Riders
Learn more about 2024 WorldSBK riders Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin, and WSSP riders Khairul Idham Pawi and Kaito Toba.
Born in Johor, Malaysia on 13 June 1998, Adam competed in the Asia Talent Cup in both 2014 and 2015. He also raced in the CEV Moto3 Junior championship during the 2015 season, before making his Moto3 World Championship debut just a year later. His best result as a rookie was an eleventh-place finish, in both Argentina and Australia, while in 2017 he took a step up to score four top ten finishes. In 2019 he competed in both the Spanish championship and the Asia Road Racing Championship (Supersport class). That same season, Adam was given the possibility to race the final rounds of the 2019 Moto2 championship with the Petronas Sprinta Racing team, replacing an injured rider. 2020 and 2021 saw Norrodin back in the Spanish championship, while in 2022 the Malaysian finished eighth overall in the Asia Superbike 1000 series.
2023 saw him line up with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team in WorldSSP. Tackling what was a challenging season at times, the Malaysian scored a best result of fifth at the Czech round, which ran in mixed conditions. With his positivity and professionalism, the young rider proved a welcome addition to the line-up, so much so that the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team has confirmed his promotion to the World Superbike class for the 2024 season.
Born on 29 October 1995 in Leicestershire, England, Tarran began racing minibikes in 2006. In subsequent years he moved up to 125cc machinery and competed in various series such as the Aprilia Superteens, British Motostar and the Red Bull Rookies Cup. In 2014, the Brit returned to his homeland to compete in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship. A strong performance in 2015 saw him make his British Supersport debut the following season. And what a debut it was, with the young rookie snatching the title at his first attempt, after amassing five race wins and ten additional podium finishes. This result meant that he was given the opportunity to compete in the Moto2 world championship in 2017, where he faced very stiff competition. In 2018 he returned to the national series, where he would remain for the next five years. After finishing fifth overall in both 2019 and 2020, a standout 2021 season, in which he won a total of ten races, secured Tarran the British Superbike title.
Having placed seventh in BSB in 2022, Tarran was approached by the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team, with which he competed in the 2023 Supersport World Championship. The undisputed highlight of his rookie WorldSSP season was undoubtedly the stunning race win he achieved in a complex Race 2 at Most, a fantastic result that went a long way to repaying the hard work and commitment the rider showed all season. No less impressive was his performance in the Suzuka 8 Hours in August of the same year. Together with team-mates Mike di Meglio and Alan Techer, the 28-year-old powered the Honda all the way to the podium, completing the challenging endurance race in third position. Having admirably represented the team in the Supersport class during the 2023 season, Mackenzie moves up to represent the same squad in the WorldSBK category in 2024.
Born on 20 September 1998, Khairul Idham Pawi is a Malaysian rider who has extensive experience in the Moto3 and Moto2 world championships. He is in the fact the youngest non-European to have won a world championship race, the rider having triumphed at the 2016 Argentinian Moto3 round at the age of just 17. Pawi went on to win another race that year, in what was his debut season, before moving up to Moto2 in 2017. Three seasons in the intermediate class proved complicated for the Malaysian, to the point that he switched back to Moto3 in 2020 and the Malaysian and Asian championships as of 2021. 2023 saw the 25-year-old finish the season as runner-up in the 2023 ARRC Supersport championship, aboard the Honda CBR600RR. The year also brought a first opportunity to compete in the WorldSSP championship, with Pawi lining up as a wildcard entry with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team in the season finale at Jerez in Spain. The young Malaysian rider now prepares for his first full Supersport World Championship season.
Born on 7 April 2000, Japanese rider Toba has already amassed seven years of experience in the Moto3 World Championship despite his young age. After winning the Asia Talent Cup in 2014, its inaugural year, young Kaito went on to compete in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2015. He continued to race in both series in 2016, scoring podiums in both and placing fourth overall with Honda in the CEV Moto3. Toba progressed to Moto3 in 2017, improving year on year before scoring his first world championship race win in 2019, when he crossed the line first at the opening Moto3 round of the season in Qatar. Appearing on the podium at least once each season, the talented Japanese continued to compete in Moto3 until 2023, a season in which he placed eleventh overall, thanks also to a top three finish at the inaugural India GP. 2024 will see 23-year-old Toba make his debut in the Supersport World Championship with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team.