SEPANG: Moto3 rookie Syarifuddin Azman will leave it to his manager Zulfahmi Khairuddin to sort out his future.
Syarifuddin, who is currently competing at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, has yet to secure a seat in the world championships for next year.
His current team MT Helmets-MSI have confirmed that they will not be retaining him.
Syarifuddin, better known by his nickname Damok, is determined to focus on the remaining three races left this year.
"At the moment, I do not know where I will be going next season. I have 100 per cent left it to my manager to handle," said Syarifuddin when met at Sepang circuit today.
"I don't want to think about it too much because I will then feel pressured and lose focus. I just want to focus on the three races left this year.
"I know a lot of people are waiting to know (his future direction) and I hope there will be good news.
"If I am given a chance to continue racing in Moto3 next year, I will definitely do much better. My first year has been really tough. Switching from Honda to KTM bikes has been a difficult transition."
Syarifuddin, who has only picked up five points after 17 races this year, struggled in today's Moto3 free practice (FP) sessions.
He placed 23rd on 2:14.2580 seconds in FP1 and was 26th in FP2 (2:14.5980s).
"I struggled with my brakes in FP1 and was not able to stop well, this made it hard for me to set a good lap time," said Syarifuddin.
"We analysed the data and the team made some changes. The bike did feel better in FP2 but there is still room for improvement."
Leopard Racing's Jaume Masia was fastest in FP1 on 2:12.065s. Honda Team Asia's Taiyo Furusato topped FP2 after clocking 2:12.518s.
Meanwhile, Moto2 wildcard riders Azroy Hakeem Anuar and Helmi Azman — both riding for Petronas MIE Racing RW — brought up the rear in FP1 and FP2.
In FP1, Azroy's 2:11.022s time was only good for 31st and Helmi (2:12.225s) was 32nd. Beta Tools SpeedUp's Fermin Aldeguer was fastest on 2:06.183s.
In FP2, Azroy was again 31st (2:10.084s) and Helmi was 32nd (2:10.807s). Idemitsu Honda Team Asia's Ai Ogura topped the session after clocking 2:06.093s.
