Positive Qualifying For DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team At Motegi

Twin Ring Motegi, Japan– Saturday 10th October

Circuit: Twin Ring Motegi
Circuit Length: 4.8 km

Bike #63 – Zulfahmi Khairuddin
Qualifying: P15; 1’57.585 (DRY) – 15 laps

Bike #84 – Jakub Kornfeil
Qualifying: P8; 1’57.089 (DRY) – 15 laps

A positive Moto3 qualifying at Motegi saw the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team riders qualify on the third and fifth row of the grid for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Starting strong Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Jakub Kornfeil got straight to work in today’s morning practice, pushing hard and setting their fastest times of the weekend so far. Feeling confident and comfortable with the set-up of their 2015 KTM machines, the determined duo continued to pick up the pace, breaking into the 1m57s lap times and concluding the session in 9th and 12th position.

As the qualifying session got underway Czech rider Jakub Kornfeil worked hard to find his rhythm amongst the busy Moto3 field. Bettering his time by over half a second, Kornfeil’s stringent efforts prevailed, concluded the session in 8th place.

Teammate Zulfahmi Khairuddin made a blistering start to the forty minute qualifying session, immediately launching himself into the top ten, before provisionally holding onto an impressive fourth place. Looking in good form the Malaysian rider continued to pursue a quicker time but was unable to find a clean lap before the session came to a close. Fahmi will start tomorrow’s race from a respectable 15th place.

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager

“It’s been a good weekend so far for both riders and we have made a lot of progress here in Motegi, which I’m really pleased about. The team are working great and there is a good feeling amongst us all at this moment. We are working better and better. As always qualifying in Moto3 is difficult but both riders showed their strength from the start today. Fahmi was fast immediately and Jakub as well. Unfortunately in the end Fahmi couldn’t get a clean lap as there were too many riders around him. He’s very disappointed for this because he knew he could have been a lot faster but still I think he has done a great job. He is showing a lot more confidence and fight now. We know he could have done better but starting fifteenth is not a disaster. Jakub was really on the pace in qualifying today too and he did a great lap behind Navarro. He looks in good form out there and he’s feeling confident on the bike, so I’m looking forward to see what he can do in the race.”

#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin

“To be honest this has been the best weekend so far; we have been competitive since FP1. Only in qualifying I can say I expected a little more. The session started well and I felt really good on the bike. Towards the end of qualifying we put a new soft tyre in but I couldn’t find a clean lap because there were so many bikes on track. There was a lot of traffic. It’s disappointing because I know I could have gone faster. Still I can be happy with my lap time because I did it alone, so I’m feeling confident for tomorrow. My focus now is the first two laps of the race; I must get a good start and fight hard.”

#84 Jakub Kornfeil

“I’m feeling very good after today; with the team, with the bike, with the track. I feel happy because I did what I had to do. Our target was minimum top ten. I did everything I could to reach the target so I’m pleased to have finished in eighth place. For tomorrow we just have to continue working and finish this weekend on a high. We are capable of a good result and collecting points. We know our goals and where we want to be, so this is what we will focus on. The forecast for tomorrow looks like rain. Maybe this will be even better for us. We are competitive here so let’s see. I can’t wait for the race.”

-SIC Racing Team facebook.

PelanconganKini supports DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team.

Note: DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team Polo T-shirt & Round Neck T-shirt is now available at http://www.m7shop.com/home.aspx

M7 Energy Drink (European Version) also now available.