Hafizh cannot afford to drop points Down Under

only three rounds remaining this year, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah will have little room for error at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, which starts today, if he is to keep alive his hopes of clinching the Rookie of the Year title.

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider is currently in second place in the rookie standings, four points adrift of Italian Franco Morbidelli who leads on 38 points.

Hafizh suffered a slight dip in form in August and September where he finished out of the points at the Red Bull Ring, Misano and Aragon but appears to have rediscovered his confidence when it matters most. A technical update to his YZR-M1 Yamaha bike has also helped.

The 24-year-old managed his first points finish since Brno (Aug 5) in Buriram a fortnight ago, where he finished 12th, and last week came in 10th at Motegi.

It was his second top-10 finish of the season after placing ninth in Argentina (second round).

The Phillip Island circuit in Australia has always been a challenge for Hafizh and for the record, he has not scored a single point there in his four years in Moto2.

How he fares there on the premier class machine, which has much more advanced electronic aides compared to Moto2, remains to be seen.

Hafizh is aware of his track record Down Under but remains optimistic of his chances.

“I’m looking forward to Phillip Island, because we’ve just done a very good race in Motegi and we are in great shape with the bike,” said the Ampang-born rider.

“It’s not my best track, but I’ll try my best for sure. I aim to be in front of my rookie rivals in order to get closer in the points. But most of all, I hope to have good weather there.”

He failed to finish the race in Australia in 2016 and 2014 and placed 16th both last year and in 2015.

Hafizh, who will remain for a second season with Tech3 when they make the switch to KTM machinery next year, is currently 17th in the overall MotoGP standings with 34 points.