The PETRONAS MIE Racing RW Team and riders Khairul Idham Pawi (#89) and Muhammad Helmi Azman (#55) are competing as wildcards in this weekend’s Moto2 World Championship round at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Having already made progress in practice on Friday, Azman and Pawi were confident they could do more during today’s second practice and crucial qualifying session. Conditions were unfortunately less than ideal for Saturday morning’s FP2 though, the 30-minute session characterised by light rain. Times began to tumble in the last few minutes once the rain had stopped, with Azman able to improve on his FP1 time by a second and a half. The Malaysian put in a best of 2’07.203 right at the end of the session to place twenty-seventh overall. On the other side of the garage, Pawi took an impressive two and half seconds off his previous best to set a 2’07.476, which saw him round out practice in thirtieth position.

At 1.45pm local time (CET+7), the duo headed out for qualifying 1 with the aim of completing a solid session and securing the best possible grid position for Sunday’s race. In fully dry conditions and up against tough competition in such a large field, the PETRONAS MIE Racing RW riders set three fast laps each during this short 15-minute phase. Unfortunately, with only 30 seconds left on the clock, both riders were involved in a crash through Turn 8, which brought their session to a premature end. Having set a best of 2’07.554 prior to the incident, Helmi qualified twenty-ninth for tomorrow’s 17-lap Moto2 race, closely followed by team-mate Khairul, who set a very similar fastest time of 2’07.570. While doctors have deemed Azman fit to continue with the weekend, Pawi will unfortunately be unable to race on Sunday, having sustained a left hand fracture and suspected foot fracture. 

Muhammad Helmi Azman #55

“At the start of FP2 it was raining a little, but the track was dry. The rain then got heavier and so I waited in the garage mid-session for conditions to improve. With about ten minutes to go, I went back out with a new tyre and was able to improve a lot on yesterday’s times. In qualifying everything was looking good at first, but I was unlucky during my second exit and highsided at Turn 8 just as I was pushing to set a fast time. Fortunately I’m unhurt and now we need to look at the data to see what we can do for tomorrow’s race.”

Khairul Idham Pawi #89

“In FP2 I was feeling quite good compared to yesterday and we were able to modify the bike so that I had better grip. I was able to lap almost three seconds quicker than in FP1, so that was a very positive improvement, and I was happy with the progress. I felt quite good at the start of qualifying when I looked at the data with the team, but unfortunately, I then crashed at Turn 8 while trying to make a flying lap. A pity, because that lap could have been my best. I’m sorry I can’t compete tomorrow, but I want to thank the PETRONAS MIE Racing RW Team for giving me this opportunity. Now I will focus on my recovery.”