It was an almost perfect weekend for the SIC Racing riders, as both Hakim Danish in the RedBull Rookies Cup and Qabil Irfan in the España Superbike Championship delivered outstanding performances, each ending their race weekends with a podium and a victory.

RedBull MotoGP Rookies Cup – Round 4, Mugello, Italy

Race 1 – Danish had a strong start and was running in 6th position in the opening laps. In the following laps, he dropped to 8th but smartly utilised the slipstream to overtake seven riders at once, taking the lead of the front group. The battle at the front, involving more than 14 riders, was extremely tight with positions changing constantly.

In the final two laps, Danish was overtaken by several riders and fell back to 14th position, limiting his ability to fight back despite making use of the straights. He crossed the finish line in 14th place, but was later promoted to 13th after rider Sullivan Mounsey received a penalty.

Race 2 – Danish once again had a good start and showed greater composure compared to the previous day. He remained calm and consistent throughout the early and mid stages of the race, staying with the leading pack and even taking the lead several times despite constant overtakes.

On the final lap, Danish’s strategy nearly paid off. He led the race up until the last corner and managed to pull a slight gap ahead of the chasing rider, Veda Pratama. However, on the home straight, Veda capitalised on the slipstream and overtook Danish just before the finish line by a mere 0.011 seconds.

España Superbike Championship (ESBK) – Round 2, Barcelona-Catalunya

Race 1 – It was a tough race for Qabil Irfan, but he navigated the challenge with well-thought-out strategy. At the start, Qabil managed a perfect ‘hole shot’, leading the race early on. Five riders formed a tight front group, battling all the way to the final moments of the race. With dry, scorching weather reaching 45°C.

On the final lap, at the last three corners, Qabil was in 4th when the race leader, Enzo Zaragoza, crashed out. In the final corner heading to the finish line, Qabil used the slipstream to his advantage and crossed the line in second place.

Race 2 – The highly anticipated race lived up to expectations, with Qabil Irfan pushing hard to remain among the front runners. Seven riders were locked in a tight battle, continuously swapping positions from start to finish. Qabil opted for a strategic approach by holding back slightly in the early stages to conserve his tyres, saving his attack for the final lap.

On the last lap, Qabil surged to the front and held his lead despite intense pressure into the final corner. Nikola Miroslavov almost snatched the win via slipstream, but Qabil held on to claim victory by just 0.006 seconds.

Hakim Danish: “In Race 2 I managed to finish in second place. It was definitely a very challenging race, with many riders in the front group and lots of overtaking on the straights. Today, I tried to stay with the front pack throughout the race. Yesterday in Race 1, my strategy didn’t work as well because there were too many riders in one group, but for Race 2 I was able to manage it better. I’m now ready for the next race in the FIM JuniorGP in France in two weeks’ time, and the upcoming RedBull Rookies round in Germany in three weeks.”

Qabil Irfan: “In Race 1, I had a very good start and even led the front group for a while, but I was overtaken on the straight. My strategy at the time was simply to follow the other riders while trying to minimise tyre wear, as the weather here is extremely hot. On the final lap, I took advantage of the slipstream to overtake and secure the win.

Race 2 was more challenging because the competition in the front group was very intense. So, I planned my strategy to preserve the tyres as best as I could and only went on the attack on the final lap. Alhamdulillah, the strategy worked, even though another rider tried to overtake me using the slipstream right at the end.”