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News FEATURE: HAFIZH IS FULL OF POTENTIAL 18 October 2011  Hafizh
Syahrin Abdullah is not an unfamiliar name in the local two wheel
motorsports scene, especially recently as he was named as one of the two
Malaysian wildcard entries to compete in the upcoming Malaysian
Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) this weekend.Set to represent Team PETRONAS Malaysia, Hafizh will battle it out in the super-competitive Moto2 class at the Sepang International Circuit alongside senior and last year's wildcard, Mohd Zamri Baba astride the Moriwaki MD2010 while the latter is entrusted with the new MD2011. Meanwhile, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of Boon Siew Honda Racing Malaysia takes up the role as a reserve rider. At 17 year-old, Hafizh would be the Malaysian youngest rider competing at MotoGP as Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin secured his GP125wildcard ticket at the age of 18 in 2009. Similiar to his idol, Valentino Rossi, the Selangor born rider's passion for motorsports began at a tender young age. While other kids his age indulged in action figures and comics, Hafizh had shown a deep interest for bikes and speed when he was nine years old and his father Abdullah @Shafie Harun was the first person to notice it. Much to Hafizh's insistence, Abdullah registered his son who was then in Standard 5 in pocket bike competitions and to his surprise Hafizh won the competition within his first year in 2005 Confident that Hafizh possess the necessary attributes to go further in motorsports, Barry Leong introduced the eager teenager to the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship in 2007. He started off competing in the one-make race (Yamaha GiVi Cup) and did a good job to conclude his debut year second overall. In 2008, Hafizh continued his learning curve at the Yamaha GiVi Cup and he managed to finish sixth overall in the standings, However, in the same year, Hafizh also participated in the Wira category before he moved up to the Novice category in the mid-season. The youngster sprang up a surprise by finishing second in the final round in the Novice class. At the same time, Hafizh made his debut in the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC). Though the competition level is far superior as he pitted against Asia's best Underbone 115cc riders, Hafizh adjusted well to complete his maiden season 20th. Come 2009, all eyes were on Hafizh. He pulled off an impressive campaign to wrap up the Novice title chase early with two more rounds remaining to finish eight out of 10 rounds on the podium, seven of which chequered flags. His unbeatable form was enough to convince Barry he was ready to ride with the big boys and with that Hafizh made his debut in the CP130 (Expert) category in the final two rounds of 2009. The result- a podium finish on his first try and a win on his second. In addition to that, Hafizh also impressed the PETRONAS ARRC contingent to conclude the season third overall in the Underbone 115cc category in the same year. Hafizh went full season in the CP130 in 2010. At first critics were convinced he would be overshadowed by seniors who had more experience but Hafizh proved them wrong almost instantly as he bagged a podium finish in the opening leg before smashing-records as the youngest rider to score a hat-trick and win the open-make premier category at 16-years old. It was in the same year Hafizh made his debut in the highly-competitive SuperSports 600cc of the PETRONAS ARRC. Earlier this season, Hafizh announced that he is taking a break from Cub Prix to focus developing his SuperSports 600cc career in the PETRONAS ARRC, Malaysian Super Series (MSS) and the Australian Formula Xtreme Challenge. But halfway through the season, Hafizh made a comeback to the national series and proved he has yet to lose touch as he finished the past two legs in Alor Setar (Round 6) and Kluang (Round 7) on the podium. Given his impressive track record, there is no doubt Hafizh is clearly one of Malaysia's brightest talents in two wheels motorsports. In just eight short years he made a lasting impression winning the pocket bike competitions to the Yamaha one-make races, CP115 and CP130 category. Even more impressive, he scored a double podium finish early September during the fourth round of the PETRONAS ARRC at the Autopolis International Race Course, Japan, nothing that has been done by any rider his age. Recently just last weekend, he finished second in Race 1 of the penultimate leg of PETRONAS ARRC in Zhuhai, China. In a nutshell despite being relatively young, and having gone through a long and hard journey, to receive the biggest break of his budding career to ride as a Moto2 wildcard is well justified. Let's all give him our support! Issued by Global PR Sdn Bhd Copyright to Safe Aim Mutual Sdn Bhd |
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