KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s racing child prodigy Qabil Irfan Azlan has created a sensational first for Malaysia after winning the overall title of the 2023 FIM MiniGP World Series Championship at Valencia in Spain yesterday.
The country should be waking up to a new sports celebre with his phenomenal success at age 11 at the Ricardo Tarmo Kart Circuit, as the youngster braved all odds to take the podium for the third time in a row in the 160cc category yesterday after the first race and the second race that took place on the same day.
He finished both races in first place to collect 50 points.
In the Super Final (third) race – which offered double points – Qabil started from the front row, managed to place himself in the top five before crossing the finish line in first place to add another 50 points.
The Kuala Terengganu rider arrived at the finish line with a time of 14 minutes and 08.764 seconds, leaving Japanese rider Kotaro Togashi (14:10.057s) and Spanish rider Enzo Zaragoza (14:10.289s) trailing.
“Thank God I was able to go to the final and this week was quite challenging for me, starting from the training session to the actual race. Being able to win the title, I want to thank the ZK Racing team and my mother and father who always support me.
“Not forgetting the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), Malaysian Motor Sports Association (MAM), and (support of the) Sepang International Circuit (SIC),” he said through a video shared by the ZK Racing Team to the media. – BERNAMA
