Norrodin Claims Solid Tenth; Sasaki Top Rookie In Eleventh At Losail

Qatar, Doha – Sunday 26th March

Circuit: Losail International Circuit
Circuit Length: 5.4 km

SIC Racing Team riders Adam Norrodin and Ayumu Sasaki claim points all round in the opening round of the 2017 Moto3 Championship, finishing in 10th [Adam] and 11th [Ayumu] place at Losail International Circuit. 

Continuing to show his renewed form, Adam Norrodin immediately began his battle for the points as the lights went out. Relentlessly pushing to stay with the leading group, the young Malaysian worked hard to hold his position and close in on the riders ahead. Showing consistently quick lap times throughout the 18 lap race, Norrodin impressed with his pace and determination to achieve his target of a top ten finish. 

Newcomer to the team Ayumu Sasaki made an impressive start to his 2017 campaign, launching off the line to begin his battle within the leading group. The fearless sixteen-year-old fought hard to work his way up into ninth place, before a crash in front forced him to take evasive action. Despite losing both time and positions, Sasaki regained his rhythm to conclude his debut Moto3 Grand Prix with a superb 11th place finish and the first rookie across the line.

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“The target here was to finish in the top ten with both riders and we showed in practice that we had the pace for it. Both Adam and Ayumu did an excellent job and worked hard to stay with the top group. Unfortunately in turn six there was a crash in front of them and both riders suffered from this; they lost a bit of time from the group and then couldn’t recover. They just didn’t have the pace alone to catch them back up again. In any case we finished in the top ten with Adam and we’re very happy for this. Also with Ayumu, he was the best rookie today and did a superb job in his first Moto3 Grand Prix to finish eleventh. It’s been a difficult weekend with the weather conditions but we leave here happy with this first race; both riders in the points. We now need to keep this momentum. We see that we have speed, which is a big boost of confidence, so we need to take this to Argentina at the next race.” 

#7 Adam Norrodin P10
“Today was a great day! I’m so happy. I want to say a big thank you to my team! We trained really hard over the winter to start strong this weekend. We’ve pushed hard every session and we’ve achieved our target. In the race I just did my best to release my mind, stay calm and focus. I knew I had the rhythm. The feeling was good from the start and I was able to go with the leading group. We stayed there until near the very end but everyone was on the limit and there were a couple of crashes. To finish in the top ten on our first this season is really good. Now we just have to do even better in Argentina!” 

#71 Ayumu Sasaki P11

“We have started the season in a pretty good way. Unfortunately from the start of the race I had a small issue with the front of the bike but nevertheless I was able to follow the front group until two riders crashed in front of me. I had to run wide to avoid them and I lost a couple of positions. I was already on the limit to stay in the front group so I wasn’t able to catch them again after I lost the time. Anyway we leave Qatar with some points. We have work to do for Argentina but I’m confident we can do better there.” 

-SIC Racing Team.
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