Confident Hafizh gets better grip of his bike
making progress in the one-day test at Brno, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah is now eager to get down to business at the Austria Motorcycle Grand Prix, which starts on Friday.
The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider, who struggled with handling issues during the race at the Czech Republic GP on Sunday, believes many aspects of the YZR-M1 have been improved to suit his riding style.
Hafizh’s ended the test at Brno on Monday as the top rookie in 10th place after clocking one minute and 56.032 seconds. The Ampang-born logged in 65 laps in total.
“It was an intense test today (Monday) as I really wanted to work with the bike. We did many laps and I feel very good with the bike now,” said Hafizh.
“We tried different things on the front (end) to help me turn better. We found many good points, so I am happy with the test.
“Before, I was fighting with the bike, but now I understand it a lot better. I think we can continue like that in Austria.”
Hafizh has had mixed results at the Austrian GP in Moto2 in the past two years, finishing 21st in 2016 and 10th at the Red Bull Ring last year.
“I want to score points this weekend. I am excited to ride this track in Spielberg with the big (MotoGP) bike.
“This is going to be a lot of fun. We’ll see what we can do, especially in the fight for the best rookie, which I want to win,” he added.
Hafizh, who is in a close battle with Italian Franco Morbidelli in the rookie class, showed strong pace in free practice at the Czech GP last Friday where he ended the day fourth fastest but could only manage 14th in the race,
He is currently 16th in the overall premier class standings, the highest placed rookie, with 24 points while Morbidelli is 17th on 22 points.