Syahrin set for comeback charge in Sepang

Home hero will start P23 after qualifying saw him take to wet conditions in the premier class for the first time, but he’s ready to fight

Hafizh Syahrin’s (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) home soil qualifying at the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix didn’t go according to plan after the heavens opened, leaving the Malaysian rider having to tackle Q1 riding in the wet conditions for the first time on a MotoGP™ machine.

It was always going to be a difficult task for the rookie, but after a strong showing in FP3 to finish P13, Syahrin is ready to mount a comeback charge in front of his adoring home fans: “For me, for sure I couldn’t deliver the best result for my fans, for my sponsors, for my team. I’m really sorry because I didn’t have any experience in the wet with this bike, but the crew gave me all the motivation, to learn and try to do my best,” explained the Malaysian.

“They didn’t put any expectation (on me), I really gave my best but yeah, it’s the first time on a track with wet conditions so for me it wasn’t easy,” continued the Yamaha rider, who remains upbeat about Sunday: “But tomorrow is another day, I will give my best to try and give my everything. If it’s wet I will do my best and if it’s dry, I’ll try to come back as strong as possible. And yeah, I’ll try to do my best for tomorrow.”

With the new Sunday time schedule, racing will commence earlier to decrease the chance of severe weather intervening, just like we saw ahead of qualifying. No matter what the conditions though, Syahrin is out to give his home fans the best result possible: “Of course, tomorrow will be another day and the fans will come to support all the Malaysian riders and all the riders here. I will do my best and I just want to enjoy with all my team and I will give all the effort I have and we will see tomorrow.”

Can he keep up the fight with Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) for ‘Rookie of the Year’? Well, like the 24-year-old says, tomorrow is a new day. Tune in to see Syahrin race in front of his home fans for the first time in the premier class at 13:00 local time (GMT +8). 

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