SEPANG: Hakim Danish Ramli placed himself in a good position to fight for the points after qualifying 14th in Moto3 at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia today (Oct 25).
Leopard Racing’s David Almansa took pole position on two minutes and 9.846 seconds at Sepang Circuit with Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato (+0.094s) and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Rueda (+0.230s) completing the front row.
Danish, competing on a wildcard, clocked a decent 2:11.487s to place 14th (+1.641s) in the fifth row.
The Terengganu-born said competing for the first time in a world championship qualifying session was an eye-opening experience.
“The feeling in qualifying was very different from what I am used to in the Red Bull Rookies Cup (RBRC) and FIM JuniorGP series,” said Danish, who is racing the latest factory KTM bike.
“I made a few mistakes and almost crashed as I tried to improve on my lap times but overall, I felt that I managed it well.
“I am expecting the race tomorrow to be very tough.
“I have to be prepared to push hard from the very start and get myself in a good position.”
In Moto2, Petronas Mie Racing RW wildcard duo Azroy Anuar and Helmi Azman qualified 29th (+3.288s) and 30th (+4.431s) respectively.
The duo’s grid positions do not come as a surprise considering they are racing on old Kalex machinery from a few seasons ago and have limited experience on the bikes.
Helmi is nevertheless maintaining a positive outlook ahead of tomorrow’s race.
“We were determined to keep trying to find more pace in each session which is not easy as we do not have much mileage on this bike. All things considered, I am quite happy with the progress we have made,” said Helmi.
“The goal tomorrow is to try and stick with the group as much as possible and try to move up a few spots.”
Both Helmi and Azroy are full season riders in the Asia Road Racing Championships.
CFMoto RCB Aspar Team’s Daniel Holgado (2:02.858s) will start from pole in the intermediate class race tomorrow with Fantic Racing’s Barry Baltus (+0.562s) and ELF Marc VDS Racing Team’s Jake Dixon (+0.591s) completing the front row.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
