Adam given lifeline in Moto2 European Championship

SILVERSTONE: It is not the end of the track yet for Malaysian Moto3 rider Adam Norrodin, who has been dropped from next year’s PETRONAS Sprinta Racing line-up.

On Friday, it was announced that Adam will be replaced by Scottish rider John McPhee in Moto3 under the newly named PETRONAS Sepang Racing Team and he will join current team rider Ayumu Sasaki of Japan.

Sepang International Circuit (SIC) chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali had assured that Adam’s role in the team was not over yet as they planned to enter the 20-year-old for the FIM CEV Moto2 European Championship.

“Yes, he is disappointed, I understand that, but I advised him to use this as a motivation to make a comeback,” said Razlan.

“We will develop him in the CEV Moto2 for at least two years before giving him a shot in the Moto2 world championship in 2021.

“Other racers have gone through the same path. They left, competed in the CEV and came back stronger, so that’s our plan with Adam.”

Adam is in his third year in Moto3 and has failed to meet the team’s expectations.

He was riding on thin ice after finishing without points in the last two races in the Czech Republic and Austria earlier this month.

And he is also currently trailing his teammate Sasaki by eight points. Sasaki is 18th in the Moto3 standings with 32 points while Adam is 21st with 24 points.

“We had set high targets for him as this is his third year but he was not focused and made mistakes,” said Razlan.

“We discussed with the team manager Johan Stigefelt and Ayumu. We want to send the message out there that it is not the right of a Malaysian rider to get to ride just because it is a Malaysian team. They need to perform too.”