MEDIA RELEASE

Monday, 21 June 2010
 
ZULFAHMI ENDURES FIRST DNF OF THE SEASON
 
Malaysian Zulfahmi Khairuddin had a heart-breaking British Grand Prix at Silverstone after he was forced to endure his first retirement of the season when his Aprilia machine encountered mechanical problems with five laps to go.
 
It had indeed been a difficult weekend for the AirAsia Sepang International Circuit rider as he had problems with the bike as early as the first free practice session on Friday where he crashed on his opening lap and again on Lap 3, which effectively ended his day.
 
Saturday did not start well either as he crashed again in the first practice; but he did well in qualifying to finish 22nd in a grid of 32 riders despite complaining of braking problems on the bike as well as the windy conditions and low track temperature in Silverstone.
 
Zulfahmi hurt his left hand after crashing during Saturday's qualifying and had it taped before the start of the 17-lap race. The 18-year-old from Banting started well to move three places to 19th spot after the first two laps on his Aprilia bike but later struggled to keep up with the pace.
 
He slipped back to 22nd spot after the half-way mark before eventually retiring with five laps to go due to a mechanical problem with his bike.    

"I was targeting a top 20 finish but it did not happen yesterday. I had been struggling through the weekend after crashing twice and I thought I could do better after a good start. The start was good but in the middle of the race, the engine failed. I try to start but failed," said Zulfahmi, whose father Khairuddin Weji is in Silverstone to watch him in action.
Despite the setback, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes was all praises for Zulfahmi, saying that his performance had actually improved and that the young Malaysian was showing good improvement in his GP career.
 
“It was not his fault as he had to retire due to engine failure. His lap times had improved tremendous
In Silverstone. He was racing against experience riders and he is still young. He will definitely become better,” he said.
 
Fahmi’s team-mate Sturla Fagerhaug had a better showing; finishing 18th after starting from 16th place.
 
The race was won by Spaniard Marc Marquez of Red Bull Ajo Motorsport with his compatriot Pol Espargaro coming in second.

Earlier, Jorge Lorenzo had won the MotoGP race for the factory Yamaha team with a margin of 6.743 seconds ahead of Italian Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso. Yamaha rider Ben Spies completed the podium after overtaking fellow American Nicky Hayden on the final lap.  
It was the third win for Lorenzo and his victory from pole position saw him stretching his lead at the top of the standings to 37 points over Honda rider Dovizioso.
Despite the absence of Italian reigning world champion Valentino Rossi, who is nursing a broken leg, the British GP was still well attended with over 70,000 fans braving the chilly weather yesterday.
It was the first time in 14 years that Silverstone staged a leg of the World Motorcycle Championship and Air Asia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes presented the winning trophies. 
The historic track has been renovated to accomodate more fans and will again be the centre of attention in two weeks time when it stages the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
 
Round 6 will be in Assen at the Dutch Grand Prix on June 26.
Podium winners and standings
MotoGP (20 laps): 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 41:34.083, 2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 41:40.826, 3. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Tech 3 41:41.180.
Standings: 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 115, 2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 78, 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 73.

Moto2 (18 laps): 1. Jules Cluzel (FRA) Forward Racing Suter 39:19.472, 2. Thomas Luthi (SWI) Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 39:19.529, 3. Julian Simon (SPA) Aspar Team Suter 39:19.794.
Standings: 1. Toni Elias (SPA) Gresini Racing Moto2 80, 2. Tomizawa Shoya (JPN) TechnoMat 65, 3. Thomas Luthi (SWI) Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 58.

125cc (17 laps): 1. Marc Marquez (SPA) Red Bull Ajo Motorsport 38:12.837, 2. Pol Espargaro (SPA) Tuenti Racing 2.576secs behind, 3. Bradley Smith (GBR) Bancaja Aspar Racing 13.446secs behind. 
Standings: 1. Pol Espargaro (SPA) Tuenti Racing 99, 2. Nicolas Terol (SPA) Bancaja Aspar Racing 98, 3. Marc Marquez (SPA) Red Bull Ajo Motorsport 82.