KUALA LUMPUR: National racer Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah again struggled in the second race of the Superbike World Championship (WSBK) at Circuit Assen in the Netherlands yesterday, and he blamed it on the machine.
The Mie Racing Honda racer said he had used all his experience in both races but still could not produce a positive result because his motorcycle was lacking in certain aspects.
Hafizh said his team were aware of the shortcomings of the machine and were trying to resolve the problem before the next race.
“I hope to see a marked improvement in my machine for the next race. My teammate had a new item but we did not have enough time to get both (machines) ready at the same time.
“So, he tried it out first and we could see some improvement although it was still far behind compared to the two Honda (factory) machines, which are different from ours,” he said in an audio clip shared with the media today.
The former MotoGP and Moto2 rider finished in 17th and 20th places in the Netherlands to end up without any points for the second consecutive time after the first event in Spain early this month.
His teammate, Leandro Mercado of Argentina, finished in 15th and 19th places.
Hafizh said given the long break before the next race in Portugal on May 20-22, he would return to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri with his family, apart from undergoing training to improve his physical endurance.
“I am confident of giving a good fight but I’m afraid this is the result I can deliver for now. I will continue to work hard and keep myself highly motivated,” he added. – Bernama