First Ever Malaysian Moto GP Rider Earns Two Points In His Debut Race
Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah - Remember the name.
By Justin Tan — 19 Mar 2018, 02:10 PM
Rookie Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah made his mark in the premier MotoGP class after finishing in the points in his maiden race in Qatar on Sunday, 18 March
Hafizh Syahrin, nicknamed 'El Pescao' which means 'fish' in Spanish, started 15th on the grid after a strong qualifying performance on Saturday.
The Yamaha Monster Tech3 rider dropped down to 17th early in the race before battling to finish the race at a commendable 14th position, crossing the line 20.299 seconds behind race winner Andrea Dovizioso.
He was also the second-best performing rookie after Marc VDS Honda's Franco Morbidelli finished two places ahead of him in 12th.
In his post-race interview, the 23-year-old said that he only focused on finishing the race without any mishap and was very happy to earn two valuable championship points
According to MC News, Hafizh said, "I am grateful to finish 14th. I have promised the team to work harder and do better in future races."
“I felt really good in the race. I want to say a huge thank you to my team because they did a great job.
"I finished my first MotoGP race inside the points, which is even beyond my target, but when you put your focus and your motivation there, it is possible.
"I was a bit nervous in the race, I didn’t want to make any mistake and end up in the gravel. I finished the race and brought two points for the team, which makes me truly happy.
"I hope, I can improve more in the next race and I will continue training hard in order to compete with the rest of the riders.”
Hafizh became the first Malaysian premier class rider after being selected to replace Jonas Folger, who withdrew last minute due to health issues
Hafizh was signed by Tech3 after an impressive performance on his first-ever run on a MotoGP bike as he recorded a lap time that was as good as the other rookies who have been riding longer than him.
Tech3's team principal Herve Poncharal said, "We had to convince all the people around us, that Hafizh is going to be a good MotoGP rider. Therefore, we had to give him a tough task during the three days of testing in Buriram.
"In the end, he did a tremendous job, he fulfilled the mission.
"Yamaha was more than happy with his performance and the whole Tech3 team was delighted."
