Malaysia is in the news again, motorsport news that is. Hafizh Syahrin, better known to fans as “Pescao 55″, is set to become the first Malaysian and South East Asian rider to compete in the premier class MotoGP for the 2018 MotoGP season with satellite team Monster Yamaha Tech 3. The decision was made after Jonas Folger announce his withdrawal for the upcoming season. Folger missed the final four rounds of last season with severe fatigue issues and, despite reports of a promising recovery, suddenly withdrew from the 2018 season on the eve of pre-season testing in January.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team offered "Pescao 55" an opportunity to join their winter test program. After a very successful winter test in Buriram, Thailand, "Pescao 55" is set to become the team mate of Johann Zarco, two time Moto2 champion.
Hafizh will be riding the Yamaha YZR-M1, a highly competitive beast as proved by Johann Zarco in 2017 season. He posted a time just 1.7 seconds off the fastest lap time set by Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda Team.
“I’m really happy to announce that Hafizh Syahrin will be the second Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider alongside Johann Zarco," added team boss Herve Poncharal. "It’s been a tough time since we heard from Jonas Folger, that unfortunately he decided not to race in 2018 in order to look after his health and try to fully recover. It has been a long process to find somebody, who could be the one.
"In Sepang I met Razlan Razali, we were just chatting and now and then you have crazy ideas, which are sometimes the ones that bring the best result. I would like to thank Razlan Razali for his passion, his contagious energy and the involvement he has for MotoGP racing and for the sport in general, plus to support Hafizh Syahrin to climb the last step to the premier class.
