SEPANG: MALAYSIAN Moto3 rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin did not have much of a problem with his injured right wrist in the free practice sessions on Friday. However, his swollen lower back was a cause for concern.
When Zulfahmi crashed in the Grand Prix of Aragon in Spain last month, he not only fractured his right wrist and left hand. His lower back also took a hard knock.
He underwent surgery recently to insert titanium plates to secure the fractured bones.
In both practice sessions yesterday, Zulfahmi had to bear the pain in his back, especially during pitting in between sessions.
”I didn’t hurt as much while I was riding because I was locked in the riding position and didn’t sit up much. But when I had to sit up to pit in ... that’s when I felt the pain.
”I’m surprised to feel the pain there actually, because I anticipated my wrist to hurt even more,” he said.
Zulfahmi could only do 12 laps in the first session in the morning where he chalked his fastest time of the day in 2:16.852.
He wanted to save himself for the second session in the afternoon but rain hampered the proceedings. He could only do seven laps with a fastest time of 2:18.610. His time in the morning puts him 20th fastest on the timesheet.
”The plan was to do a better lap time in the second session but unfortunately it rained. So, there was no chance for me to better my morning lap time,” he said.
Asked if his back would be a hindrance in his performance on Saturday, Zulfahmi said he would rely on painkillers to subdue the pain.
”That’s the best I can do. In Barcelona, the doctors relieved the pain a bit and thanks to the National Sports Institute (NSI) here, I’m much better now.
”We will see in tomorrow (Saturday) morning’s final practice but I’m confident that I can manage a good time in the qualifying round. I don’t have much issue with the bike today so hopefully I can get a good time tomorrow (Saturday),” he said.Already a subscriber? Log in
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