A costly slip ends Hafizh’s hopes of a good finish in Texas

PETALING JAYA: MotoGP rookie Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah’s hope of keeping his perfect start to the season was crushed after he slipped on the eighth lap of the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Hafizh started strongly from 16th on the grid, making up four positions on the first lap and challenging the more experienced riders along the way on Sunday.

Unfortunately, a mistake in Turn 1 on the eighth lap saw Hafizh heading back to the pits early.

Hafizh, who had scored points in the first two races of the season in Qatar and Argentina, still remained as the leading rookie of the MotoGP world championship.

He is in 13th spot with nine points he earned from the first two races.

“I felt really strong at the start of the race, but maybe I was pushing a bit too much on the brakes.

“This morning we had a huge crash and we didn’t try a different set-up, therefore we had to go back to the settings from free practice.

“I just lost the front maybe because I tried to fight with a Ducati, who was very fast on the straight.

“I am confident of coming back stronger at the next race,” said Hafizh, who will race in the fourth round in Jerez, Spain, from May 4-6.

Monster Yamaha Tech3 team manager Herve Poncharal felt sorry for Hafizh.

“It could have been a strong finish but the crash in the morning while trying a new tyre almost put him out of contention,” said Poncharal.