KUALA LUMPUR: Zulfahmi Khairuddin is proud of youngsters Hakim Danish Ramli and Qabil Irfan Azlan who have both shone in Europe this season.
Danish finished third overall in the Red Bull Rookies Cup (RBRC), the highest any Malaysian rider has ever achieved in the prestigious MotoGP World Championships feeder series.
The 18-year-old had briefly led the RBRC championship earlier in the season but had a dip in form later on.
He went into the final round at Misano on Friday still having a mathematical chance of winning the title but was unlucky in both races.
Zulfahmi, who has mentored and managed the development of both riders since 2020, said Danish’s performances throughout the season bode well for his future.
Danish is expected to make the step up to Moto3 next year.
“Unfortunately Danish was hit by another rider in race one (Misano) and went off the track but was still able to finish 10th,” said Zulfahmi today (Sept 16).
“For the second race, the track was half-dry and half-wet and Danish hit a wet patch which caused him to crash. He was not able to finish the race.
“Overall, I am still very proud of Danish. He finished 12th in his first RBRC season (2023), sixth last year and this year he is third. This is the best-ever performance by a Malaysian rider in the competition.
“He was very consistent for much of the season and always fought until the very end.
“RBRC has been the best platform for him to gain experience before heading to the World Championships and we will continue to work on improving his performances.”
Zulfahmi added that he was equally impressed by Qabil who claimed the Spanish Superbike Championship Talent (ESBK Talent) series overall title after winning both races at the final round in Estoril over the weekend.
Qabil, 13, has won six out of 12 races so far this season with one round to go in Jerez (Nov).
“To be honest, at the start of the season I did not expect Qabil to become the overall champion of the ESBK Talent series,” said Zulfahmi.
“But right off the bat, he won both races in the opening round and from then on our expectations changed.
“I am very proud of him for winning the overall title and I hope he will continue to improve when he races in the Asia Talent Cup and the European Talent Cup next season.”
Zulfahmi expressed his gratitude to Qabil’s father Azlan Abdul Rahman who accompanied his son in Spain this season.
Qabil had previously grabbed headlines in 2023 when he became the first Malaysian to win the FIM MiniGP World Series Finals.
Both Qabil and Danish are products of Sepang International Circuit’s (SIC) two-wheel development programme which is managed by Zulfahmi via his motorsports outfit, ZK Racing.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
