Doha: Zaqhwan Zaidi has claimed that winning the 2014 PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship title this weekend is not impossible given Honda’s good track record at the Losail International Circuit here.
The Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing team has enjoyed a string of unbroken victories at the desert circuit with former riders Ryuichi Kiyonari and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman winning the races to secure the SuperSports 600cc overall title in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Zaidi is further boosted by a remarkable set of performances in 2014.
The 19-year old is currently ranked third overall in the standings with 125 points, 22 points adrift of championship leader Katsuaki Fujiwara (BEET Kawasaki Racing) while Yuki Ito (PETRONAS Hong Leong Yamaha) is sandwiched between them with 140 points.
The newly-crowned Cub Prix Champion gave an assessment of his chances and said, “It is not impossible that I can win the title because Honda performs exceptionally well at the Losail Circuit that demands superior and smooth handling. I will be banking on that to fight for the podium and the championship.”
However, Zaidi also acknowledged, “I anticipate this weekend will be extremely tough because I expect Yuki Ito to be strong. Since Autopolis, he’s been exceptionally quick, so he is a real contender. Then with Fujiwara we cannot forget that he won the 2011 title and his experience is more than Yuki and mine combined and I am certain he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. So to try to fight for the championship with these two guys we have to push our limits.”
THE PENINSULA
