After being a last minute replacement for Hafizh Syahrin in the 2018 Moto2 World Championship, Malaysian racer Zulfahmi Khairuddin announced he is leaving SIC Racing Team after only four races. The termination is by mutual agreement and effective immediately.

Zulfahmi came to SIC Racing Team from two seasons in the Supersport World Championship, where he raced a Kawasaki ZX-6R with Orelac Racing. During the 2018 Moto2 season, Zulfahmi only managed a best of 26th position at the Argentina Grand Prix and retired after nine laps during the last race at Jerez, Spain.

“After the last race in Jerez, I find it very difficult for me to make any sort of improvement in my results since the start of the season. After careful thought and deep discussion with the team, I have decided that it was best for me to end my Moto2 career,” said Zulfahmi.

However, Zulfahmi will still be involved in racing in his current role as the mentor in the SIC-backed ‘Impian ke MotoGP’ programme – a programme to unearth raw talents in two wheeled racing. ” I would like to thank Zulfahmi for his hard work and dedication after four rounds in the championship,” said Datuk Razlan Razali, chief executive officer of SIC.

“I’m aware it was difficult for him to adapt to the super competitive Moto2 championship even with his experience in the World Supersport Championship,” Razali said. “But at that time, Zulfahmi was the available option we had judging from his experience. Although he may not quite be ready physically and mentally to race in Moto2, he took the challenge in his stride and did give his best in each of the rounds,” Razlan continued.

Meanwhile, fellow Malaysian Hafizh Syharin also faced mixed fortunes at the previous MotoGP in Jerez, finishing in 16th position despite injuries sustained whilst training on a bicycle. Hafizh, better known to fans as “El Pescao” or The Fish, has nine points in the MotoGP championship standings.