Japanese GP: Hafizh Syahrin to start in 17th position

National Moto2 rider, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah will start in 17th position for the main race of the Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit, tomorrow.

The Petronas Raceline Team rider clocked 1 minute 51.761 seconds in the final qualifying session today, going half a second quicker than his practice time of 1'52.297s.

Spaniard Esteve Rabat of Marc VDS Racing Team secured pole position with a new lap record of 1'50.854S ahead of Swiss rider, Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Sitag) by 0.033s and three tenths ahead of Frenchmen, Johann Zarco of the AirAsia Caterham Team.

"I am relieved now that the bike works quite well.However it would have been a little better if Thailand's Ratthapark Wilarot (of the AirAsia Caterham) did not crash in front of me during my flying lap," Hafizh said in a statement.

"It's also quite difficult to get clear laps here because this circuit is twisty and a lot of the riders group together, making overtaking almost impossible. Nevertheless, I will do my best in the race tomorrow," the 20-year-old rider added.

Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah

Hafizh Syahrin leads QMMF Racing rider Anthony West of Australia during the Moto2-class third free practice session at the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on Oct 11, 2014. - AFP Photo/Toshifumi Kitamura

Moto2 final qualifying results:

1. Esteve Rabat (SPA) 1'50.854s 2. Thomas Luthi (SWI) 1'50.887s 3. Johann Zarco (FRA) 1'51.157s 4. Maverick Vinales (SPA) 1'51.222s 5. Mika Kallio (FIN) 1'51.312s ..... 17. Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (MAS) 1'51.761s