nova Racing Team – 9 pts, 5. Mohd Fizwan Mohd Ridwan/ Team Maxi Alpha – 8pts, 6. Yassir Ashraf Nahar/ Team Motivasi – 7pts

Top 6 championship points after Round 4: Champion: Azizi Anuar / Team Samudera – 42 pts, 2nd: Mohd Haniff Borhan / Nova Racing Team – 42 pts, 3rd: Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali / Team Seri Putra – 38 pts, 4th: Mohd Emy Nordin Ahmad / Team Titiwangsa – 32 pts, 5th: Mohd Shahril Sarahman / Team Motivasi – 31 pts, 6th: Mohd Fizwan Mohd Ridwan / Team Maxi Alpha – 29 pts

Abdussobur of Sijangkang, Kuala Langat, is Under 21 Champion!

Abdussobur with his rd.4 and overall champion trophies...
A tight final race with Abdussobur in the lead...
The champion and his biggets supporter, YB Datuk Abdul Fatah Iskandar...
The winners on the podium posing with the VIPs after the presentation...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia– Sunday, 23 September 2007: Spurred by some 1000 hometown supporters from Sijangkang, a village situated 80 km from the city, mechanic Mohd Abdussobur Turino of Nova Racing Team penned his name as the first overall champion of the NFC Speedway Championship Under 21 category.

Leading the championship with 34 points on the night, Mohd Abdussobur wrapped the title in style by winning Saturday night’s Round 4 to the cheers of his adoring fans which included Sijangkang State Assemblyman Datuk Abdul Fatah Iskandar and family members.

“This win is amazing. I want to thank my family, Datuk Abdul Fatah and everybody who has been following my career, this is a dream come true,” said Mohd Abdussobur who garnered a total haul of 46 points. Muhammad Helmey Hamzah of Team Seri Putra was second with 42 points and Team Samudera’s Asrul Khairin Azizan third with 30 points.

“The pressure was on me all the time. I got a good start and I was flying in the first heat but then I started to struggle in Heat 2 and 3. The bike was skipping around and after 4 heats I dropped to fourth. I was disappointed and started to lose confidence. But the fans were remarkable, they cheered and cheered and that gave me extra motivation,” he told a press conference after the race.

Meanwhile, the final round also saw Sabil Mohamad Ali Hanafiah of Team Motivasi charting his first podium win by winning second. “The race tonight has certainly been one of the highlights of my racing career. It feels like a dream (to win) but I’m glad it’s real,” exclaimed Sabil.

Third place winner, Mohammad Helmey Hamzah said, “Third is OK. This is probably the hardest race I’ve done. A lot of mistakes happened. This is a difficult moment for me, I cannot remember when I had a worse feeling in a race. Again, I want to thank God and my team for my win. I hope to do my best in the National level next month.”

Commenting on the race, Abdul Fatah said the championship, the first kind of Speedway racing event ever held in Malaysia is an ideal platform for youths to show off their riding skills. “Looking at the performance of the riders, I am confident that this sport has the potential to develop world class riders. We will discuss the possibility of building a Speedway circuit in Selangor at the state executive councillors meeting this week,” he said.

A total of six teams competed in last night’s race. The teams are Team Titiwangsa, Team Maxi Alpha, Nova Racing Team, Team Seri Putra, Team Motivasi and Team Samudera.

The NFC Speedway championships, organised by the Malaysia Motorsports Organisers and Competitors Association (MMOCA) and promoted by Speedway Malaysia, is held every Saturday night at the Family Park near the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex until October.

Top six results, Round 4, Under 21: Mohd Abdussobur Turino /Nova Racing Team -12 pts, Sabil Mohamad Ali Hanafiah/Team Motivasi - 11 pts, Muhammad Helmey Hamzah / Team Titiwangsa -10 pts , Asrul Khairin Azizan / Team Motivasi - 9 pts, Mohamed Fuad Sahalizan / Team Samudera – 8 pts, Mohd Zulkhairi Johar ® / Team Motivasi – 7 pts

Top 6 championship positions: Mohd Abdussobur Turino / Nova Racing Team – 46 pts, Muhammad Helmey Hamzah / Team Titiwangsa – 42 pts, Asrul Khairin Azizan /Team Samudera -30 pts, Muhammad Yusof Omar/ Team Titiwangsa – 27 pts, Sabil Mohamad Ali Hanafiah / Team Motivasi – 25 pts, Mohamed Fuad Sahalizan / Team Samudera - 23 pts

Videos of Open championship round 3 held on the 15 September 2007

Nazrie Ramli of Team Titiwangsa finally wins round 3 after playing bridesmaid twice.


Team Titiwangsa sponsor, Dato' Astaman, presenting the trophy to the winners...


On this night, Linden Warner decided that he would go much faster than earlier appearances of the JAWA 500cc demo...

Nazrie finally wins after playing bridesmaid twice

Winner Nazrie flanked by Azlan (in yellow suit) and Zulkhairi...
They're off...in the grand final race of rd 3...
Nazrie, #5, led a clsoe battle in the heats...
Good crowds during the night had an exciting time...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Sunday, 16 September 2007: Nazrie Ramli of Team Titiwangsa finally chalked up a win in the NFC Open Speedway championship after playing the bridesmaid in round 1 and round 2.

Nazrie clinched the top podium step of Saturday nights’ Round 3 of the Open Category held at the Speedway Circuit at the Family Park near the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex in the absence of previous rounds winner Rody Sofian Buang of Team Seri Putra who was out injured. Credit should however not to be taken from the 28 year-old rider as he had to endure breakdowns to his bike twice in the earlier preliminary heats. Mohd Azlan Abdullah of Team Nova made his first podium win to finish second while Team Motivasi’s Mohd Zulkhairi Johar was third.

“It's been a dream race. It was probably the most difficult race I have ever done as I could not relax for one minute with the (bike) technical failure and all. The pressure was on me all the time,” said Nazrie who now topped the overall standings with 34 points.

“I have been waiting for a long time. After tonight, I’ve got more confidence and looking forward to win the remaining round 4,” he added.
In the final round, Nazrie was involved in a very close fight with Mohd Azlan, Mohd Zulkhairi and Azmi Kaseran of Team Seri Putera. However, he had a good drive at the final corner to beat Mohd Azlan to the top of the podium.

“The race tonight has certainly been one of the highlights of my racing career,” said Mohd Azlan. “Everybody was extremely competitive and things are expected to step up again in Round 4. I want to work harder so that I can experience the feeling of being on the podium again,” said the former motocross rider.

With this win, Nazrie now joins 6 other riders selected for Speedway Malaysia’s JAWA 500cc bikes training programme. The other riders selected based on their winning performances in the NFC Speedway championships are Rody Sofian Buang (26), Muhd Helmy Hamzah (18), Mohd Abdussobur Turino (20), Mohd Haniff Borhan (21), Mohd Ariff Mohd Ali (21) and Azizi Anuar (24).

Speedway Malaysia’s consultant Hanifah Yoong said, “The first training session was held last Friday and the next session will be on Sept 21. Nazrie will join the six riders selected earlier and train under former British Speedway racer who is also Speedway Malaysia resident trainer Linden Warner,”

A total of six teams competed in last night’s race. The teams are Team Titiwangsa, Team Maxi Alpha, Nova Racing Team, Team Seri Putra, Team Motivasi and Team Samudera.

The NFC Speedway championships, organised by the Malaysia Motorsports Organisers and Competitors Association (MMOCA) and promoted by Speedway Malaysia, is held every Saturday night at the Family Park near the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex until October.

Top six results, Round 3, Open : Nazrie Ramli/Team Titiwangsa -12 pts, Mohd Azlan Abdullah/Nova Racing Team - 11 pts, Mohd Zulkhairi Johar /Team Motivasi -10 pts , Nur Azman Masdar /Team Titiwangsa- 9 pts, Azmi Kaseran/ Team Seri Putra – 8 pts, Amli Jamat / Nova Racing Team – 7 pts

Top 6 championship points after Round 3: Nazrie Ramli/ Team Titiwangsa – 34 pts, Azmi Kaseran/ Team Seri Putra - pts, Mohammad Azlan Abdullah/Nova Racing Team -26 pts, Rody Sofian Buang/Team Seri Putera – 24 pts, Amli Jamat/ Nova Racing Team – 22 pts, Nur Azman Masdar/Team Titiwangsa- 20 pts

END

Videos uploaded for Under 25 Rd 3 held on 8th Sep 2007

Presentation for winners made by RMC old boy Lt Kol (R) Shaharudin Othman to third, Mohd Ariff, by RMC old boy Noordin Ali to second, Mohd Haniff and by race referee Matthias Rohde to first winner, Azizi Anuar. Other RMC batch 65 old boys (former batch mates of Hanifah Yoong) present were Dato' Abdul Malek Abdul Hamid, Abdul Latif Adlin and Abdul Rashid Ab. Rahiman and their families as well as Yoon Fook Sang who was Hanifah's MBSKL classmate in the 50s and 60s who came with his wife.



Rd 3 of the Under 25 championship found yet another winner in Azizi Anuar of Temerloh who beat round 1 winner Mohd Ariff (3rd this round) and round 2 winner Mohd Haniff (2nd this round).



JAWA 500cc demo on this night was done by Linden Warner only as Rody Buang was out nursing a road accident injury.