National oil company, Petronas, is partnering with Sepang International Circuit (SIC) to establish the Petronas Sprinta Racing team in an effort to focus on developing two-wheel motorsports and its talent in Malaysia and Asia.
This partnership brings together the Petronas Talent Development Program and SIC Talent Development Program to jointly nurture and develop rising talents from the Malaysian Cub Prix, Asia Road Racing Championship and Asia Talent Cup to compete in global two-wheel championships like Moto2 and Moto3.
SIC will manage the team which includes Hafizh Syahrin, the team’s sole contender in Moto2 in next years World Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP), and Adam Norrodin and Ayumu Sasaki who are Moto3 contenders. Heading the team is Johan Stigefelt, who has experience in World Superbike Championship, Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships.
“Petronas is delighted to announce this new Moto2 and Moto3 project with Sepang International Circuit. We believe this partnership is a natural progression for our long-term commitment in developing talents as it provides a sustainable platform for riders to move up from local to international championships via SIC who has the resources and experience in managing a race team. As for Petronas, our goal is to increase our global visibility through MotoGP, which will potentially translate into positive effects on sales and brand awareness. We are convinced that Petronas, SIC and the entire Asian motorcycle racing fraternity can benefit from this partnership,” said Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Sy M Tahir, Vice President, Marketing Downstream, Petronas.
Tan Sri Azman Yahya, Chairman of SIC commented, “We at SIC are delighted with this strategic collaboration. Both Petronas and SIC share the common goal of developing talents for motorsports. It’s high time for both companies to join efforts in doing so and we are pleased that Petronas is aligned with our vision for the advancement of motorsports in Malaysia. SIC shall play the vital role of managing and overseeing operations of both teams in Moto2 and Moto3 championships. With our experience and technical know-how, we have created an ecosystem that will act as the support system for these riders both on and off the racing circuits. We hope this partnership with Petronas will open doors to future motorsports talents that yearn to progress their careers in world championship racing”.