A valiant performance by Azman and Anuar in the Malaysian Moto2 race
The PETRONAS MIE Racing RW Team lined up for today’s Moto2 World Championship race at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia with wildcard riders Helmi Azman and Azroy Anuar. After making consistent progress throughout the weekend, the Malaysian duo experienced mixed fortunes in Sunday’s race, with Azman doing well to reach the line in twenty-third place and Anuar crashing on lap ten after putting together a promising first phase.
Having qualified twenty-ninth and thirty-first respectively during yesterday’s Q1, Anuar and Azman took their places on rows ten and eleven of the grid for today’s 17-lap race, which ran in the same hot, humid conditions (air temp. 33°C, track temp. 53°C) that have characterised the entire weekend.
As the lights went out, the two Malaysian riders did well to navigate the chaos of turn one, both making up a number of positions to initially place twenty-second and twenty-seventh. Unfortunately, Anuar fell victim to a crash before the end of lap one; although able to rejoin the race, he inevitably found himself at the back of the field. Meanwhile, Azman, twenty-eighth on lap two, did his best to sustain a pace that would allow him to stick with his closest rivals. Crashes for several other riders saw Azman and Anuar make up four positions each by lap four. Lapping with very similar times to each other, the pair held twenty-third and twenty-fourth position until the mid-race point. Unluckily for Anuar, a crash on lap ten put a definitive end to his race, leaving team-mate Azman to get the job done. A steady last few laps for the Malaysian youngster saw him cross the line twenty-third, a significant result considering his starting position.
A valiant effort by both young riders today, who can be proud of their performance on the world stage that is Moto2. Grateful for the opportunity to compete at their home track of Sepang, Anuar and Azman thank PETRONAS, MIE Racing and everyone that contributed to making the weekend possible.
#32 Helmi Azman P23
“The Sunday format is different with respect to the Asian championship as we had no warm-up this morning, but I nevertheless did my best to improve on my qualifying performance in today’s race. It wasn’t easy of course, but I tried my best to stick behind another rider and maintain a good pace. It was a very tough race, very long, and I also had no experience of the tyres, but we have learned a lot. I want to thank everyone for their support this weekend, and I will do my best to put this valuable experience into practice as I move forward.”
#20 Azroy Anuar DNF
“I feel frustrated to be honest as I know I could have done more. In the race, I simply didn’t have the same feeling that I had yesterday in qualifying, and the lap times didn’t come as easily. I had a crash early on, through the last turn, and I did my best to push and recover but then unfortunately crashed again. I had no grip at the front and so it was very difficult. I nevertheless want to thank PETRONAS and the entire team for this opportunity. I hope to see you all again.”
Full Results* Courtesy of MotoGP
