23-Year-Old Hafizh Syahrin is the First Ever Southeast Asian to Compete in MotoGP Category
MotoGP has been mainly dominated by Spaniards and Italians for a while, so to see a Southeast Asian face riding alongside some of the most famous racers is cause for pride.
23-year-old rookie Hafizh Syahrin is the first ever Southeast Asian and Malaysian to compete in the MotoGP category. Following his late call to the MotoGP this year, Syahrin has since delivered an outstanding performance and caught the attention of French squad Tech3 Yamaha, which is led by Herve Poncharal.
(Image taken from iMotorbike)
His debut performance has led to three top-twelve finishes from the six rounds to date, impressing Tech3 with “his adaptation and fast acclimatization to the demands of the premier class.”
With that, Tech3 is happy to announce that they will continue their collaboration with the talented rider with high motivation and ambitious objectives. According to the press release, the Malaysian rider will be joining Tech3 in their new venture with KTM for the MotoGP season in 2019.
KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer said: “We are happy that Hafizh Syahrin extended his contract with Tech3. After his unexpected move to MotoGP he has had a decent season so far and is leading the ranking for ‘Rookie of the Year’. Furthermore, he is a very professional and friendly young athlete. Together with Miguel Oliveira the rider line-up for our young Tech3 KTM MotoGP Team for the next season is now complete. I also want to express big thanks to Hafizh’s manager Razlan Razali for his trust in the newly built structure of Tech3 KTM. We’re looking forward to work together in the future.”
The team manager of Tech3 also agrees. “Today is a very special day for me and for the whole Tech3 team! Since Hafizh jumped on our MotoGP bike it’s been like a dream, every single day, because he’s been very fast and a lot faster than some people were thinking and we’ve been very proud of what he did. I know it was a great achievement for a Malaysian rider to be the first one of his country arriving in the MotoGP class, for his first ever MotoGP race, he scored points and since that day he has been consistently battling for the top rookie spot and apart from that Hafizh is a very special character,” said Herve Poncharal.
(Image taken from CNN Indonesia)
Poncharal seemed to have nothing but praises for Syahrin, for he continued: “He is a very nice young man, very well educated, very humble, very respectful of everything, hardworking, wanting and wishing to learn a lot, which is what is he doing and a very funny guy, too, a fact I like a lot. Everybody who knows Tech3 a little bit, is aware that I always consider my team my family, I always try to have this family atmosphere in the garage. Hafizh fits in very well and he makes everybody laugh. From almost day one we started to work with him, I wanted to give Hafizh a second year, because year one is important to learn, but the second year is maybe even more important to prove yourself. Clearly, for us all to move to our new project with KTM, where we have the insurance that the four KTM on the grid in 2019 will be the same evolution, it’s going to be a massive boost for Hafizh. He will be on the same machine like Miguel Oliveira, Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro and this is a great challenge. I’m very proud to take this challenge together with Hafizh, always with the support of Razlan. I think we got the best rider, we could have picked for our 2019 line-up and I’m quite sure that Miguel Oliveira and Hafizh Syahrin will be a strong package of new talented and ambitious riders. Tonight, we are a happy team, because everything is clear and decided, so welcome for another year, Hafizh!”
SIC Chief Executive Officer Razlan Razali has shown excitement for Hafizh’s opportunity to ride in the MotoGP as well, as he thanked Poncharal for his faith in the racer.
“Hafizh Syahrin’s journey to MotoGP is a fairytale story, it’s something that should be idolized by young Malaysians. When you work hard, when you are patient and focused, you can achieve your dream and that’s exactly what Hafizh is doing. He has attracted a lot of attention, especially from Herve for this year and his continued faith in him together with KTM, so we appreciate this support from the team very much. As a Malaysian, as a fan, we are incredibly excited, finally, Hafizh will get to ride a factory bike, he’s a factory rider and how often can we say that we have a Malaysian who has a factory ride in MotoGP, so we are very happy and of course we look forward for him to come to Sepang and wearing the new Tech3 KTM colours in 2019,” Razali said.
Indeed, Syahrin should be extremely proud for what he has achieved so far, and what a great model he will be especially to the Malaysian MotoGP fans who now have a local racer to look up to.
(Image taken from Crash.net)
Finally, let’s hear from the man himself.
“It’s hard for me to say and to believe. First of all, I have to say thank you very much to Hervé for trusting in me and giving me this opportunity to stay with the Tech3 family and at the same time to join the KTM family. I also have to express a huge thank you to my manager Dato’ Razlan, who helped me to achieve this dream arriving in the MotoGP class, plus thank you to KTM for believing in Hervé and in me. I will work hard for 2019 and I’ll be better prepared, as this is not as surprising as this season. I’m incredibly happy to get this chance, I even feel close to cry for joy. Thanks to everybody and especially to Hervé and Dato’ Razlan for always believing in me,” Syahrin said.
The Malaysian racer will be completing the MotoGP roster that also includes the likes of Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro in the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team.