BE it on tarmac or dirt, former Moto2 rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman proved that he remains a threat to the main contenders after emerging victorious in the second round of the MSF SuperMoto Series in Tangkak recently.
Azlan, 37, settled for second in race one at Tangkak — which served to set the grid for race two (main race) — behind championship contender Daniel Haiqal in the All-Stars Pro category.
Azlan got off to a strong start in race two — which determined the podium positions for the round - and briefly led the race as Daniel and main rival Gabit Salleh, a former FIM Asia SuperMoto champion, tangled at turn two.
The two, however, recovered and Daniel was able to pass Azlan on lap three.
Luck would, however, be on Azlan's side as just a lap later, Daniel overcooked his entry into turn four and ended up on the grass.
Azlan hung on to the lead and ended up clinching a comfortable win in seven minutes and 11.638 seconds.
Gabit settled for second (7:14.727s) while Haiqal (7:15.010s) completed the All-Stars Pro podium.
The All-Stars Legends category witnessed Kenny Lee taking the win in 7:21.190s with Keith Chia (7:36.111s) and Oh Kang Beng (7:36.643s) coming in second and third.
The Supermoto Advance class race was won by Affif Izzudin (7:30.434s) with Osama Abdrubeh (7:31.786s) and Muhammad Syafiq (7:31.955s) taking second and third.
MSF supremo Adian Yein Khalid said Azlan's presence made for an exciting round.
"The atmosphere over the weekend was electric as teams and supporters prepared for what was sure to be an intense battle," said Adian.
"It was a pretty exciting race as Azlan turned up to take on Gabit and Daniel and managed to win."
