Pain slows Hafizh down in third practice
PETALING JAYA: MotoGP rookie Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah found the going tough in the Spanish Motorcycle Grand Prix in Jerez.
The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider was still feeling the pain from a high speed crash on his bicycle during training earlier this week and was off the pace in the third practice session yesterday.
He clocked 1:40.234 to finish 25th in the third practice session.
Hafizh was placed 23rd in Friday’s practice session with 1:40.488.
Hafizh made a bright start to the MotoGP season, finishing 14th in Qatar and ninth in Argentina.
However, he failed to finish the race in Texas, United States last month after crashing in the warm-up and during the race.
To make matters worse, Hafizh sustained cuts and bruises to his bottom and elbow after falling from the bicycle during a training ride.
Hafizh admitted he struggled with the pain but is optimistic of pulling through.
“I feel good with the bike. But my condition is not at 100% because I still feel the pain on the left side of my upper leg. I try to gain confidence despite the injury and also try to find a good position on it, as it disturbs me a little bit while controlling the power of the machine,” said Hafizh.
“Anyway, my sensations on the bike are very good, for the moment it’s only me. I need to be more prepared and try to rest a bit now in order to be able to give my best tomorrow.”
Moto3 rider Adam Norrodin did not fare well in qualifying, finishing 27th with 1:47.632.