Just two days ago we told you that Hafizh Syahrin was the chosen rider to complete the KTM rider lineup for 2019, joining Miguel Oliveira on the newly formed KTM Tech3 team, but until today there was no confirmation.
Now, with many riders saying where they will – or won’t! – be in 2019, it was time for KTM Tech3 to officially announce what we expected: Hafizh Syahrin will continue to race in MotoGP for another season, extending his current contract with the Tech3 team!
The announcement comes with no surprise at all, after all, Syahrin has been making the headlines almost every race.
The Malaysian rider was called in at the last minute with the pre-season already underway by the Tech3 team, replacing German rider Jonas Folger because of his health problems. Tech3 boss Hervé Poncharal made a personal bet on Hafizh, and the young Malaysian made sure to show he wasn’t going to be in MotoGP just to pass some time on a Yamaha satellite prototype.
He has shown a great learning curve, and right from the very first test, the rookie showed the speed and learning necessary to make it in MotoGP.
The results are now getting better all the time, and although Johann Zarco is the main rider in the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team, the truth of the matter is that Hafizh Syahrin has conquered his own space within the team, and the 12th place in Mugello, which makes him tied in points with Franco Morbidelli in the standings as the best MotoGP rookie this season.
For all these reasons, Hervé Poncharal and Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport director, have made the decision to extend Hafizh current contract for the 2019 season, and he will be riding alongside Portuguese rising star Miguel Oliveira.
The KTM Tech3 team, even if they are a satellite team, will have at their disposal a KTM RC16 prototype very similar to the one used by the Red Bull KTM Factory team, which means that Hafizh Syahrin can get his sights on the best spots every race.
Speaking about the extension on his contract, Hafizh Syahrin said this
“It’s hard for me to say and to believe. First of all, I have to say thank you very much to Hervé for trusting in me and giving me this opportunity to stay with the Tech3 family and at the same time to join the KTM family. I also have to express a huge thank you to my manager Dato’ Razlan, who helped me to achieve this dream arriving in the MotoGP class, plus thank you to KTM for believing in Hervé and in me. I will work hard for 2019 and I’ll be better prepared, as this is not as surprising as this season. I’m incredibly happy to get this chance, I even feel close to cry for joy. Thanks to everybody and especially to Hervé and Dato’ Razlan for always believing in me”.
Hervé Poncharal is also a happy man. He took a risky decision choosing Hafizh Syahrin to replace Jonas Folger, but the results obtained by the young Malaysian rider show he took the right decision
“Today is a very special day for me and for the whole Tech3 team! Since Hafizh jumped on our MotoGP bike, it’s been like a dream, every single day, because he’s been very fast and a lot faster than some people were thinking and we’ve been very proud of what he did. I know it was a great achievement for a Malaysian rider to be the first one of his country arriving in the MotoGP class, for his first ever MotoGP race, he scored points and since that day he has been consistently battling for the top rookie spot and apart from that, Hafizh is a very special character. He is a very nice young man, very well educated, very humble, very respectful of everything, hard-working, wanting and wishing to learn a lot, which is what he is doing and a very funny guy, too, a fact I like a lot. Everybody who knows Tech3 a little bit, is aware that I always consider my team my family, I always try to have this family atmosphere in the garage. Hafizh fits in very well and he makes everybody laugh. From almost day one we started to work with him, I wanted to give Hafizh a second year, because year one is important to learn, but the second year is maybe even more important to prove yourself. Clearly, for us all to move to our new project with KTM, where we have the insurance that the four KTM on the grid in 2019 will be the same evolution, it’s going to be a massive boost for Hafizh. He will be on the same machine like Miguel Oliveira, Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro and this is a great challenge. I’m very proud to take this challenge together with Hafizh, always with the support of Razlan. I think we got the best rider, we could have picked for our 2019 line-up and I’m quite sure that Miguel Oliveira and Hafizh Syahrin will be a strong package of new talented and ambitious riders. Tonight, we are a happy team, because everything is clear and decided, so welcome for another year, Hafizh!”.
For Pit Beirer, the announcement of Hafizh Syahrin as the second rider for the KTM Tech3 team means the Austrian manufacturer has all the riders they need under contract, and this means they can now focus on preparing the 2019 season without the stress of looking for riders to complete the lineup
“We are happy that Hafizh Syahrin extended his contract with Tech3. After his unexpected move to MotoGP he has had a decent season so far and is leading the ranking for ‘Rookie of the Year’. Furthermore he is a very professional and friendly young athlete. Together with Miguel Oliveira the rider line-up for our young Tech3 KTM MotoGP Team for the next season is now complete. I also want to express big thanks to Hafizh’s manager Razlan Razali for his trust in the newly built structure of Tech3 KTM. We’re looking forward to work together in the future”.
Last but not least, this couldn’t become a reality without the help of Dato’ Razlan Razali – SIC Chief Executive Officer and Hafizh’s manager, who can’t hide the pride in having the Malaysian rider compete in MotoGP for another season
“I’m extremely excited for Hafizh to get this opportunity to ride in MotoGP category for a second year. I must really thank Hervé for the faith that he has in this boy. Hafizh Syahrin’s journey to MotoGP is a fairytale story, it’s something that should be idolized by young Malaysians. When you work hard, when you are patient and focused, you can achieve your dream and that’s exactly what Hafizh is doing. He has attracted a lot of attention, especially from Hervé for this year and his continued faith in him together with KTM, so we appreciate this support from the team very much. As a Malaysian, as a fan, we are incredibly excited, finally, Hafizh will get to ride a factory bike, he’s a factory rider and how often can we say that we have a Malaysian who has a factory ride in MotoGP, so we are very happy and of course we look forward for him to come to Sepang and wearing the new Tech3 KTM colours in 2019”.