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News HAFIZH CONTINUES TO BREAK RECORDS Best Moto2 Wildcard Result Ever Going From 27th To 4th 21 October 201  Soon after Zulfahmi Khairuddin's first podium celebration at the Sepang International Circuit, another Cub Prix wonderkid gave the packed grandstand plenty to shout about as wildcard rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah stunned even jaded industry observers with an unbelievable ride that propelled him from 27th on the starting grid to fourth at the finish line of the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Torrential downpour immediately after the chequered flag came down for the Moto3 class delayed the start of the Moto2 race by half an hour. As the riders lined up on the starting grid, Race Direction had already declared it as a wet race although the rain had eased off to a heavy drizle. Hafizh got off to a perfect start as the lights went off and had rocketed to fourteenth position by the third sector of the first lap. From there, the young rider-on-a-mission mounted a relentless campaign to improve his race position, going from fourteenth in Lap 1 to twelfth in Lap 2, climbing up to eighth in Lap 4. By Lap 5, Hafizh was already mixing it up with the leading group. Rain on Lap 8 created the exact conditions that the rider nicknamed 'Pescao' meaning 'Little Fish' had been hoping for. An amazing trio of overtakes saw the young wildcard unknown pushing past Anthony West, weaving past Alex De Angelis and then out-braking Gino Rea to lead the Moto2 race for three full laps. However, Hafizh had to concede the lead to the top three riders on Lap 13 when tyre degradation began to take its toll, instead, opting to focus on maintaining his pace in fourth. As the storm worsened, Race Direction was finally forced to red flag the race on Lap 17. As such, results were taken from Lap 15 which saw Alex De Angelis announced as the winner with 36:57.793s, Anthony West in second place with 36:58.503s, Gino Rea third with 36:59.196s and Hafizh Syahrin fourth with 37:00.734s. "I pushed hard step by step to reach the front group. At the beginning of the race, half the track was dry which allowed me to put in some really quick laps," said Hafizh who is also the fastest rider of the Moto2 race, clocking 2:23.707s on Lap 10 when he was leading the race. "Unfortunately, when the rain came down again, I had no more treads left on my rear tyre and I could do nothing when the full-season riders powered past me." "In all, I am really happy with my achievements today and I thank my team and my sponsors who have nurtured me so far," said Hafizh. This puts Hafizh's results as one of the best wildcard results in the Moto2 class so far, exceeding every expectation set for the young 18-year-old. His first objective, which was to gun for Jordi Torres, was soon forgotten. The second objective, to score points, was accomplished in style with a hefty 13 points to his name, automatically ranking him 23rd overall in the Moto2 class. Creating new records and smashing old ones is nothing new for the PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia rider. Hafizh had been creating waves since he first entered the Malaysian Cub Prix scene at the tender age of 13. He still holds the record as the youngest Cub Prix champion after winning the Novice title in 2009 and soon after that, the Expert/CP130 title in 2010. The rider who was picked up for the PETRONAS Talent Development programme soon after his national successes is also the youngest rider to have ever scored a win in the SuperSports 600cc class of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship, a feat accomplished just last year when he out-raced world-class rider Katsuaki Fujiwara in Qatar. While Hafizh stole the limelight, the drama continued as championship leader Mark Marquez lost the front of his bike and crashed out. Apart from Marquez, nine other riders also fell prey to the tricky track conditions. The title chase continues to the Australian GP with Marquez in the lead with 283 points, Pol Espargaro who finished eleventh in the race in second overall with 235 points and Andrea Iannone third overall with 188 points. |
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