Zaidi joins MIE Honda for rookie WorldSBK campaign, team reveal changes for WorldSSP
The Honda independent team look ahead to the 2025 season with new line-ups across their WorldSBK and WorldSSP teams
Zaqhwan Zaidi will make his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship debut in 2025 as he links up with the PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing team. The Malaysian rider brings some Moto2™ experience to the team with a handful of races under his belt, but has predominately made his name with success in Asia. He replaces Adam Norrodin, whose sole WorldSBK season was interrupted by injury, with Zaidi racing alongside Tarran Mackenzie.
ZAIDI JOINS, MACKENZIE STAYS: changes in WorldSBK
WorldSBK rookie Zaidi will join Mackenzie atop MIE Honda’s pair of CBR1000RR-Rs, replacing Mackenzie’s former teammate and fellow Malaysian Norrodin. Zaidi spent the last three racing seasons competing in the Asia Superbike championship, being named champion in 2022, runner-up in 2023, and while landing a sixth-place finish in 2024, his Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA team earned the teams’ championship that year. This championship pedigree coupled with his familiarity with the Honda CBR1000 platform made Zaidi a candidate for the MIE Honda bike alongside Mackenzie, and together the pair will hope to elevate the team to new heights.
Discussing his move to WorldSBK, Zaidi said: “I am definitely excited to announce that I’ll be racing in WorldSBK this season. My goal is to make the most of the experience and push to my limits. It won’t be easy, as the category is very competitive, but I happily accept the challenge and can hopefully achieve my targets and gradually build results.”
WORLD SUPERSPORT CHANGES: MIE Honda welcome Azman
Syarifuddin Azman will be MIE Honda’s newest addition to their pair of riders in World Supersport. The 23-year-old Malaysian rider, dubbed ‘Damok’ by fans, has garnered experience at the world championship level before, having made his debut in a single round of the 2019 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, as it was known then, before earning a full time position in the competition the subsequent year. Azman began to make a name for himself the next year, in 2021, where he won that competition’s Race 1 in Barcelona. He kept that momentum going in 2022, earning several podiums and finishing overall in fourth place. Last season, in 2024, he competed in Asia Superbike 1000 championship. He raced as part of Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing Team, earning him valuable experience, and he’ll race alongside Kaito Toba in 2025 as he remains with the team for a second campaign.
Looking ahead to his first WorldSSP season, Azman said: “I am really happy to debut in World Supersport with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team. My target for the season will be to gain a lot of valuable experience, considering this is my first year in the category. I will try to understand where and how to improve, race by race, and will work as hard as I can.”
Team Owner Midori Moriwaki discussed the 2025 line-up across both Championships, saying: “I am very happy to announce our new rider line-up for 2025. Each rider brings their own specific experience, and, with this line-up, we continue to develop our talent program. We are confident that we can achieve good results as we move into this new stage and ready ourselves for a fresh challenge. I also take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors for their ongoing support. Rest assured that we will keep going and continue to work hard!”
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