Adam gears up for Sepang spectacle by finishing eighth

PETALING JAYA: Moto3 rider Adam Norrodin secured a big boost ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix after he finished a solid eighth in the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Adam started 22nd on the grid yesterday but gained six places before the completion of the first lap. He continued to battle hard to move into the top 10 by the halfway mark of the 15-lap race. The 19-year-old then held on to finish the race in 24:52.781.

Japanese Ayumu Sasaki, Adam’s teammate at SIC Racing Team, finished an impressive seventh.

Spaniard Joan Mir wrapped up the world title in style by winning the race in 24:51.490. Mir has 296 points compared to Italian Romano Fenati’s 226 total with two races to go in Sepang this weekend and Valencia, Spain, from Nov 10-12.

Adam moved up three rungs to No. 17 in the overall standings with 37 points. Sasaki is 22nd with 25 points.

“I’m really happy with our results. It’s great as both of us finished in the top 10 after a difficult weekend,” said Adam.

“It was really fun as we fought with the leaders throughout the race.

“But it was also very tough. Everyone was fighting really hard because we could see that the rain was coming.

“I saw many crashes and the conditions were tricky with some wet patches on the track. I then focused on staying with the leaders and holding my position.

“It’s great to go to my home Grand Prix next week with this good feeling. I can’t wait for Sepang now,” added Adam.

There was, however, no joy for Moto2 rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah as he missed out on a point- scoring finish at Phillip Island for the fourth straight year.

The Petronas Raceline Malaysia rider finished 16th in 40:00.831 while Khairul Idham Pawi of Idemitsu Honda Team Asia was 21st after clocking 40:23.468.

Hafizh is 11th in the standings with 86 points while Khairul has 10 points for 25th spot.