Petronas Malaysian Cub Prix supremo Ron Hogg expects another close battle for the title when the new season kicks off at Sepang Circuit today.
In the last two years, Honda-powered teams had taken the CP150 title through Helmi Azman (2020) and Azroy Hakeem Anuar (2021) as more permanent circuits such as Sepang have been used to "better control" the event since Covid-19 broke out.
Ron said it is hard to predict whether Honda can achieve a hat-trick of premier class titles but he is expecting the usual contenders to be right up there.
"The (CP150) championship was only decided in the final round over the past two years, and I believe it will still be very close this year," said Ron.
"It will be exciting to see what Khairul Idham Pawi will bring to the championship this season.
"But I am still expecting the usual faces such as Azroy, Akid Aziz, Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin and Ahmad Afif Amran to be challenging for the title.
"Once again, consistency will be the key for the riders hoping to challenge for the title."
Khairul, who had competed in the Moto3 World Championships from 2016-20, will be racing alongside Helmi and Asyraf Daniel Zamri for the SCK Honda Racing Team squad this year.
Ron said the 14,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) engine limiter and two engines per weekend rule introduced last season will continue to be enforced this year.
"Limiting the RPM to 14,000 has helped improve the longevity of the engines. Previously the engines were unrestricted and would rev to over 15,000 RPM," added Ron.
"Limiting the teams to using two engines (per bike) for each round has helped keep costs down. This will help to level the playing field (financially) among the teams.
"Despite this, our data shows that the teams were still able to record slightly faster lap times overall last season."
Sepang has also been selected to host three other rounds of the championship this year. The two other permanent circuits selected for use this season are Tangkak and Kuala Terengganu.
The organisers hope to include a number of temporary tracks, which were the norm prior to the pandemic, if Covid-19 restrictions are eased this year.
CALENDAR
Round 1: Sepang (North layout)
Today and tomorrow
Round 2: Tangkak, May 14-15
Round 3: Sepang (South layout), June 11-12
Round 4: Kuala Terengganu, June 24-25
Round 5: Venue to be decided, July 16-17
Round 6: Sepang (North layout) Aug 6-7
Round 7: Kuala Terengganu, Aug 26-27
Round 8: Sepang (South layout), Oct 8-9
Round 9: Tangkak, Oct 29-30
Round 10: Venue to be decided, Dec 3-4.