PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia’s Hafizh Syahrin recovered from a difficult qualifying session to wrap up the Moto2 race with a commendable 12th place finish, picking up four valuable points from the Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday.
The 20-year old who started the gruelling 20-lap race from 19th on the grid powered his Kalex into the top-10 early into the race before running wide following a hard battle with Louis Rossi. Hafizh eventually crossed the finish line in 40’41.758s, 23.226 seconds behind race winner, Jonas Folger (AGR Team).
Hafizh also benefitted from the misfortunes of poleman, Sam Lowes and reigning Moto2 champion, Tito Rabat who both crashed out early.
“It was a great race for me and the team. I would have done better if my bike had a little more power down the front straight where everybody was passing me. I tried to hold them off at the turns but I could only do so much. Anyway finishing 12th here is not too bad with 4 points in the bag. I certainly will try harder in next venue in Austin,” said a satisfied Hafizh.
PETRONAS Raceline Manager, Barry Leong meanwhile said, “It was a bit frustrating to watch the other riders overtake Hafizh down the straight. Hafizh rode hard enough in the race and around the turns but the straight line speed was a real let down for us. Our bike has been a huge disadvantage factor all weekend as we are provided with a less powerful engine from the promoter. Nevertheless, we are happy with the results considering that Hafizh started from 19th in the grid. We shall see what happens in next round in USA.”
Moto2 Race Results
Selected
- Hafizh Syahrin (MAS) 40’41.758s
1.Jonas Folger (GER) 40’18.532s
2.Xavier Simeon (BEL) 40’23.583s
3.Thomas Luthi (SWI) 40’30.655s
4.Alex Rins (SPA) 40’30.734s
5.Franco Morbidelli (ITA) 40’32.917s
