Poncharal pleased with Hafizh for finishing in the top 10

PETALING JAYA: Monster Yamaha Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal is pleased with Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah’s gutsy ride to finish in the top 10 at the Japanese MotoGP and reckons an exciting fight lies ahead with three races remaining for the Rookie of the Year battle.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez of Spain wrapped up the MotoGP title with a spectacular win but Hafizh was equally impressive as he worked his way up from 18th after the first lap to finish 10th at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit on Sunday.

Hafizh’s only other top-10 finish this season came at the second round in Argentina where he finished ninth.

The Malaysian rider now trails fellow rookie Franco Morbidelli of Italy by just four points. Hafizh is ranked 17th in the overall standings with 34 points.

“We are very, very happy with Hafizh who finished as the fastest rookie again,” said Poncharal.

“He didn’t have a good start and lost a few positions. It’s difficult to pass and I told him before to be careful and to take his time – and that’s what he did.

“But we could see as soon as he was passing another rider, there was quickly a gap as he was so much faster and catching up. He eventually managed to reach a top-10 position.

“The lap times were great, he was exactly the same and sometimes quicker than both Johann (Zarco) and Valentino (Rossi), which is something we are very proud of.

“He didn’t do any mistake but was learning with every single lap. Franco finally managed to pass Bradley Smith in the very last sector of the last lap, so we just got one point on him.

“Anyway, we are only four points behind him in the championship with three rounds to go, so it’s going to be very exciting.

“I think he’s learning a lot and I am very proud of Hafizh,” added Poncharal.

The Australian round takes place in Phillip Island this weekend before the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang from Nov 2-4.