SYAHRIN TO TEST FOR TECH3 MOTOGP RIDE
M
alaysia is on the verge of
having its first-ever Mo-
toGP racer with the news Hafizh
Syahrin will ride for the Monster
Energy Tech3 Yamaha team at
the upcoming Buriram test in
Thailand with the view of a full-
time ride this season.
Syahrin's chance to crack
the big time comes after Jonas
Folger's 11th hour withdrawal from
the 2018 series after he con-
firmed he is still not recovered
from a rare strain of Gilbert's Syn-
drome. Yonny Hernandez tested
for the Tech3 team in the recent
Malaysia test, but is contracted
to Pedercini Kawasaki to race in
WorldSBK this season.
"For me, it's a dream coming
true to be able to ride a MotoGP
machine," Syahrin said. "I have
to admit, that I'm overly excited
to get this chance. I hope I can
be fast from the word go to show
everybody what I'm capable of.
Should Syahrin perform to an
acceptable level in Thailand, it
is widely believed he will fill the
second seat at Tech3, which
gives MotoGP rights holder Dorna
the added boon of having a young
Malaysian in the premier class
for the first time. Southeast Asia
is becoming one of the most
important markets for the Mo-
toGP World Championship, as
evidenced by the series visiting
Thailand for the first time this year.
IN
THE
WIND
P36
BROOKES SIGNS WITH NORTON
FOR 2018 ISLE OF MAN TT
F
ormer Australian and British
Superbike Champion Josh
Brookes will compete in the
2018 Isle of Man TT as part of
the Norton factory team for the
second year in a row.
Brookes, who competes in
the British Superbike Champion-
ship for the McCams Yamaha
team, will be Norton's sole
rider after 2017 teammate David
Johnson announced he will be
joining the SMR BMW outfit for
the 2018 TT.
Brookes currently holds
the fastest lap completed by
a Norton at the TT at 130.883
mph and will be a dark horse for
the podium in the superbike and
senior TTs.
"It was a real honor to rep-
resent Norton last year," said
Brookes. "After a couple of
years away it took me a bit of
time to get dialed in again.
Despite the weather disruption
I really felt comfortable by the
end of race week and I'm raring
to go again and build on last
year with the team and add to
their history around the Isle of
Man." CN
Josh Brookes will return to the TT
with the aim of winning the superbike
and senior events for Norton.
