It is said racing is the mother of invention, and Malaysian motorcycle racing team TKKR Racing’s Moto 3 Y15ZR prototype seems to prove the point. Taking the favourite of the kapchai riders, the Yamaha Y15ZR, TKKR Racing has modified the frame and clad it in a race fairing.
Along with a suitably modified engine, the
TKKR Racing Moto 3 Y15ZR prototype serves to prove two points – one, it is not
necessary to go the Kalex MiniGP bike route to advance through the racing
categories and, two, Malaysian engineering and ingenuity is capable of
performing at the regional and international stage.
Developed and built in its facility in
Seremban, Negeri Sembilan which includes a complete racing laboratory and
dyne-testing, the TKKR Racing prototype takes a Yamaha Y15ZR frame and hacks
it, retaining only the headstock and front frame section. The rear subframe is
replaced with a removable sub-frame in aircraft-grade aluminium and a Rapido
swingarm, designed for the Y15ZR, is installed, along with upper cross-bracing
for the steering head.
Moto 3 style bodywork is installed, and as
explained to paultan.org during a visit to the engineering shop, a ram air
system is being installed. As things are still in the prototype stage,
finishing work is necessarily rough, but everything is on track for a shakedown
test at Sepang later this month, says TKKR Racing team principal Bobie Farid
Shamsudin.
TKKR Racing was found by Bobie back in
2016, and came on the Malaysian racing scene in 2017. Since then, the team has
competed regionally, including in the Petronas Cub Prix and Asian Road Racing
Championship, competing with Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman in the ASB1000 class, winning
the championship in 2019, while also campaigning in Moto 2 with riders Remy
Garder and Malaysian Kasma Daniel as well as the CEV European Championship.
