KUALA LUMPUR: After what has largely been a lukewarm season so far, Malaysian riders were all right on the pace at the Japan Motorcycle Grand Prix today.
Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah both notched stellar results in Moto2 at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.
Azlan (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) just missed out on a podium finish as he finished fourth in a time of 31 minutes and 35.248 seconds in what was a career best performance from the 31 year old.
Hafizh (Petronas Raceline), who has been plagued by technical issues in recent races, did well to come in fifth on 31:40.758s. His previous best finish this season was sixth in Austin (April).
Spaniard Ricard Cardus, who competes for JPMoto Malaysia, also did well to come in sixth on 31:42.870s.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin (DRIVE M7-SIC Racing Team), who is likely competing in his last season in Moto3, was also in fine form as he notched fifth on 28:16.434s while teammate Jakub Kornfeil (Czech Republic) came in 12th in 28:24.283s.