ZULFAHMI ALL GEARED UP FOR BUMPY RIDE IN MOTO2

SEPANG: Zulfahmi Khairuddin faces a bumpy ride in his bid to finish in the top 15 in his Moto2 debut.

But the Banting-born rider is all geared up for the long and winding road ahead. Even if the setup of the bike will be different from the Supersport World Championships machine he rode the last two years.

The 26-year-old Zulfahmi, who’s riding for the SIC Racing Team, said he was looking forward to the new challenge. And with strong team backing, he believes that 2018 may turn out to be one of his best years.

“I have to push myself in every race and finish in a good position to be in the top 15. I also want to earn points as early as possible in races,” said Zulfahmi.

“I’ve a good bike and a good engineer (Fausto Bencivenni Pons). I’m excited,” said Zulfahmi in a press conference at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) yesterday.

Also present were SIC chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali, SIC Racing Team manager Johan Stigefelt and engineer Bencivenni Pons.

Zulfahmi started his career in Moto3 in 2010 and he had two podium finishes in 2012 before exiting the World MotoGP Championships in 2015.

For the last two years, he featured in the Supersport World Championships.

Zulfahmi said he had to adapt to the Moto2 machine, which was 20kg lighter than the Supersport bike.

“Even the types of tyres used in Moto2 are different than in Supersport.”

Zulfahmi had a chance to test the machine during a three-day official test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, last week.

“I’m getting used to the machine,” said Zulfahmi, who is back in Malaysia to test the machine.

“I could not make full use of the testing session because of the chilly conditions in Spain.

“The circuit in Valencia was not in good condition due to the weather.

“I hope to have a good test in Malaysia before the start of the first leg at Losail International circuit in Doha on March 18,” he said.

Team manager Stigefelt said they were looking forward to Zulfahmi’s start in the 19-leg season. “The Moto2 is more competitive.

“It’s a different bike but I’m confident that Zulfahmi has the ability to adapt.

“He needs to do more testing on the bike to prepare for the opening season.”

Meanwhile, Adam Norrodin will be featuring in the third season with the SIC Racing Team in Moto3. And his partner is Japan’s Ayumu Sasaki and they will both ride the Honda NSF250RW.