Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah went on to pick up the pace in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas as the PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia rider qualified 15th for the Moto2 race on Saturday afternoon.
It was an intense run for the Malaysian rider who had to work extra hard alone on the track without any tow from the faster riders. Hafizh posted clocked his best lap in 2’10.894s, 1.006 seconds off poleman, Xavier Simeon who secured pole with a new lap record of 2’09.888s.
Sam Lowes who dominated Friday’s practice took second place on the grid lining alongside Moto2 defending Champion, Tito Rabat third,
Hafizh’s compatriots, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman was 24th while Zaqhwan Zaidi came in 28th.
Hafizh Syahrin:
My plan was to work on race pace so I used the Qualifying session to gauge how fast I could go. Personally, I find my lap time quite satisfactory and I believe this would be the lap times for the race tomorrow. I pitted in twice to do some minor adjustments and opted for fresh tyres in the remaining 12 minutes but could only improve two tenths of a second. Anyway, I am pretty happy and I have a good feeling for the race.
Barry Leong:
Hafizh did a great job today and his lap times were good despite riding alone on track. The engineers also did a great job with the bike and hopefully our boy can pull off another lightning start and battle with the midfielders tomorrow.
Moto2 Qualifying Results
1.Zavier Simeon (BEL) 2’09.888s
2.Sam Lowes (GBR)2’09.942s
3.Tito Rabat (SPA) 2’10.077s
4.Johann Zarco (FRA) 2’10.102s
5.Franco Morbidelli (ITA)2’10.135s
Selected
15.Hafizh Syahrin (MAS) 2’10.894s
Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas
Round 2
Circuit of the Americas, Texas
Session: Qualifying
Weather: Dry and windy
Air Temperature: 22 degree Celcius
Ground: 27 degree Celcius
Best lap: 2’10.894s
Diff: 1.006 seconds
No of laps: 15
Position 15
