The latest MotoGP rumour has pointed out to the possibility of Hafizh Syahrin moving up into the premier class to race for Monster Yamaha Tech 3.
As Jonas Folger sits out for the 2018 season, team boss Herve Poncharal has been scrambling to find his replacement.
Nothing has been confirmed just yet but Hafizh Syahrin is definitely in the possible candidate’s list to ride the Yamaha M1 this season.
The latest and probably most interesting MotoGP gossip has to be the one involving our very own national Moto2 rider, Hafizh Syahrin. Ever since MotoGP rider Jonas Folger of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 made the announcement of not racing in 2018 to recover from a rare genetic disease, a lot of rumours have pointed out to several possible candidates to fill in his seat.
Based on the a recent report published on MCN, the 23 year old definitely has his sights locked on becoming the first MotoGP rider from South East Asia. They managed to talk to the Tech 3 team manager, Herve Poncharal regarding the matter. According to Poncharal, “Syahrin is one of the new names that wasn’t on the list until now but that is now definitely on the list – but believe me, it is very far from being done.”
“Right now, I’m really tired of the situation. We have to take care of our motorcycle manufacturer and of our sponsors, and right now the contract that I sold to all those people was with Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger. Anything different needs to be discussed and everyone has their own ideas with me in the middle,” added Poncharal.
During the recent MotoGP winter test in Sepang, it was Yonny Hernandez who took the responsibility of filling in Folger’s place for the three-day testing. He was considered to be one of the riders shortlisted to replace Folger for 2018 but looking at how he finished in P25, we highly doubt that it’ll happen for the 29 year old Colombian.
Nothing has been decided so far and choosing the 2018 replacement to ride the Yamaha M1 for the team is far from being finalised. As for Syahrin, it’ll be quite a challenge considering he just made a giant move in the Moto2 category from Petronas Raceline Malaysia to a newly-formed Moto2 squad by the folks at SIC.
Hafizh Syahrin scored two podiums last year in Misano and Motegi and his consistent results ended the 2017 season in P10 overall with 106 points. Stay tuned to Bikes Republic for more updates.
Image source: MotoGP
