Biker Boy

Helloooooo!! Long time no write here!

High time I make an appearance and why not with this up-and-coming racer Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah

Moto2 rider Hafizh recently raced his way into the history books as the first Malaysian to claim a podium finish in the intensely competitive CEV Repsol Spanish Championships in the second leg at the Motorland Aragon Circuit in Spain in May. I had the opportunity to meet him at a HP event.

Here's a little brief on Hafizh that was provided at the event. Cayalah. Am very proud of this young man - 19 at the point of the Press briefing in the picture  - who came across decent and quietly driven (what's that..go figure).

Rider Profile: Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah

Dubbed the “King of Pocket Bikes”, Hafizh was discovered by team manager Barry Leong purely by chance. The Selangor-born boy had developed an interest in motorcycles from an early age and upon the young lad’s insistence, his father introduced him to pocket bikes at the age of 9.

It was not long before his talent began to show after his racing debut on pocket bikes the following year. Dominating the pocket bike category soon after, he was discovered by Barry at one of the pocket bike tracks.

In 2007 at the age of 13, Hafizh made his debut in the Cub Prix championship in dominating style finishing his first year on the YAMAHA LC135 Cup class second overall.

His form continued the following year as the PETRONAS SPRINTA Raceline team’s then youngest rider finished on the podium taking 3rd overall in the YAMAHA GIVI Cup in 2008, in the process also making waves through his spot entries in the Novice category with impressive results.

The youngster switched to race against his more illustrious and seasoned seniors in the Expert category with podium results. Graduating to take on the expert category in 2010, the switch was seamless as Hafizh literally broke down all the barriers and tore the competition apart. Despite a massive revamp in the technical regulations that led to the renaming of the expert category to become the CP130 category; these changes did little to rattle Hafizh's cage. By the time the season drew to a close in Penang's Padang Kota Lama, the 16-year old had obliterated the competition to emerge as the championship's youngest ever CP130 champion, erasing the record set by Norizman Ismail who was the Expert champion in 2005 at the age of 20.

In 2010 the 16-year old made the step up to the bigger league, the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship aboard a 600cc SuperSport bike. Against a much older and experienced field, the youngster held his own to finish his debut season in a respectable 12th from 39 riders.

As the sole Malaysian representative in the CEV Buckler Spanish National Championship in 2012, Hafizh started the final race of the season from the fourth row after qualifying tenth against a field of 29 top riders from around the world. His debut CEV Buckler Moto2 season ranked sixth on the standings with a total of 55 points, and second overall in the Moto2 Privateers Cup.