KUALA LUMPUR: Zulfahmi Khairuddin is facing an uphill battle to secure a spot for his charge Syarifuddin Azman in the Moto3 world championship next year.
Syarifuddin, better known by his nickname Damok, has struggled as a rookie rider in Moto3 this year and only collected five points so far with only two rounds remaining this season.
His current team MT Helmets-MSI have confirmed that they will not be retaining him next season.
Zulfahmi said Syarifuddin's poor results at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia which ended yesterday have not helped his cause.
"I have approached almost every team in the championship to enquire about a slot for Damok next year," said Zulfahmi yesterday.
"There is a small chance for us to find a team for Damok but his results here makes it tougher for me. We were hoping that he would do better at his home race.
"Yesterday (Saturday) was a bad day for us, Damok qualified last and today (yesterday) he crashed and finished last in the race.
"I will continue to work hard and keep knocking on their (team) doors during the Valencia round (next week)."
Zulfahmi, who oversees the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) rider development programme, confirmed that SIC will not be sponsoring Syarifuddin anymore next season.
"SIC have confirmed that they will not be investing in Damok next season so it is up to ZK Racing (Zulfahmi's company) to find a sponsor for him," added Zulfahmi.
"We started the process of finding a sponsor for him two months ago and hopefully we will be successful.
"But at the end of the day, bringing sponsorship to a team is not the solution.
"Most teams will also look at results as well. It is not like the old days when you could just bring money and secure a seat."
Zulfahmi himself had spent six seasons competing as a full-season Moto3 rider between 2010-2015 before moving onto the Supersport World Championship series.
