He was facing the greatest riders from all around the world. But with a strong determination in not to disappoint the fans at the home ground, local Moto 3 AirAsia-SIC-Ajo rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin defied the odds and made history by taking on the championship podium for the first time ever at the recent MotoGP 2012 held at Sepang International Circuit.
The win, which is also the country’s first, was already a promising run for the 21-year-old as he had secured the pole position earlier on by clocking a 2:13.885 during the qualifying session. But with the weather acting up during race day and a fierce competition being put up by the other rivals, Zulfahmi lost the lead for the race at the second last corner where he was passed by German Sandro Cortese during the final lap.
“After winning the race, I do feel a little sad for not allowing Fahmi not winning his home grand prix. So, I want to say sorry to Fahmi”, said Cortese during the winner’s press conference.
Even so, finishing in second is already a great achievement for Zulfahmi and is also a wonderful birthday present for the young rider who had just celebrated his birthday the day before.
“I am very happy to finish second. I would also like to thank the crowd. They were great all the way and I was really fired up to their cheers. I would also like to thank KTM for the bike…we have an excellent bike throughout the weekend”.
And Zulfahmi’s win was not the only success that Malaysians could be proud of as over at Moto2, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah also displayed an impressive run that had earned him the fourth place after starting from a far back position of the 27th place on the grid. Competing on a ‘wild card’ ticket, Hafizh finished in fourth after the race was red-flagged due to heavy rain.
“I believed that I could do it in front of the spectators. I did not give up to go further in front,” said the Petronas Raceline Malaysia racer.
