Hafizh creates history after second placing in Spain

History maker: Hafizh Syahrin (left) together with Spain’s Roman Ramos (winner) and American Kenny Noyes (third) celebrating his first podium finish in the second leg of the CEV Repsol Spanish Championships at the Motorland Aragon Circuit in Spain yesterday.

PETALING JAYA: Moto2 rider Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah 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 yesterday.

A smooth start combined with a well prepared machine saw the Petronas Raceline Malaysia rider storm his way from fifth on the starting grid to second place to record his maiden podium finish.

Hafizh finished the race in 29:27.524, just 0.075 seconds ahead of American Kenny Noyes (29:27.599).

Spaniard Roman Ramos won the 15-lap Race 1 in 29:11.275.

It was a much cherished moment for the 19-year-old Hafizh, who started the race determined to make amends after finishing empty handed in the opening leg in Catalunya early this month.

During the opening leg, Hafizh had dominated the weekend in Catalunya, including taking pole position in qualifying but he crashed out on the first lap.

It was only his second front row start in Catalunya and Hafizh, in his second season, can breathe a sigh of relief to prove the faith in him to make it in the top level is not unfounded.

“It’s hard to believe I finally made it on the podium after a tough time in the unofficial practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday due to harsh weather conditions.

“I am extremely pleased and I would like to extend my gratitude to the team and sponsor for making all this possible,” said an elated Hafizh, who rode his way to a 22nd finish in his first wildcard appearance in France Grand Prix in Le Mans last week.

“It was tough. A lot of riders pushed for a good position early but the cold tarmac means less grip and this resulted in a lot of crashes.

“I did not want to repeat another mistake of crashing out of the race so I kept a steady pace throughout to ensure I pick up championship points,” said Hafizh in a telephone interview from Aragon yesterday.

Hafizh finished fourth in Race 2 and is currently fourth in the championship standings with 20 points.

The Star

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Motorsport: Female racer to make her debut with top team at Chinese GP

PETALING JAYA: There will be Malaysian interest in the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai this weekend as young female talent Natasha Seatter has secured a race seat with reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champions PICC Team StarChase.

Regular team driver Alexandre Imperatori is contesting in the Silverstone round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in preparation for his debut in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Hence, Natasha was offered the opportunity to make her debut with a championship-winning team.

The 20-year-old Natasha has been dubbed ‘Asia’s fastest female formula driver’ and most recently won the Formula Gulf 1000 Cham-pionships at the Dubai Autodrome last month.

She began her career in kart prix and went on to win a scholarship with the Petronas Formula Xperience in 2009.

The following season she joined Formula BMW Pacific with the Petronas Mofaz Racing Team, contesting a second season with the renamed Formula JK Series in 2011.

In March, Natasha made her first foray into GT competition, contesting the Malaysian Super Series race in support of the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix – where she raised eyebrows after beating a number of seasoned sportscar campaigners.

Natasha is looking forward to her debut with the PICC Team StarChase.

“The last two weeks have been very busy training for my first drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia,” she said. “The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is a powerful car with excellent braking and immense grip out of the corners.

“It’s a real pleasure to drive although it handles quite differently from my Formula car and being almost double the weight.

“I owe a huge thanks to PICC Team StarChase for their confidence in my ability to drive for them at the Shanghai round.”

Originally scheduled as round 2 of the championship, a second race has been added to the Shanghai weekend, giving PICC Team StarChase and newcomer Seatter two opportunities to compete at China’s most high-profile and prestigious motorsport weekend.

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