Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia – Sunday 25th October
Circuit: Sepang International Circuit
Circuit Length: 5.5 km
Circuit Length: 5.5 km
At a hot and humid Sepang International Circuit the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team concluded their home Grand Prix with mixed emotions.
Starting from fourth on the grid DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team rider Jakub Kornfeil immediately got in the mix, dicing with the leaders and temporarily leading the race on lap three. Locked in an eight rider battle, the Czech rider continuously switched places within the group, fighting hard throughout and relentlessly challenging for a podium position. Being pushed wide with four laps to go Kornfeil was demoted to eighth position but determined not to give in, fought his way back to a solid sixth place as the chequered flag came out, elevating his Championship position to thirteenth place.
After showing good form all weekend, Malaysian hero Zulfahmi Khairuddin made a sensational start off the line, immediately launching himself into the leading group. In front of his home crowd Fahmi continued to close in on eighth position whilst setting the fourth fastest lap time of the race. Pushing hard bad luck struck the Malaysian rider and on lap three the 24 year old unexpectedly lost the front of his #63 KTM machine, causing him to crash out of the leading battle. Remounting his bike Fahmi attempted to regain his rhythm but having lost his previously good feeling on the bike, was forced to retire from the race.
Starting from fourth on the grid DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team rider Jakub Kornfeil immediately got in the mix, dicing with the leaders and temporarily leading the race on lap three. Locked in an eight rider battle, the Czech rider continuously switched places within the group, fighting hard throughout and relentlessly challenging for a podium position. Being pushed wide with four laps to go Kornfeil was demoted to eighth position but determined not to give in, fought his way back to a solid sixth place as the chequered flag came out, elevating his Championship position to thirteenth place.
After showing good form all weekend, Malaysian hero Zulfahmi Khairuddin made a sensational start off the line, immediately launching himself into the leading group. In front of his home crowd Fahmi continued to close in on eighth position whilst setting the fourth fastest lap time of the race. Pushing hard bad luck struck the Malaysian rider and on lap three the 24 year old unexpectedly lost the front of his #63 KTM machine, causing him to crash out of the leading battle. Remounting his bike Fahmi attempted to regain his rhythm but having lost his previously good feeling on the bike, was forced to retire from the race.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“It was a nerve racking race today, especially in the beginning when we had both riders in the front group. Jakub and Fahmi made a good start and really fought hard in the first two laps; Fahmi got up to seventh and Jakub was in the top four. Everything looked really good until Fahmi had a small crash going into turn nine; he lost the front, which is easy to do when you are pushing and the pace is high. Unfortunately for him after remounting the bike he wasn’t able to finish the race, which is a real shame. It would have been good to see him continuing to push hard and trying to finish in the points, but it is like it is and we have to move forward to Valencia now.
Jakub did another great race and he was fighting in the leading group. Unfortunately with four laps to go he got pushed out by another rider and almost crashed, which knocked his momentum a bit. He fought his way back but in the end he couldn’t really go for the win or the podium because the other riders had a bit of an advantage on him. He still rode very hard and overtook Kent in the last corner to finish sixth, which is great. Overall these three overseas races have been very good for the team; both riders have made a lot of progress and done a lot of good work, so we’ll take this to Valencia and try to aim for a podium there.”
“It was a nerve racking race today, especially in the beginning when we had both riders in the front group. Jakub and Fahmi made a good start and really fought hard in the first two laps; Fahmi got up to seventh and Jakub was in the top four. Everything looked really good until Fahmi had a small crash going into turn nine; he lost the front, which is easy to do when you are pushing and the pace is high. Unfortunately for him after remounting the bike he wasn’t able to finish the race, which is a real shame. It would have been good to see him continuing to push hard and trying to finish in the points, but it is like it is and we have to move forward to Valencia now.
Jakub did another great race and he was fighting in the leading group. Unfortunately with four laps to go he got pushed out by another rider and almost crashed, which knocked his momentum a bit. He fought his way back but in the end he couldn’t really go for the win or the podium because the other riders had a bit of an advantage on him. He still rode very hard and overtook Kent in the last corner to finish sixth, which is great. Overall these three overseas races have been very good for the team; both riders have made a lot of progress and done a lot of good work, so we’ll take this to Valencia and try to aim for a podium there.”
#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin – DNF
“The start of the race was great. I felt really good with the bike and I was able to catch the leading group. I was pushing hard but then on the third lap I just lost the front; I went to brake like normal into turn nine and then as soon as I wanted to release the brake, the bike just went underneath me and I crashed. I didn’t want to give up so I got back on the bike and tried to get into a rhythm again but the bike didn’t feel the same after the crash, so I had to retire. I don’t know what to say; I’m so disappointed. To not finish the race in front of my home crowd feels really bad. I’m sorry to my team, the sponsors, SIC and all the supporters who came here to watch me race. I hope that I can do them all proud in Valencia.”
“The start of the race was great. I felt really good with the bike and I was able to catch the leading group. I was pushing hard but then on the third lap I just lost the front; I went to brake like normal into turn nine and then as soon as I wanted to release the brake, the bike just went underneath me and I crashed. I didn’t want to give up so I got back on the bike and tried to get into a rhythm again but the bike didn’t feel the same after the crash, so I had to retire. I don’t know what to say; I’m so disappointed. To not finish the race in front of my home crowd feels really bad. I’m sorry to my team, the sponsors, SIC and all the supporters who came here to watch me race. I hope that I can do them all proud in Valencia.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil – P6
“Today was a very difficult race from the start. My first couple of laps were quite good but then the other riders were going so fast and it was a real battle to stay with them. I got my head down and pushed as hard as I could. I really had to fight to stay in the leading group and to control the situation. When we got to the last eight laps I tried to study a little bit more and be clever but I couldn’t find any point where I was faster than the riders in front. In the last three laps I just stayed behind them. There was one moment when I passed them and I got back to around second position but unfortunately they just passed me back again and I couldn’t find a solution to go through the pack. I’m really disappointed for this. It was a really hard race but of course sixth place is not bad and I’m happy to have taken some more points in the Championship. We have been up there the past few races and are continuing to improve race by race, which is important, so let’s see what we can do in Valencia.”
“Today was a very difficult race from the start. My first couple of laps were quite good but then the other riders were going so fast and it was a real battle to stay with them. I got my head down and pushed as hard as I could. I really had to fight to stay in the leading group and to control the situation. When we got to the last eight laps I tried to study a little bit more and be clever but I couldn’t find any point where I was faster than the riders in front. In the last three laps I just stayed behind them. There was one moment when I passed them and I got back to around second position but unfortunately they just passed me back again and I couldn’t find a solution to go through the pack. I’m really disappointed for this. It was a really hard race but of course sixth place is not bad and I’m happy to have taken some more points in the Championship. We have been up there the past few races and are continuing to improve race by race, which is important, so let’s see what we can do in Valencia.”
M7 Energy Drink (European Version) also now available.
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