PROMISING young rider Hakim Danish Ramli, like many other kids, dreams of following in the footsteps of six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez.
And despite his tender age, the 13-year-old from Kuala Terengganu already has an impressive trophy haul in his collection.
Hakim has won well over 20 junior races in his career, often taking on riders older than him.
His dominant display at the opening leg of the SIC MiniGP championships recently, where he comfortably won both 160cc races at the Sepang go-kart circuit, proved that he is a class above his peers.
The SMK Sultan Mansor student said he just enjoys competing on track.
"I am always happy to be able to race against my friends. I know there can also be crashes but I am not scared, I just focus on finishing the race," said Hakim.
"In terms of Malaysian riders, I look up to Adam Norrodin but my idol is definitely Marc Marquez.
"I do try to emulate him a little bit when I ride. I want to be like him when I grow up and race in the world championship.
"I want to do Malaysia proud on the international stage and raise the Jalur Gemilang."
Hakim, who trains at the Gong Badak Circuit in Terengganu, is on the right path to becoming a future world championship rider, as the MiniGP programme, headed by former Moto3 rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin, is intended to groom future world class talent.
Outstanding young riders from the MiniGP programme will be promoted to the Asia Talent Cup and subsequently the European Talent Cup if they are good enough.
From there, they can progress to the Moto3 world junior championship or the Moto2 European championship. The next step would be to enter the Moto2 or Moto3 world championship.
MotoGP, the premier class of the world championships, then beckons for riders who make the grade.