TOUGH START FOR MALAYSIAN KHAIRUL IDHAM AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Bernama) -- After claiming his first three points of the season in Argentina, Malaysian Khairul Idham Pawi arrived in the United States this week with the hope of continuing his impressive form in the Moto2 class at the Grand Prix of the Americas.  Unfortunately a crash during the decisive part of Free Practice 2 at Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) left him in the 22nd spot on combined time sheets, on Friday.  "FP1 (Free Practice 1) went well, especially at the end where we managed to get close to the Top 14. At the start of FP2, I was able to move into the Top 15 but I crashed when I was trying to improve my time and I couldn't continue.  "The crash was due to a bump on the track, which made me lose contact with the rear tyre. I tried to save it but it was impossible. It's important that I try to fight again tomorrow.  "Physically I'm okay but I have some pain in my back that I hope will be better in the morning. We'll see what is the weather condition like as well," said the 20-year-old rider from Kampung Gajah, Perak. According to the team official website, the Malaysian rider completed a total of 15 laps in FP1, achieving the best time of two minutes and 13.032 seconds, which enabled him an 18th place in the session. In the afternoon, Khairul Idham was able to lower his time from FP1 by more than seven-tenths but a crash at Turn 6 in the final minutes of the session halted the Petronas Sprinta Racing rider's progress.  He was in 15th place at the time of the crash and he was unable to take part in the late assault on the timesheets and was relegated to 22nd place. However, he has been declared fit and will continue to ride tomorrow in FP3 and the qualifying round. Meanwhile in the Moto3 class, Petronas Sprinta Racing riders, Japan's Ayumu Sasaki and Great Britain's John McPhee finished the opening day of the Americas Grand Prix in the top-15. After completing the two practice sessions, Sasaki settled in ninth place with a time of 2:17.656s while McPhee was in the 12th spot with his best time of 2:17.737s. -- BERNAMA