Khairul Idha Pawi will be sitting out of the Styrian GP | Photo credits: MotoGP
Malaysian Khairul Idham Pawi will be returning to Spain for recuperation and medical assessment of the finger he fractured in the recent Austrian Grand Prix. This means that PETRONAS Sprinta Racing will only be sending its sole representative John McPhee to the Styria Grand Prix this weekend.
McPhee will be aiming for an optimistic run in Spielberg this time to earn another podium win. So far, the Briton has claimed three podiums this season. McPhee now sits at second place in the World Championship and will be looking to close in on the lead.
Khairul, unfortunately, will not be in action at the sixth round of the championship. He has returned to Barcelona for further medical attention. It is with the best consideration for the Malaysian rider’s health condition to pull out of the race. However, the team is hopeful for KIP to make his return to the start of the next triple-header, starting in Misano.
The first Moto3 Free Practice session of the weekend will get underway on Friday at 9 am local time (3 pm MYT). Lights will be out for Sunday’s 23-lap race scheduled for 11 am local time (5 pm MYT).
Photo credits: Moto Malaya
“We collectively sat down with KIP, his crew chief and the Team Director to look at the situation. We believe that it’s best for him to miss this race to get his finger properly treated in Barcelona tomorrow. This will enable him to recover and rest for three weeks. So that he can come back stronger in Misano. It was a hard decision again by both management and KIP. However, it’s one that needs to be taken in the best interests of his safety and health, and of course that of the team as well.”
Photo credits: Bikes Republic
“I spoke with the team during the last race in Austria about what is the best solution for my finger because I struggled a lot in braking. I can ride the bike but I cannot ride like I want and I cannot push. It’s a very difficult moment because I already have this problem from last year and now again. So, it’s a difficult decision to miss this weekend but one we all agreed is the best solution. Now I will go to Barcelona to see the doctors and take their advice on what we can do and what the next steps are. I’m looking forward to come back stronger in Misano with, I really hope, no more problems in my finger. I wish the team the best of luck this weekend in Austria, because we saw last weekend that again John is very strong.”