KUALA LUMPUR: Syarifuddin Azman, Malaysia’s sole representative at the Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) World Championship this year, is set to make his full-season Moto3 debut at the Portuguese GP this weekend.
The 21-year-old rider, who is popularly known as Damok, was pleased with his progress during the three-day official test last weekend at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, where the 21-round 2023 season will rev off.
Damok, who will be racing with Spanish outfit MT Helmets-MSI, said the team had made significant improvements to their KTM bike setup and lap times since the first day of testing.
“The team is pleased with the improvements I made. I am beginning to understand my new bike a bit better… The team meticulously arranged the test, and I am happy with their efforts.
“I want to thank the team for their hard work during the three-day test. I am truly happy,” he said in a statement today.
Damok’s best placing during the test was 10th placing in free practice (FP) eight, clocking 1:47.778s, which is an improvement from the 1:52.068s he clocked en route to a 19th placing in the first practice.
Damok, who made his maiden appearance in Moto3 as a wild card rider in the 2021 Aragon GP, had four more wild card entries last year, namely in the Portugal, Spain, Catalunya and Malaysia GPs.
Test results:
FP1 – 19th (1:52.068s)
FP2 – 23rd (1:50.909s)
FP3 – 19th (1:49.552s)
FP4 – DNS
FP5 – 16th (1:49.830s)
FP6 – 14th (1:49.676s)
FP7 – 16th (1:48.573s)
FP8 – 10th (1:47.778s)
FP9 – 23rd (1:49.596s)
– Bernama
