Pelumba Moto2 sensasi negara, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah memulakan saingan Grand Prix Jepun dengan mencatat masa ke-15 terpantas pada saingan hari pertama di Litar Twin Ring Motegi, Jepun, hari ini.
Meskipun pertama kali beraksi di sini, pelumba PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia itu cepat menyesuaikan diri dengan litar sepanjang 2.493 kilometer itu dengan mencatatkan masa terbaik 1’52.470s pada sesi latihan bebas kedua, 0.775s lebih baik pada sesi latihan bebas pertama.
Pelumba Sepanyol, Esteve Rabat dari pasukan Marc VDS Racing Team muncul pelumba terpantas dengan masa 1’50.990s diikuti Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham), 1’51.313s dan Maverick Vinales (Paginas Amarills HP40), 1.51.573s.
“Saya gembira pada sesi hari ini kerana jentera saya berfungsi dengan baik tanpa sebarang masalah terutama di bahagian belakang. Saya dapat beraksi dengan lebih pantas di setiap selekoh dan dapat mencatat masa lebih baik. Cuma saya memerlukan bantuan jurutera pasukan untuk mengatasi sedikit masalah bahagian hadapan jentera. Mudah-mudahan saya dapat mencari pelarasan lebih baik pada sesi ketiga esok sebelum keluar untuk sesi kelayakan,” jelas Hafizh.
Pengurus pasukan, Barry Leong berkata, “Saya melihat dari kawasan tinggi ketika Hafizh keluar ke litar. Saya dapat lihat bagaimana Hafizh kini semakin yakin dan mempunyai keberanian secukupnya untuk mengekori pelumba-pelumba handalan lain. Dia perlu kekal yakin seperti ini untuk mengetahui berapakah kelajuan yang dia perlukan untuk meningkatkan lagi catatan masanya.”
Keputusan Latihan Bebas Moto2
1.Esteve Rabat (SPA) 1’50.990s 2.Johann Zarco (FRA) 1’51.313s 3.Maverick Vinales (SPA) 1’51.573s 4.Dominique Aegerter (SWI) 1’51.593s 5.Julian Simon (SPA) 1’51.880s
15.Hafizh Syahrin (MAS) 1’52.470s
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HAFIZH 15THÂ QUICKEST IN MOTEGI
Malaysian Moto2 sensation, Hafizh Syahrin kicked off the Japanese Grand Prix on a positive note as he came in 15th quickest in the Moto2 practice sessions on Friday.
Despite this weekend being his first time outing at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit, Hafizh quickly adapted to the 2.493 kilometre layout to post his best lap in 1’52.470s in FP2, improving by 0.775 seconds from FP1 earlier today.
Leading the Moto2 timesheets was Spaniard, Esteve Rabat of Marc VDS Racing Team with 1’50.990s followed by AirAsia Caterham’s Johann Zarco and Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Maverick Vinales with 1’51.313s and 1’51.573s respectively.
“I am pretty happy with this session as my machine keep on improving without the huge slides at the rear end. I am able to get better drives out of turns and that makes a lot of difference in my lap time. However, I still need my engineer to sort out the chattering in the front when the bike is thrown in full lean. Hopefully we can clock in quicker lap times in FP3 tomorrow and get a good start position in the qualifying,” said Hafizh.Â
Meanwhile PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia manager, Barry Leong commented, “Looking from the hills, I could see Hafizh now rides with strong confidence and he is brave enough to tail the top riders. He needs to continue this trend to get a clearer picture how much more speed he needs to drop his lap time.”
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Moto2 Combined Practice Results
1.Esteve Rabat (SPA) 1’50.990s 2.Johann Zarco (FRA) 1’51.313s 3.Maverick Vinales (SPA) 1’51.573s 4.Dominique Aegerter (SWI) 1’51.593s 5.Julian Simon (SPA) 1’51.880s
 Selected
15.Hafizh Syahrin (MAS) 1’52.470s
