Petronas Sprinta boss keeps tabs on youngster
SYARIFUDDIN Azman’s hopes of making the step-up to the world motorcycle championships in Moto3 next year are looking positive.
Petronas Sprinta Racing boss Datuk Razlan Razali said he is pleased with what he has seen from the youngster in the Moto3 World Junior Championships, and will continue to monitor his progress.
Razlan, however, hopes for improvement from the more senior Adam Norrodin, who is currently competing in the Moto2 European Championships.
Both events are part of the FIM CEV series.
“Everyone is excited after what he (Syarifuddin) has achieved in CEV Moto3 this year. He didn’t have the best of starts to this season but he is progressing well,” said Razlan.
“We know that the Moto3 World Junior Championships are very competitive. It is almost as competitive as the Moto3 (senior) World Championships, even the bikes they use are the same.
“We will continue to monitor his progress. We don’t expect him to win every race, but we want to see him at least being competitive in the front group.
“For Adam, it is easy to see that he is ready to move up to the
(Moto2) world championships (next season) after the results he achieved this year.
“However, the standard between CEV Moto2 and the Moto2 World Championships is quite vast.
“Although he (Adam) managed to get a few podiums this year, the gap between him and the first two riders Fermin Aldeguer and Alonso Lopez is still quite big.
“He still needs to close that gap. We don’t want our riders to be at the back once they move up to the world championships.”
Razlan added that he is not in a rush to make any decisions regarding the Petronas Sprinta Moto2 and Moto3 squad line-ups for next season.
Syarifuddin, 19, grabbed headlines last month after scoring an emphatic victory at the Catalunya round. He backed up his win with an eighth place at Portimao earlier this month.
Adam, 23, has notched three podium finishes this season, and is currently fifth overall in the
Moto2 European Championships standings.
Boscocuro Talent Team-Ciatti’s Aldeguer has dominated the championships this year, winning seven out of seven races so far with his teammate Lopez coming in second in all but one race.