KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 ― National Moto3 racer, Khairul Idham Pawi will be removed from the Petronas Sprinta Racing team if he fails to reach the top 15 position in the World Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship (MotoGP) this season.
The warning was issued by the team’s principal, Datuk Razlan Razali who was disappointed with the performance displayed by Khairul who is fondly known as Super KIP after three Moto3 races this season.
He said that the remaining 11 Moto3 World Championship races this season will determine whether the 21-year-old rider will continue to represent the team next season.
“Khairul Idham Pawi has to do something. I also wonder why he still failed to achieve a respectable position despite so many modifications made on his machine.
“I am not sure what are his issues as it is also the same machine used by Khairul Idham Pawi’s teammate, John McPhee,” he told Bernama, recently.
Commenting further, Razlan stressed that all racers under the team, including two Moto2 riders, Xavi Vierge from Spain and Jake Dixon from the United Kingdom, have to meet their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or be replaced with new riders.
Super KIP finished in 26th position at the Qatar GP at the Losail International Circuit on March 8, and in 22nd and 20th at the Spanish and Andalusia GPs respectively at the Jerez Circuit on July 19 and 26.
This was in contrast to McPhee who took second place, both at the Qatar GP and Andalusia GP. He, however, failed to finish the race at the Spanish GP after being involved in an accident the final turn of the race.
The 2020 MotoGP World Championship continues with the Czech Republic GP at the Brno Circuit, from Aug 7-9. ― Bernama
