Magical Mugello: The Rise of Hakim Danish, Malaysia's New Moto3 Sensation

Hakim Danish puts Malaysia back on the podium for the first time in 10 years. It’s certainly not a fluke for the 18-year-old from MSi Racing—here’s why.

Malaysia may have found another world-class favorite. Caution is warranted: Hakim Danish has only just begun his rookie Moto3 season, but the first podium he claimed today at Mugello (long regarded as one of the most challenging circuits in the World Championship) is no accident—it’s the first payoff from concrete signs. After Zulfahmi Khairuddin, the first-ever Malaysian on a World Championship podium (2012) and now a key figure in nurturing young two-wheel talents; then Khairul Idham Pawi, the first Malaysian to win a World Championship GP (2016); not to mention Hafizh Syahrin, three world podiums and the first Malaysian in MotoGP—here comes the 18-year-old from the MSi Racing team to carry the torch forward.

His first “world” outing dates back to last year, a wild card at the Malaysian GP with his current team, with whom he also raced in JuniorGP (now MotoJunior). He then contested the final two GPs of 2025 as a replacement, followed by the announcement that the hard-charging Malaysian would debut full-time in the Moto3 World Championship. It’s worth emphasizing, with merit: he stood out with 3rd place in last season’s Red Bull Rookies Cup, behind champion Brian Uriarte (today’s race winner) and Veda Pratama (in the podium fight at the Italian GP but crashed at the end). There had already been several very interesting signs, such as leading some sessions over multiple race weekends or securing standout finishes. Last year in three GPs he had already scored points twice!

Nor should we overlook the results achieved in this 2026 season, which show progress truly worth highlighting: aside from the Thai GP, he has always scored points and, in Catalonia in particular, he came close to his first Moto3 podium, finishing 7th due to a small last-lap mistake that cost him positions in the combative lead group. That was his best result up to that point, after two P13s and two P10s, confirming an already noteworthy start to the season, with continuous growth. Alongside the aforementioned Uriarte and Pratama, plus Marco Morelli, Hakim Danish now joins the list of fierce rookies already on the podium in this 2026 Moto3 World Championship. The new wave in Grand Prix motorcycle racing is ready to make itself heard—and not only from Spain.

If you enjoy the content from our news outlet, you can select it as your preferred source by clicking HERE