KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Razlan Razali believes Hakim Danish Ramli deserves to be promoted to the Moto3 World Championship next year if he can secure a top-three finish in the Red Bull Rookies Cup this season.
Though he has lost his lead in the Red Bull Rookies series, Danish has had a strong season overall and is third in the championship with only one round (two races) remaining in Misano on Sept 13-14.
“If Danish can achieve a top-three finish or become the Red Bull Rookies champion, which is ultimately what we want, then he very much deserves to be in Moto3 next season,” said Razlan recently.
“If he does become the champion, Red Bull will take him for their Moto3 team which will ease the burden on Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and the funding (for his seat) can then go to other riders.
“But I believe there is also a deal in place with MT Helmets which will see him go there if he can achieve a certain position (top-three).
“Either way, he needs to perform.”
While still mathematically possible, winning the Red Bull Rookies title will be a tall order for Danish as he now trails championship leader Brian Uriarte (Spain) by 26 points.
Danish, 18, became the first Malaysia rider to win a Red Bull Rookies race last year and became the first Malaysian to lead the championship earlier this year.
Danish, who became the first Malaysian rider to win the Asia Talent Cup title in 2022, and Qabil Irfan Azlan, 13, have been earmarked as future stars for Malaysia.
Qabil became the first Malaysian to win the FIM MiniGP World Championship title in 2023.
Razlan believes it is too early to say whether the duo can exceed what Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah has achieved.
“For the first time, we (Malaysia) have two riders who have been on the right trajectory from very early on. This is especially true for Qabil,” said Razlan.
“It is true, we have never seen talent like this before, who are capable of all that (in junior competitions).
“Both, however, still have a very long way to go before we can compare them to Hafizh.
“If they can avoid getting distracted and have the right support system behind them, I believe they can achieve a lot.”
Hafizh was a full-season rider in Moto2 for four years (2014-2017) before he became the first Southeast Asian rider to become a full-season rider in MotoGP in 2018.
He finished a respectable 16th in his rookie season in the premier class. After two years in MotoGP (2018-2019) he moved back down to Moto2 for another two seasons (2020-2021).
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
