He may be 11 years old, but Malaysia’s go-kart prodigy Muizzuddin Musyaffa Abdul Gafar is already making a name with his recent podium finish at the opening round of the prestigious WSK Euro Series over in Italy. Held at Muro in the city of Leccese, the battle to victory was not easy for him as he faced much older competitors in the race.
Facing off against karters up to 13 years old, the young 60 Mini competitor displayed great performance during the race weekend. Muizzuddin managed to secure a third place in qualifying and heats, and again a third for the pre-final race during Race Day. This allowed him to start the race from the second row, and immediately grabbing the place behind his Gamoto Racing teammate Eliseo Martinez in the opening lap.
But the race did not end without any drama, as with only two laps to go, Muizzuddin came into contact and was forced to move back sixth, which he finished the race in fourth position. After the race however, the race stewards penalized both Indian Kush Maini who finished in second and Italian Lorenzo Colombo in third for the incident, moving Muizzuddin up to second and a spot on the podium. Martinez took the win on the 10-lap race, with Comer Top Kart’s Leonardo Marseglia in third.
“I am very happy…it’s a difficult race. There were a lot of good karters coming from all over Europe and a few Asian riders like Maini and me. I have to push the kart very hard and I am delighted to finish second”, said he overwhelmed youngster.
The Round 2 of the WSK Euro Series will be held at Zuerra, Spain from March 20th-24th, followed by the third round at Sarno, Italy. In Muizzuddin’s first full season last year, he managed to finish 11th overall from the participating 56 karters.
