Petronas Raceline rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah of Malaysia taking a breather during testing in Jerez, Spain in February. - EPA
PETALING JAYA: Let the good times roll!
Petronas Raceline rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah has been enjoying a superb run, racking up good points in all four rounds of the hotly-contested Moto2 race, so far.
And he’s determined to keep the momentum going at the legendary Le Mans Circuit this weekend.
New suspension parts will be fitted to his Kalex Moto2 bike for the fifth round and Hafizh feels it will boost his chances of racking up the points.
“I had a fruitful two-day test at the Aragon Circuit last week. The special arrangement was to test new suspension parts for the Moto2 bike. The new parts gave a stronger traction to the rear wheel and I could steer the bike quicker into the corners,” said Hafizh, who celebrated his 21st birthday on May 5.
Hafizh had to fight his way up the field after starting from 21st on the grid to finish 12th at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez early this month – equalling his opening-round result at the Qatar Grand Prix in March.
Last month, Hafizh romped to an impressive sixth placing in Indianapolis, in the United States, before finishing 10th in Argentina – giving him a total of 24 points to be placed 10th on the standings.
The fact that the top-10 positions comprise riders of nine different nationalities clearly shows the competitiveness of the Moto2 World Championship.
The top 10 are Johann Zarco of France (73pts); Jonas Folger (Ger, 57); Alex Rins (Spa, 49); Thomas Luthi (Swi, 43); Franco Morbidelli (Ita, 43); Sam Lowes (Bri, 41); reigning champion Tito Rabat (Spa, 33); Xavier Simeon (Bel, 31); Mika Kallio (Fin, 31); and Hafizh (24).
Team manager Barry Leong is counting on Hafizh to have a trouble-free start this weekend.
“He faced technical problems on practice day in Jerez and lost 40 minutes of track time. Hafizh needs to maximise his track time and, if he can up his pace a few tenths, it would be very interesting to see how far he can move up the ranks,” said Barry.
