KUALA LUMPUR: After finishing in the points for the first time since August, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah believes he is starting to find his form in Moto2 again.
The Inde Aspar Team rider did well to notch two top-10 finishes in the first four races of the season but has struggled since suffering a crash at the Austrian GP, which forced him to miss the Styrian GP due to injury.
Finishing 15th at Le Mans on Sunday was a positive sign for Hafizh, who has yet to secure a world championship seat for next season.
"The beginning of the race was not bad," said Hafizh, who started from 23rd on the grid, on Sunday.
"After a few laps, we had the pace to catch the front group, but I had some issues with traction on the corner exits, possibly due to the track temperature, and this cost me.
"But still, finishing 15th is better than nothing. At least, we have one more point.
"It feels like we are in the right direction, and we can fight to be ahead. We will keep fighting in Aragon this week."
Rookie Kasma Daniel Kasmyuddin (ONEXOX TKKR SAG), who did well to top free practice one (FP1), showed his inexperience as he was disqualified from the Le Mans race due to exceeding the pit lane speed limit.
His more experienced teammate, Remy Gardner, however, did well to finish second. It was his second podium finish this season with the Malaysian-backed team.
In Moto3, under-pressure Khairul Idham Pawi managed 19th at Le Mans after starting from 28th on the grid but was left wanting after struggling with a lack of low-end grunt from his NSF250RW machine.
The Petronas Sprinta Racing rider has yet to score a points finish this season.
"I felt from the beginning of the race that I had good corner speed, but I was not able to pass the other riders as I had some problems in the bottom end of the gears and there was not enough power," said Khairul.
Teammate John McPhee's race ended prematurely after crashing with four laps remaining.