Hervé Poncharal described him to us as a happy and carefree kid (see here).
For sure, kid, Hafiz Syahrin is in the MotoGP category since he only has 2 races to his credit, which does not prevent him from appearing in 13th position in the world ranking, ahead of all the other rookies but also some factory riders , starting with Jorge Lorenzo, Pol Espargaro, Bradley Smith and Aleix Espargaro.
For the moment, we are not changing a formula that works and it is with complete relaxation that the Tech3 rider will tackle a new circuit in the United States that he obviously does not know while riding a MotoGP, but on which he finished in 11th position in Moto2 last year.
14th in Qatar, 9th in Argentina, will the USA, on a circuit known to be difficult, be a new opportunity to score points?
Hafiz Syahrin : “I'm really happy with the results we achieved in the first two races and I'm looking forward to the Grand Prix this weekend. I will try to do the same or finish even better. Before Austin, I prepared by training in Colin Edwards' training camp. So, my physical condition is good, I have improved step by step and I am more than ready for this third round. I can’t wait to meet my team again and I hope I can give them the best of myself.”
Hervé Poncharal: “Certainly, we left Termas de Río Hondo with incredibly good and warm feelings, because the weather and track conditions were very difficult to control, and I believe that the team and especially the drivers did an exceptional job . Johann fought in the leading group and finally finished second, which was his first podium in 2018. He had a very strong race and gave us all a really good feeling. Hafizh also did an extraordinary job to finish in the points for the second race in a row, with many fast and more experienced drivers behind him. The few days of rest we've had since then have been just good enough to finally recover from these incredible emotions and we are now ready to start racing in Austin, Texas, which is a beautiful track, but also technical, and probably the one of the most difficult circuits in the championship. Johann had a very strong race there last year, after battling with Cal Crutchlow. We know it's not the easiest circuit for our machine, but so far everything is working well between the bikes, the riders and the team, so we are confident we can fight again in the group of head. The weather looks pretty stable, although Saturday might be a little rough. Either way, this means we will have enough time in the dry to properly set up the bike, which is important. Yamaha always gives us incredible support there, we are part of the family. It's fantastic to have so many friends and people who always come to support us in terms of logistics and organization. This is a GP where we would like to provide all these people with a great result. We are ready for this, we love Austin and Texas, the people are always so helpful. For Hafizh it will be a difficult mission again, since he will have to discover the track with MotoGP, but he has so much enthusiasm and adrenaline, which allows me to be sure that he will fight for positions similar to those of Argentina. We are ready to put on a good show, to please American MotoGP fans and especially Yamaha USA, who has always been an incredible partner.”
