When Jonas Folger's incapacity became evident, Yonny Hernandez replaced him for the Sepang tests at the start of the year. This could only rejoice the South American organizers of the Argentine GP, but Yonny was replaced in the following tests in Buriram by the Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin.
Twenty-first in the Thailand tests, Syahrin progressed to sixteenth position during the Losail tests, where he subsequently ranked fifteenth (out of 24) on the grid, then fourteenth in the Grand Prix, and second rookie. It is therefore in a favorable situation that the driver of the Tech 3 team will defend his chances this week in Argentina.
According to Hafiz Syahrin, “II tried to concentrate on my physical condition and also on my mind for the next race in Argentina. I'm ready for round two and very excited to ride my crazy horse again (" crazy horse").
“Since Qatar, I have tried to learn more. I watched some action from last year's MotoGP to see what they did during qualifying and the race.
“I thought I could get some experience from seeing this and now I want to try and adapt it to this weekend. I've been training hard, so I'm more than ready for Argentina and I'm excited to ride the big machine at Termas de Río Hondo. »
To Hervé Poncharal, “After a very good start to the 2018 season, the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team is now heading to South America. It's a place and a country that we really love and we love spending a week at Termas de Río Hondo.
“The circuit has a very beautiful layout, is very interesting and technical, in addition to offering great fights every year with all the required safety. I must say that the organizers, together with Dorna and IRTA, are working really hard to improve the paddock. I want to say thank you to all these guys, because we have a paddock that matches the MotoGP standard and it's a good feeling to spend time there.
“As far as our two riders are concerned, I believe the Yamaha YZR-M1 has always been fast. Last year, Johann scored his first points in MotoGP with a 5th place and a big recovery after a poor qualifying.
“Hafizh will have to learn this track. But since he joined us he has been very impressive and comfortable on his M1. Overall the break since Doha has been good, but we all feel ready and raring to race again. I hope the weather will be on our side and the crowd will be even bigger than last year. We can't wait to be there to meet our Argentinian friends. »
