He has some catching up to do, but comeback kid Danial Syahmi Shahril is confident he has what it takes to challenge for the Asia Talent Cup (ATC) title this season.
Japan's Taiyo Furusato has a comfortable lead atop the ATC standings after winning all four races so far this season (100 points).
Danial, who has two podium finishes this year, is 41 points adrift in second position.
The opening two rounds of the season (four races) were held at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar in March.
Danial is confident he can perform better at the remaining tracks this year.
"I know the gap between myself and Furusato is quite big, but I am confident I can chase him and fight for the championship title this season," said Danial.
"We still have another eight races to go this year, and my target is to at least finish in the top 3 in each round.
"Furusato did well to win all four races in Qatar, which shows he is fast there, but it is not easy to be that good at every track on the calendar.
"I like the Buriram track (Thailand), which has a stop-and-go type of layout. I won twice there in 2018. Obviously, I also like Sepang.
"We still have some time to go until the next round at Motegi (Japan) in October, and we will be training hard until then."
Danial almost lost his lower right leg in a horrific crash during the ATC season finale at Sepang Circuit in November 2018. He was fighting for the championship title at the time.
It took him almost two years to recover from his injuries.
His comeback story has made him one of the popular figures on the ATC grid this season, with many fans rooting for his success.
Danial is one of three Malaysian riders competing in ATC this season.
Rookie Hakim Danish Ramli is currently fourth in the standings on 57 points, while Sharul Ezwan Sharil is ninth on 26 points.
The next round at Motegi (Oct 1-3) will be followed by Buriram (Oct 8-10) and Sepang (Oct 29-31), while the season finale will be held at Mandalika (Indonesia) on Nov 12-14.
The ATC serves as one of the feeder series for the MotoGP World Championships.
Young riders who make the grade in the ATC usually progress to the Moto3 World Junior Championships.