Syahrin looking to impress again in Austin

Can the Malaysian rookie earn his third consecutive point-scoring finish in America?

Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) heads to the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas as the leading rookie in the World Championship, after two excellent point-scoring finishes in Qatar and Argentina. The Malaysian’s nine points is three more than the nearest fellow rookie Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) has tallied this season, and six more than Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) – an indication of the successful start he’s had.

Argentina was particularly impressive for Syahrin, making up eight places on the opening lap from P23, to then battling throughout the race with the likes of Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Rossi’s teammate Maverick Viñales and Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso. After the race at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, Tech 3 Team Manager Hervé Poncharal was, unsurprisingly, full of praise for his new rider.

“Huge congratulations to Hafizh Syahrin, who did an exceptional weekend without any mistake. He was just a bit too nervous for the qualifying, so he could not show what he was expecting. But starting from almost last to finish the race in ninth position, fighting with all the factory guys, I think this is something that is going to boost his confidence.”

Improving his performance in qualifying is something Syahrin will be targeting in Texas, a track he finished sixth at in 2015 in the Moto2™ class – starting the race in P15 that day. This season, before Syahrin arrived at the Circuit of the Americas, he visited double World Superbike Champion and former Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards at his Texas Tornado Boot Camp – getting some valuable training and tips under his belt before he takes to the track on Friday.

Will Syahrin star once again at COTA? Find out when the track opens for MotoGP™ FP1 at 09:55 local time (GMT -5).