Hafizh aims to strengthen claim on rookie award in Silverstone

PETALING JAYA: Rookie MotoGP rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (pic) will be looking to consolidate his position as the top Rookie of the Year when he rides out onto the Silverstone Circuit for the British Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider finished 16th at the Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix, one spot away from winning valuable world championship points to extend his lead.

He just lost out by three tenths of a second to fellow rookie Takaaki Nakagami of Japan, who received a point for finishing 15th at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Overall, the 24-year-old is two points ahead of his closest rival Franco Morbidelli with 24 points for the Rookie of the Year.

Overall Hafizh is in 16th position while Morbidelli, who was 2017 Moto2 world champion has 22 points after 11 rounds.

And Hafizh is looking forward to write a different story at Silverstone this weekend starting from practice.

“It looks like it’s not going to be so difficult with the Yamaha there, so I hope we can improve on the last race from free practice 1 to qualifying,” said Hafizh.

“We have a good pace in the race, but I need a better starting position.

“I can’t wait to arrive, to work hard in order to be stronger in the race and be better prepared for qualifying as well.

“I want to give my all for a good grid position, try to have a strong start and want to learn from the more experienced riders,” he said.