Hafizh Syahrin took a tactical approach to the French Grand Prix as the PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia rider registered in 23rd in the Moto2 opening practice at the historical Le Mans Circuit on Friday.
Although eager to clock in fast lap times, the PETRONAS Talent Development rider insisted huge adjustments need to be made to his Kalex considering weather at the French venue is extremely different with cold and strong winds, as opposed to hot and sunny conditions at Jerez where the previous leg took place.
Hafizh completed 21 laps in FP1, getting a feel of the new suspension parts and provide team engineers with valuable information. He posted his best lap in 1’39.628s and the young Malaysian will seek better results this weekend.
âI did as many laps as I could in FP1 to gather data for the engineers to examine the new parts. I pitted in once to change a different rear tyre compound and the gearing with hopes of finding a better feel of the bike. I am ok with the current set up but I am sure I have to ride harder next session to explore more angles,â said Hafizh.
PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia manager, Barry Leong said, âIts the same routine for FP1 where all the riders need to do as many laps and help engineers search for areas to improve. Hafizh will not push at this stage because we are still testing the suspension components. We should see a better reading on the bike performance after the FP2 later today.â
The fifth leg of the 2015 Moto2 World Championship marks Hafizhâs third visit to Le Mans after his wildcard entry in 2013 followed by a 15th place finish during his debut in the world championship.
Moto2 Free Practice 1 Results
1.Tito Rabat (SPA) 1â38.030s
2.Thomas Luthi (SWI) 1â38.121s
3.Johann Zarco (FRA) 1â38.217s
4.Jonas Folger (GER) 1â38.402s
5.Sam Lowes (GBR) 1â38.588s
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Selected
23.Hafizh Syahrin (MAS) 1â39.628s
