HAFIZH SHOWS HE’S A MONSTER OF A MOTOGP ROOKIE

Hafizh shows he’s a Monster of a MotoGP rookie

Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (pic) put up a brave performance to cap a superb MotoGP debut with world championship points in the bag.

Hafizh was 17th after the first lap of his first-ever premier class race but fought with much more experienced riders to cross the finish line in 14th (42:54.953).

The Malaysian MotoGP rookie, who started from 15th on the grid, scored two championship points for Monster Yamaha Tech 3.

Hafizh, who got his break after he was picked to replace German Jonas Folger at the last minute, was thrilled to bring back home the first-ever MotoGP points for Malaysia.

“I felt really good in the race. I want to say a huge thank you to my team because they did a great job,” said Hafizh.

“I finished my first MotoGP race inside the points, which is even beyond my target.

“But when you put your focus and your moti- vation, it is possible.

“Around seven laps to go, I changed the power of the bike and four laps later, I switched back again.

“It’s a huge part of my learning curve to understand the electronics,” said the 23-year-old, who admitted he had butterflies in his stomach at the same time.

“I was a bit nervous, I didn’t want to make any mistakes and end up in the gravel.

“I hope I can improve in the next race and challenge the other riders.”

Teammate Johann Zarco built up a good lead from pole position in the first 17 of 22 laps but struggled with his tyres and slipped to eighth position (42:41.766).

In Moto2, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia rider Khairul Idham Pawi finished out of the points.

Khairul placed 23rd while fellow Malaysian Zulfahmi Khairuddin, riding for SIC Racing, ended 28th.

The second round will take place in Argentina from April 6-8.