After an earlier report Malaysian racer Hafizh Syahrin, also known as “Pescao 55” to fans, was on a short-list of possible replacements for German Jonas Folger in MotoGP, a report has emerged that the matter has been settled. A MotoGP.com report says that satellite team Monster Yamaha Tech3 has chosen Hafizh out of a few candidates.
Folger had to pull out of the 2018 MotoGP season due to injury, and Tech3 were considering several replacements, including Hafizh. Team principal Herve Poncharal said earlier that nothing had been decided as there were different priorities to consider, but Hafizh will be testing in Buriram, Thailand, riding a Yamaha YZR-M1, on February 16.
23-year old Hafizh will be team mates with 2016 Moto2 champion Johann Zarco, who himself has shown potential since joining Tech3. Hafizh has been competing in motorcycle Grand Prix since 2013, stepping up to the podium twice in 2017, at Misano and Motegi.
Meanwhile, Hafizh’s slot in SIC Racing Team will be taken by Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who steps up to Moto2 from the Supersport World Championship, where he raced a Kawasaki ZX-6R with Orelac Racing. 26-year old Zulfahmi will have his first Moto2 test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, on February 6.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Kudos to Pet for continuing to nurture local talents! Congrats to both Zulfahmi & Hafizh, but this is just the beginning. Both of them must continue their improvements and show they can stand on their own feet to earn their spots by merit.
Petronas no longer sponsoring Hafizh since 20 December last year and Tech3 is sponsored by motul
I mean kudos to Pet for sponsoring Zulfahmi after letting go of Hafizh. Read the article la.
SIC Team and zulfahmi are not being sponsored by petronas
They are both lucky and should thank Jonas Folger for his injuries.
You dont have to rely on your luck to live your dreams,these boys were working hard before. Let’s cheer them up and keep support for national flag and anthem on podium
Plenty of champions got their early break due to misfortune of others. The world is never fair, deal with it.
Congrats Zulfahmi and Hafizh. You have done well. Goes to show, working hard pays. You work hard….you come up in life.
tough job for hafiz with very limited time to adjust himself with the bigger machine..but good luck and congrats for getting this chance!
It’s still depend on his Buriram test results, but it’s final step before the team will offer him a contract.
Good luck Hafizh.
As for Zulfahmi, last year is not a good season for him. Hopefully, he will step up his game this year.
Congrats to Hafizh & use this Golden chance by improving step by step. The 2016 Yam M1 is among the best-handling bike to ride but the competition in MotoGP is super-tough. This is the Apex class after all. All the best Hafizh!
it will be fun to see what Petronas would want to do, if Hafizh performs at Buriram, and then, perform well in MotoGP.
kudos to both. they don’t need gov sponsorship as what our former so called “F1 driver” previously. Gov spend millions of RM just to get him participating in F1. no good results at all and didn’t qualify in one race if i’m not mistaken.
Kejar impian biar sampai ke garisan penamat
Its still depends on tech3 boss.. They still need to discuss with their current sponsor.. Even pescao55 has been given green light with yamaha team from eastern region and plenty of sponsorship eager to support him, motogp is one hell of a ride.. He did improved day after day in buriram with 1.7s behind marquez.. 21th position.. Still considered worthy enough for the chance given to him.. But as goods as it sounds for the first malaysian rider to ever ride for motogp.. I do think that we should take it easy.. Its still too early for him since he got 10th position in 2017 moto2.. We do not want him to get into relegation zone which will get him back to moto2 in 2019.. Do it right with patience and he will get into tech3 in 2019 as zarco will replaced rossi in 2019 as rossi retired.. Since Tech3 cannot offer higher payout than Rossi team.. Goodluck hs55/pescao55