KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Malaysian rider Khairul Idham Pawi will return to Moto3 race next season, making a reappearance in the class where he won two races in his debut season in 2016.

The 21-year-old racer would ride with Petronas Sprinta Racing alongside John McPhee. The Perak-born rider who is also known as Super KIP launched his Grand Prix racing career in Moto3 class in a spectacular fashion, winning his second race as a full-time rider in the class before going on to bag his second victory later in the same year.

"I’m delighted to stay with the team for another year because it feels like one big family. I told them that I wanted to return to Moto3, and they’ve given me a great opportunity.

"It’s something that I want to make the most of because in 2016 I only had one year in the championship and I think I’ve still got things to learn. Having an experienced rider like John alongside me will be really useful for me too. My target for 2020 is to try to be at the front of the group,” he said in a statement today.

According to the statement, as part of the ongoing treatment to the injury sustained at the Spanish Grand Prix in May this year, KIP was operated on for the third time on Tuesday this week at the Kuala Lumpur Sports Medicine Centre.

As he is recuperating now, he will be concentrating on preparations for the 2020 season which means he will not return to Moto2 in 2019 and would be replaced for the remainder of the 2019 season by fellow Malaysian Adam Norrodin.

"The recovery from my injury will take a long time, which is disappointing. There’s not much that I’ve been able to do apart from working, but hopefully this latest operation will help me to recover,” he added.

Meanwhile, team principal Datuk Razlan Razali said after analysing the options, the team decided that the best course was to ensure the best treatment possible for his hand injury and allowing time for full recuperation rather than pushing for a return to Moto2 this year.

"By KIP returning to Moto3 next year, he will be in an environment where he has stood on the top step before and we will be targeting strong results. Now the focus for KIP is his full recovery and he has our complete support in this.

"For the rest of the 2019 Moto2 season, Adam Norrodin will continue to ride as a part of his development programme,” he added.

Team director Johan Stigefelt said that the team are looking forward for the next season as the team have strong line-up.

"It’s obviously been a difficult year for KIP and we were initially too optimistic about him being able to return to action this season. With just five races left this season and another surgery yesterday, it did not make sense to target a return to Moto2 this year.

"For 2020, we will have a very strong rider line-up in Moto3 with KIP alongside John McPhee and we’re looking forward to their performance,” he said.

The 2020 Moto3 season will get underway in March next year, with the opening round at the Qatar Grand Prix provisionally scheduled for March 8. — Bernama