Hakim Danish Ramli demonstrated remarkable determination as he fought back from a qualifying crash to finish 13th at the United States Grand Prix.

After crashing during qualifying and failing to set a competitive lap time, Hakim Danish was forced to start the race from 25th on the grid. However, he did not allow the setback to affect his focus as he took to the track at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) yesterday. Instead, the AEON Credit MT Helmets-MSi rider delivered an aggressive and consistent performance, making up positions as early as the opening lap.

The Terengganu born rider found his rhythm quickly, overtaking seven riders within the first three laps to rejoin the midfield battle. He maintained that momentum throughout the race despite facing challenges, particularly with tyre management and the physical demands following Saturday’s qualifying incident.

His hard work paid off as he secured a 13th-place finish, earning three valuable points at COTA. After three rounds, Hakim Danish now sits 14th overall in the standings with a total of 9 points.

Hakim Danish:

“Overall, the USGP was a tough race for me. During qualifying, I crashed and was unable to set a lap time, which meant I had to start from the back of the grid.

In the race, I never gave up and managed to finish 13th overall. It was definitely challenging as I had to overtake many riders, especially in the first three laps.

At that point, everyone was pushing hard, so I had to find space in every lap and at every corner to make my moves. Alhamdulillah, I was able to pass the riders ahead of me one by one. I also struggled slightly with tyre management as I was using the soft compound. At COTA, the circuit is long and technical, so I had to control the bike carefully. I also had a moment in the final five laps where I almost crashed, but I managed to stay on and keep it under control.

Throughout this week, I’ve learned a lot and I will take this as a lesson to avoid repeating the same mistakes, especially in qualifying. I will continue to work hard ahead of the next race in Jerez.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin:

“USGP, as expected, is a very difficult and highly technical circuit for all riders, especially for a rookie. We could see that Hakim Danish’s adaptation to the track was slightly slow as he worked to get comfortable with the layout.

There were several challenges, including a crash, and I believe this is all part of the process that Hakim Danish needs to go through. However, we clearly saw his determination, starting from the very back of the grid and fighting his way up to P13 to score points.

After the qualifying session, I had quite a detailed discussion with Hakim Danish to set a more realistic target, which was to be in a position to collect points in the race. He did his best and managed to finish in 13th place.

Overall, it was a very tough week, but Hakim delivered a strong comeback with a P13 result. It was not a perfect weekend, but we can take this experience as a valuable lesson to help him become more competitive and better prepared for new circuits in the future.”