Malaysians were left in awe when it was announced that Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah will officially compete in the prestigious MotoGP competition this year.
He will race with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team following his outstanding performance during a testing session at Buriram, Thailand. He was selected to replace German rider Jonas Folger, who was deemed unfit and was forced to forfeit from the championship.
The Selangorian will race alongside fellow teammate, Frenchman Johann Zarco.
The 23-year-old not only became the first Malaysian ever to qualify and compete in MotoGP, he also became the first Southeast Asian to achieve this historical feat.
Hafizh plans to finish in the top 20 and intends to improve his ranking along the way.
“I’m still a rookie and will ride against Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez,” he told The Malay Mail in an interview.
The historical news became the talk of the town and even attracted our Prime Minister’s attention.
Najib congratulated Hafizh via his official Twitter account.
Tahniah Hafizh Syahrin, pelumba Malaysia pertama menyertai MotoGP musim penuh! pic.twitter.com/bIiP2bFfXt
— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) February 21, 2018
It seems that Malaysia is doing very well in motor sports this year as we have a full Malaysian team competing in the championship. Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Khairul Idham Pawi will compete in Moto2 while Adam Norrodin will compete in Moto3.
Congratulations boys, all of you have a bright future ahead. Malaysia boleh!