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Hafiz, Elde Tops Mountain Bike Challenge at Sepang Motocross Track
 
National cyclist Mohd Hafiz Rosli dominated proceedings at the inaugural Four Cross Mountain Bike and Cross Country at Sepang Motocross Circuit; winning the cross country category in grand style as he lapped every rider in the final race.
 
The four cross category was won by Sarawakian Elde Sharkawi of ROAM Racing Club, who was equally impressive to pen himself as the first winner of a four-cross mountain bike race to be staged in Malaysia.
 
Preparing himself for the upcoming Mont Kiara International Mountain Bike Challenge later this month, Hafiz of Le Tua Cycling Team pushed himself all the way throughout the 10-lap race around the rugged 1-kilometer motocross track as he led throughout the race from flag to flag.
 
Finishing in an impressive hand-timed 20 minutes 40 seconds and competing under sweltering heat, Hafiz passed second placed Zamzi Mohd in the final lap before deciding to drop his tempo to the chequered flag. His team-mate from Le Tua, Lim Yew Meng came in third.
 
“I have not been riding mountain bike for quite some time … so, I really wanted to test myself. So, I pushed myself to the limit. It’s also my preparation for the Mont Kiara race which I really want to do well. I came in second last year; but disqualified after the organizers accepted a protest from one of the riders.
 
“My bike had some problems during the race and my team helped me fix the bike, which I now know that it was illegal. I could have repaired the bike myself if I knew about it. Anyway, it’s all history now and I aim to win this time round in Mont Kiara,” said Hafiz, who would be competing in the Tour of Hainan road race in China in the middle of the month with his Le Tua Cycling Team.
 
Commenting on his victory, the 29-year old Elde said that he was proud to win; adding that he had been preparing for the event since he came to know about it. In fact, he was seen practising at the motocross track a few days before the event.
 
“I sincerely hope this event would grow. It’s a good spectator event. Fans can really watch and enjoy the races, which are short, fast and exciting. It has all the ideal elements to attract crowd … unlike the downhill, which is more for the excitement of the competitors.
 
In the final run, Elde, who had been cycling actively for the past 15 years, took 38.38 seconds to complete the 400-meter obstacle to beat Jamer Iskandar Shah, Harris Hassan and Mohd Adib.   
 
Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony, chief organiser Mohd Khairzami Khairuddin promised a bigger and more exciting event with more prize money to attract more competitors.
 
“We at Tujuh Impian Events aim to make this a major event in the cycling calendar and hope the four cross race will grow into an international event in Malaysia. We hope to see all of you here again next year,” added Khairzami.

Hafiz, Yew Meng Ready to Bring Honours to LE Tua Cycling Team at Sepang

National cyclists Mohd Hafiz Rozli and Lim Yew Meng were the early birds at the inaugural Four Cross Mountain Bike and Cross Country Challenge in Sepang; declaring that they are ready to pen their names as the first winners for the event for their LE Tua Cycling Team.

Coming as early as 8am and accompanied by their coach Johari Mohd Nayan, the duo, however, unable from taking their bikes around the purposed-laid track circuit within and around Sepang Motocross Circuit due to a morning shower.

“It looks good and exciting. It should be a good race tomorrow,” said the 21-year old Hafiz, who would be competing in the cross country category with Yew Meng in a dual pronged-mission to have fun as well as to prepare themselves for next weekend’s national race in Melaka.     

“We will just be concentrating on the cross country category. This has always been our pet event,” said the Terengganu-born Hafiz, who won the Sukma Games in Terengganu last year for the cross country category.

Sharing Hafiz’s enthusiasm, Yew Meng congratulated the organizers for creating the event; saying that there should be more of such competitions to cater for the mountain bike enthusiasts. “I am really looking forward for the race tomorrow,” said the 26-year old rider whose best results was fifth place in the Asian Continental Championship in the Philippines in 2004.

“There were also many other wins in the local tournaments; but the one in the Philippines was one memorable moment for me,” said Yew Meng, who is also looking forward to the new four-cross competition.

“It’s definitely new for us here in Malaysia. I am sure many would want to test their skills in that competition. It will be very interesting to watch and see how the sports will grow. I know there would be plenty of us ready to pick up the competition if there are good competitions being organized here in Malaysia,” he added.

Organised by Tujuh Impian Events and supported by Sepang International Circuit, the four cross mountain bike is the first of its kind to be held in Malaysia while the cross country challenge will be competed around a motocross track for the very first time for Malaysian riders.

Apart from the natural jumps around the one-kilometer track, the organizers had also constructed additional jumps to inject further excitement in the competition and in line with the requirements of the sports. The four-cross, which is also known as mountain cross or bikercross, would be competed in a 400-meter track comprising steep table tops and jumps.

Five categories would be competed including a Malaysian Racing Drivers category which would be exclusively for those with AAM and MAM racing licenses. The other categories are junior (for the age between 14 to 18 years old); senior (19 – 30 yrs); Senior Veteran (31 and above) and the open category.

Competitors will have a full day of free practice today before the real competition starts tomorrow. Entrance for spectators is free.

Apart from the inaugural Mountain Bike (MTB) event at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) Moto-Cross track, SIC is also having a host of other events beginning with the highly charged Sepang Drag Battle (Saturday night 31st October ), AAM Rally and the Yamaha SL Cup Go-Kart meet during the weekend of 31st October and 1st  November 2009.

Organiser of the MTB Sepang event, Tujuh Impian Entertainment Sdn Bhd has been receiving a high number of enquiries from participants with confirmed participations coming from the northern region like Kedah, Penang and down south from Johor, with many even wanting to watch the Sepang Drag Battle.

A spokesman from the company said that this is a good indicator and participants would not only be amongst the first riders in Malaysia to participate on the challenging Moto-Cross track which would be historical, but also enjoy other on-going activities around the Sepang Circuit and it's truly an event not to be missed. These activities would no doubt allow the participants and visitors to the (MTB) event to get up close to the various types of motorsports here.

The MTB event at Sepang is a two (2) day event where the final registration is on Saturday 31st  October where on the first day registered participants would be allowed to test out the Moto-Cross track before the official event day on Sunday 1st November 2009.

Registration is still open and participants are encourage to register early to avoid any disappointment.

Release issued by Tujuh Impian Entertainment Sdn Bhd.