Syahrin returns to scene of MotoGP debut

Hafizh Syahrin returns to the scene of his historic MotoGP debut as Thailand hosts its first ever grand prix at the Buriram circuit this weekend.

At the same venue in February, Syahrin became the first Malaysian to ride a MotoGP bike, after being handed a last-minute chance to take over the Monster Yamaha Tech3 seat vacated by Jonas Folger.

Syahrin did a solid job at the test, finishing 22nd out of 24 riders, and was duly confirmed with the team for the full season. Syahrin scored MotoGP points on his race debut in Qatar, then ninth place in Argentina, before a big highside in Texas.

The Malaysian has finished in the points four times since, but appears to have lost his way in terms of bike set-up at recent rounds - suffering with a lack of front-end confidence and handing the Rookie of the Year advantage to Franco Morbidelli.

“I have great memories regarding Thailand, because in the beginning of the year I got to know that I’ll be testing a MotoGP bike at the Chang International Circuit, where I finally rode the M1 for the very first time," Syahrin said.

"I had a good test and was just less than two seconds from the top. Now I hope this track can give me an extra boost for this weekend, as I really look forward to arrive in Buriram and also because it’s the beginning of the Asian rounds before the season finale in Valencia.

"The last two, three races I was struggling. We know that we face a tough situation together with Yamaha, so I hope they can fix something to give us the chance to fight for some better results again.

"I wish I can do well and I try to come back to the points scoring positions. I still believe in myself, the team is working incredibly hard, so we keep on doing this and never give up.”

Syahrin is presently seven points behind Morbidelli (Marc VDS Honda) with five races to go.