THE Malaysian Cub Prix Championship faces the grim prospect of losing some of its brightest racing talent as riders suffer loss of income amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a move to help riders, the race promoter, Two Wheels Motor Racing Sdn Bhd (TWMR) announced yesterday that team bosses in the top-tier CP150 category have met and agreed to make changes to their riders' remuneration.
The CP150 riders, many of whom were paid on a race-by-race basis, will now receive a fixed monthly salary or allowance to help them cope with the difficult times.
TWMR disclosed that the "unprecedented meeting" was attended by Honda RCB Solaralert Cilik Team, Petronas Sprinta Yamaha Maju Motor, Ipone Yamaha YY Pang, Idemitsu Honda Yuzy Racing, Hi-Rev SCK Honda Racing and Petronas Sprinta Yamaha-CKJ Racing.
Motorcycling great Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini, who hailed the move, said: "For now, the reform will be concentrated on the CP150 class because this is the professional class where racing is the riders' full-time job.
"The idea of the minimum wage is to ensure riders continue to receive some form of salary in the event that races are cancelled. We need to help each other during these tough times."
The CP150 category, intermediate CP115 and entry level Wira class each featured over 20 riders (60 plus in total) last season.
The Cub Prix season ran from March to December last year with the riders competing over 10 rounds in Malacca, Penang, Johor, Perak, Terengganu, Perlis, Negri Sembilan and Selangor.
This year's season was initially scheduled to begin in March but was postponed indefinitely due to the MCO.
Petronas Sprinta Yamaha-CKJ Racing technical head Mohammad Syafari Saad disclosed that the situation varies from team to team, with some affected much more than others.
A small number of teams were lucky enough to receive their sponsorship money prior to the MCO though many did not.
"We have always paid our riders a fixed monthly allowance, including EPF and Socso (even prior to the meeting) and continue to do so during this (Covid-19) period. We, however, have implemented a minimal pay cut since April," said Syafari.
"There are some teams who continue to pay their riders in full but there are also teams who have paid their riders only 30 per cent (of what they would normally receive.
"Then there are also those who have paid their riders nothing at all. Some riders have complained about this to the organisers (TWMR).
"It is a very difficult situation because many teams, including ours, have not received our sponsorship money due to the postponement of the championship.
"The sponsors will not pay until the organisers have released a confirmed race schedule. The organisers, on the other hand, are apprehensive about releasing a new schedule until they received confirmation (from the government).
"Because they (organisers) would likely be criticised if they released a new scheduled only to have to change it again later."
Syafari hopes that the government will not deliberate too long on deciding when to allow racing to resume as he fears that the riders will turn elsewhere to make a living and leave racing for good.
"I really hope that the National Security Council and Health Ministry will allow us to return to racing soon. Having a new date for when the season can start would be a huge relief for us as we can then inform our sponsors," he said.
"At the moment there are many riders who are working as food delivery riders for GrabFood and Foodpanda to make ends meet.
"They chose this option because it is flexible and they can stop (delivering food) and return to racing when it is possible.
"But if they move into more permanent jobs, it is possible that they will not return to racing and we will lose our talent."