Round 6 Mugello: Disappointing Mugello For Hafizh

GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA TIM
Date: May 31, 2015
Round 6
Circuit: Mugello Circuit, Italy

Session: Race Day
Weather: Hot and Dry
Air Temp: 25C
Ground: 46C
Best Lap: 1:53.599s
No. of Laps: 21
Position: DNF. Crashed out in Lap 19
Championship Points: 31
Championship Standings: 11th

Malaysian youngster, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah failed to finish his Moto2 race for the first time this season at the Autodromo del Mugello in Italy when he crashed out with only 2 laps to go while sitting in 13th place. It was a very disappointing result for the PETRONAS Raceline Malaysia rider who had lost the precious championship points that could have lifted him to 9th overall in the rankings should he had completed the final two laps. With a tally of 31 points to his name, Hafizh dropped to 11th overall in the Moto2 world rankings. 

Racing in front of a packed Italian crowd, Hafizh was unable to produce his lightning start and was pushed back to 20th position by the end of the first lap. However, the gutsy youngster fought back and continued to march on, taking several riders in front until he was in 11th position by the middle of the race. At this stage, the tyres were beginning to lose grip which forced Hafizh to ease off to salvage some points.

Unfortunately, Hafizh struggled even further towards the end when he lost the front end and crashed out at Turn 4 on Lap 19. Luckily, the Malaysian rider is unhurt and the bike only suffered minor damages.

“I am very disappointed with the results today. I struggled with tyre issues towards the end but I thought that I could still pass the two riders in front of me (Alex Rins and Alex Marquez). The front end suddenly bounced when I hit the brakes hard, forcing me to spend more time controlling the handle bars to settle the movements. Unfortunately, I was too hasty to catch the front boys – and that haste landed me in the gravel. I apologize to everyone as I had really wanted to do well. I hope that I can bounce back in two weeks time at Catalunya,” said Hafizh.

The race was won by Tito Rabat, Johann Zarco and Dominique Aegerter.

Moto2 Race Results
1. Tito Rabat (SPA) 39’40.545s
2. Johann Zarco (FRA) 39’40.853s
3. Dominique Aegerter (SWI) 39’45.825s
4. Sam Lowes (GBR) 39’46.099s
5. Luis Salom (SPA) 39’48.441s

Selected
DNF. Hafizh Syahrin (19 laps)