Khairul and Helmi get wildcard for Moto2 in Sepang

Watch out for us: Khairul Idham Pawi and Helmi Azman are no strangers to the Moto2 race action.

PETALING JAYA: Khairul Idham Pawi and Helmi Azman will fly the flag for Malaysia in the penultimate round of the MotoGP world championship taking place at Sepang International Circuit this week.

Khairul and Helmi were given wildcards for Moto2 category at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, which celebrates its 25-year anniversary at Sepang this year.

Petronas Mie Honda Racing Team made the announcement on their social media pages yesterday. Khairul, 26, is currently a full season rider in the Supersport World Championship while Helmi, 24, competes in the Asia Road Racing Championships in the Supersport 600 class.

The duo, however, have tasted Moto2 action before.

Helmi got his first taste of the Moto2 class as a wildcard rider in the Malaysia GP last year, also with Petronas MIE Racing.

He finished 23rd from 31 riders in the race last year and is hoping to improve on his performance this time.

“I have a better understanding of the bike after experiencing Moto2 for the first time last year,” said Helmi when contacted.

“My goal is to continue improving on my lap times with each session. I want to be more competitive.”

Helmi Azman

Helmi added that he has been focusing on improving both his physical and mental strength pending the official announcement.

Khairul, better known by his nickname SuperKIP, spent four years as a full-season rider in the intermediate class between 2017 and 2020 with Honda before moving on to superbikes.

Malaysia do not have a full-season rider competing in any of the three classes – Moto3, Moto2 nor MotoGP – in the world championships this year.

Syarifuddin Azman raced as a full-season rider in Moto3 last year but was unable to secure a seat this season.

The announcement of the local wildcard picks should help the organisers in their bid to attract a crowd attendance of almost 200,000 this weekend.

The race in Malaysia will also see the MotoGP world title fight between Ducati’s Jorge Martin of Spain and Francesco Bagnaia of Italy.

Martin is on top in the championship standings with 453 points. Defending champion Bagnaia is second with 436 points and the only rider who can possibly beat the Spaniard with four races remaining.

The MotoGP race consists of sprint race (Saturday) and the feature race (Sunday).