Round 3 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is just around the corner and will be heading to Mobility Resort Motegi for the first time in history. The riders of the Asia Superbike 1000cc are amped up to embrace the challenges and possibilities the circuit holds and Hafizh Syarin of JDT Racing Team is not one to take it lightly. It was not all bed of roses for Hafizh, coming back to the scenes of ARRC after being absent for a while. He definitely had his fair share of rough patch and rocky start alongside the immense pressure of fame. However, Hafizh known for his prowess and calibre, driven towards excellence was all about hard work, picking up from where he left and quickly adapting to what is an evolved space within ARRC to showcase not only moves but also his capacity to embrace the heat on the circuit ground and claim victory. Indeed, that was what he did in Race 1 of Round 2 that was held at Zhuhai International Circuit before the show came to a halt due to stormy weather. Recapping his action-filled moves on the grounds of Chang, Hafizh definitely was out of the equation in Race 1 when he succumbed to “DNF” status due to a technical error with his Ducati. But that did not dampen his spirits as he went on recharge and take charge the following day, taking lead almost throughout the race before being defeated at the eleventh hour to the chequered flag. That however was quite an accomplishment considering being a debutante in the race category. Commenting in the race, Hafizh said, “I am looking forward to the coming race this weekend. Definitely, the championship has grown by leaps and bounds compared to when I participated many years ago. Now, we have the ASB1000 race category which was not in place yet during my time in ARRC before. The level of competency has also increased and riders keep growing in their performances. The challenge for me here would be the tires. I am quite familiar with the Dunlop tires but not the full-slick. Previously, when I raced in the SS600, I used semi-slick tires so, this time around, we need more time to understand the tires so that we can manage it better. It is not a big deal but it definitely is a challenge for everyone. I believe being the only team using the Ducati also has its ups and downs. We are also a new team so basically, we have zero data to rely on however, we have received great support from Ducati and are truly grateful for that. Sure, we will improve race by race and we will take it from there on.” “The Ducati machine is definitely powerful, no doubt! But, we need time to learn the form and function of the machine especially in handling it. All the tracks are pretty much new for us as our team is a beginner in the championship. However, we saw great improvements with the machine between Round 1 and Round 2 and that is a good start. I would not say that the machine has better advantage compared to the other machines although yes, I agree that there is a better power in the engine. Having said that though, the crucial part is the handling because if we don’t rectify that, we will not achieve the desired outcome. Personally, I think all the riders and the machines are at an optimised level and there has been great competition among us in the last two rounds. But lets’ see in Motegi. It is one of my favourite circuits and we hope to gather more data.” “As an experienced rider, I have a lot of information. But racing alongside the Asian competitors is not the same though as these Asian stars are very well equipped with the knowledge and experience on the Asian ground. They know the tires very well so on our part, we need to work extremely fast to find our footing. It is really interesting to be honest and I am really happy to be part of the challenge. This year, we hope for nothing but the best. Currently, we are at the fourth overall. We are not very far from the lead rider and if we do well by mid-championship, I will surely fight for the championship title. At the moment, I am more focused on improving myself on the machine and to assist the team where possible for the right and relevant data and information. I hope to do better, more than 100%.”
