Bangladesh pro-racer Avik Anwar and budding racer Aiman Sadat are gearing up for the Malaysia Championship Series, set to held at Sepang International Circuit on Saturday and Sunday.
Premier Bangladeshi motorsport driver Avik is racing in Touring Production category while 21-year old Aiman is competing in Stock Production 1 in the multi-class racing competition.
In the qualifying round held on Friday at the venue officially inaugurated in March 1999 by the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Avik finished P3 overall.
Aiman on the other hand finished P8 in his class, and P12 overall.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune in Kuala Lumpur, Avik said he is expecting tough competition in the championship where he clinched P2 last year.
“I think I did well in qualifying. I clocked my personal best time [2 minutes 27 seconds] on this track and finished P3. I am expecting and hoping to finish first in the championship despite the high competition. The driver who finished second [Xie Bayu Jonathan from Singapore] in the qualifier today [Friday] has been racing for 11 years in Malaysia, and the one who placed first [Aiyub Alamghir] is the Malaysia Proton factory driver. He is Malaysia's best driver,” said Avik.
A total of 51 racers are taking part in the championship in this round, including 17 international drivers from Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand.
Aiman, participating in the championship for the first time, on the other hand was disappointed with his position in qualifying and aims to do better in the main competition.
“My qualifying wasn't that good. It is very competitive here. There is just two-second gap between P1 and P9. I have finished P8, and P12 overall as it is multi-class race. I am expecting to finish at least fourth [in my category] so that I can fight for the podium,” said Aiman.
The Malaysia Championship Series is a national racing series promoted and organized by Sepang International Circuit as an initiative to promote and develop 4-wheel racing sports in Malaysia.
The series originated from the old Malaysian Super Series championship, which was introduced in 2002 – three years after Formula 1 first came to the Malaysian shores as Sepang International Circuit took advantage of renewed interest in motorsports amongst Malaysians.
The series was rebranded as the Malaysia Championship Series in 2015 to inject further interest and excitement into the series.
