Hakim Danish Fights Back from Behind to Bag Points at Motegi

Hakim Danish displayed a high fighting spirit to finish the Moto3 Japanese GP race in 12th place and collect four valuable points.

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Hakim Danish proved his determination and fighting spirit when he bounced back from a challenging weekend to finish the 2026 Moto3 Grand Prix (GP) of Japan in 12th place at Mobility Resort Motegi.

The result saw the AEON Credit-MT Helmets-MSi rider take home four championship points, taking his total to 105 points for the season. The performance also allowed him to maintain seventh position in the 2026 Moto3 World Championship standings.

Starting From 21st Place After a Tough Session

Hakim’s journey at Motegi was not an easy one. The 19-year-old was forced to start the race from 21st place after suffering three crashes during free practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday.

The incident caused him to still experience discomfort in his left hand and shoulder when racing.

Despite being in less than perfect condition, Hakim still chose to continue the race and showed a fairly consistent performance throughout the 17 laps covering a distance of 81.617 kilometers.

Rising Gradually in the Race

Hakim made a good start before gradually improving his position. The Terengganu-born rider managed to overtake several challengers in front despite facing quite stiff competition.

He finally crossed the finish line in 12th place with a time of 33 minutes 06.817 seconds, thus ensuring that four important points were successfully achieved.

Throughout the race, Hakim also faced difficulties in controlling his machine, especially when braking and entering corners. In addition, the opportunities to overtake were also quite limited due to the fast pace of the front group. However, he managed to manage the situation well until the finish.

Evidence of Mental and Physical Resilience

The ZK Racing team described the result in Motegi as another positive development for the country’s young racer.

After suffering three accidents in two days, Hakim still managed to bounce back and collect championship points, thus proving his mental and physical resilience as he matures as a rookie rider on the Moto3 World Championship stage.

Hakim Danish Wants to Rise Stronger in Mandalika

Commenting on his performance in Japan, Hakim admitted that the weekend in Motegi was one of the biggest challenges he has faced this season.

“Overall, this has been a very challenging start to the Asian series for me after suffering three big crashes on Friday and Saturday. However, in the race today, I refused to give up and tried to finish as well as possible to achieve the best position.”

“I started well at the beginning of the race although it was a bit challenging to get to the front group because the pace of all the riders was very fast. I tried to find space to overtake but the space was limited, besides being a bit challenging to slow down the machine and handle it in the corners.

“I am grateful to finally be able to finish the race in 12th place.”

“Now my focus shifts to the next round in Indonesia. I will try to recover as quickly as possible, especially on the shoulder area which felt uncomfortable throughout the race.”

“Thank you to the entire team who have worked hard to provide the best machinery, as well as to all the fans for their strong support.”

Zulfahmi Praises Hakim’s Fighting Spirit

SIC Racing Team Manager, Zulfahmi Khairuddin, also praised the perseverance shown by Hakim throughout the weekend at Motegi.

According to him, several accidents he suffered had somewhat affected the rider’s confidence in his machine, in addition to an injury to his left hand which required continuous treatment from the physiotherapy team.

“Motegi is definitely a weekend that really tests both mental and physical endurance. Danish often crashes during free practice and every time an incident happens, his confidence in the machine is slightly affected.

“Honestly, I was very impressed by the confidence and determination shown by Danish. Racing while dealing with pain demonstrates that he has a very strong fighting spirit.”

“Ahead of the race in Indonesia, we need to learn from what happened here so that Danish doesn’t fall too often during training sessions. This is part of the learning process as a new rider and we want to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again for his safety and confidence.”

Focus Now Shifts to the Indonesian GP

The Moto3 Japanese GP race was won by Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider, David Almansa.

After the round in Motegi, the 2026 Moto3 World Championship will continue with the Indonesian Grand Prix at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit this weekend.

The ZK Racing team is now focusing on Hakim’s physical recovery process, especially on his shoulder, as well as ensuring his confidence in the machine is back to its best level ahead of the next race.