Zul hopes to soar with Ajo

SEPANG: A bright future lies ahead for Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin in the125cc world championships this season with the backing of championship winning outfit Ajo Motor sports. Zulfahmi rode for Air Asia-Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in his first full season in the championships last year. He will be in Air Asia-SIC-Ajo colours this time. Finland-based Ajo Motorsports played a key role in Marc Marquez’s triumphant season last year when the Spaniard rode under the banner of Red Bull-Ajo to win the 125cc title on his Derbi bike.

Good backers: Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes (right), Datuk Razlan Razali and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (left) at yesterday’s press conference to announce the tie-up with Finlandbased Ajo Motorsports.

The SIC chief executive officer, Datuk Razlan Razali, said that the decision to have Zulfahmi riding with a better team was imminent as they seek to have a better performance in the championships this season. Zulfahmi was supported by Italian outfit Ongetta ISPA last season and the 19-year-old chalked up four points in the 17-round championships. Razlan said that the target for Zulfahmi this season was to finish among the points in every race. “We are not expecting him to fight for the championships just yet. He still has a lot to learn and being in a championship-winning team like Ajo will help him towards that in the future,” he said.

Team owner Aki Ajo said that they would focus more on getting Zulfahmi to overcome his weaknesses this season. “Last year, he was just learning the tracks and getting used to the bike. Now we will have to focus on specific areas that will help him fight for points in the championships,” said Ajo. Air Asia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes echoed Razlan’s feelings that the objective will be much higher but success will take years to materialise. “It takes a long time for a tree to grow. We always have the right talent in our stable but often we push them for success too soon,” he said. “It will be not about how many points Zulfahmi will get but to learn as much as he can to seriously challenge for the title in three or five years.”

Zulfahmi will be using the same No. 63 on his bike but instead of an Aprilia, he will ride a Derbi machine. “I’m really excited to start the new season in March and I hope that with the new team, I can get better results in the championships,” he said. Zulfahmi will begin pre-season tests in Valencia on Feb 10. The championship season begins on March 20 in Losail, Qatar.

-thestar online.