SEPANG: Adam Norrodin settled for 15th on the grid but it has not stopped him from setting his sights on a season’s best finish in the Moto3 race at the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix tomorrow.
The SIC Racing Team rider did well to place sixth in the third practice (FP3) on two minutes and 16.465 seconds earlier in the day, but could only manage 15th when it mattered in qualifying (2:13.847s) at the Sepang Circuit today.
Adam admitted that he was hoping for a better result, but is not worried by his position.
"You cannot really compare FP3 to qualifying, as it was still damp in certain areas (in FP3), while it had completely dried out for qualifying," said the 19-year-old.
"Obviously, I had expected better, but 15th on the grid is not a disaster. I have qualified in worse positions but still managed to do well in the race.
"The bike feels good and I believe I have the pace to be in the front group tomorrow. The goal is to be in the top 10 and achieve my best finish this season."
Adam, who crashed out of the race at Sepang last year, added that he is not going to take an overly-cautious approach to the race.
"The crash last year was not my fault – a rider in front of me went down and I could not avoid him.
"I have to be aggressive in the race. You cannot be too careful because there is always someone behind you looking to overtake.
"I have to attack from the start."
Adam finished eighth at both Phillip Island last week and the Red Bull Ring in August, which are his best achievements so far this season.
SIC Racing teammate Ayumu Sasaki will line up 14th (2:13.792s) on the grid, while wildcard Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (Petronas Sprinta) settled for 29th on 2:15.577s.
Leopard Racing's Joan Mir took pole on 2:12.078s, which broke the circuit best lap record of 2:12.450s set by Jack Miller in 2014.
In Moto2, Petronas Raceline's Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah overcame a tough opening day to qualify a decent 11th on 2:07.137s. Hafizh had struggled with a lack of rear end grip on Friday.
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia's Khairul Idham Pawi will line up 23rd on the grid after clocking 2:07.768s.
Franco Morbidelli (Marc VDS) took pole on 2:06.406s. – With additional reporting by Khairil Iswan