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A1 Team
Malaysia heads to the Brands
Hatch Circuit in Kent,
England this weekend for the final
round of the third season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
In September 2005, A1 Team
Malaysia made its debut alongside 24
other nations for the first-ever A1GP race weekend at Brands Hatch. This season the venue will host the final
event of the third season of the A1GP series. Fairuz Fauzy will be
back in the Malaysian car this weekend as the main driver and Aaron Lim will
join him as the team’s rookie
driver.
As part of the
build-up to the final race of the season, all of the 22 nations in A1GP made a
pit stop in London’s Regent Street last Sunday. The A1GP race
cars were laid out in grid formation along one of London’s prime shopping streets, giving fans
the opportunity to get up close to the cars. To signal the start of the day, one
of the 550bhp Zytek engines in the A1GP machines was fired up, giving the crowd
a genuine feel for the atmosphere of A1GP. A1 Team Malaysia and
driver Fairuz Fauzy were present at the event and chatted on stage with A1GP
commentators John Watson and Ben Edwards before taking time to meet fans and
sign autographs.
The A1GP
spectacle now moves from Regent
Street in London onto
the historic Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent for the final round. The 3.7km
Grand Prix configuration of the circuit that the A1GP cars race on is the
longer, more technical version of the track taking the cars out into quick
sections of track through a forested area. Brands Hatch is one of the greatest
race tracks in the world for both drivers and spectators. Paddock Hill Bend, with its blind entry
over a crest, the fast Dingle Dell chicane, the mix of corners and probably the
fastest one in the entire Series, Hawthorn Bend, are both a joy to watch and to
drive.
Fauzy’s last
visit to Brands Hatch was last season, but he only drove in the first practice
session. He was the first Malaysian ever
to compete in the series when he represented Malaysia in the
Sprint race at the debut of the Series back in September 2005. This year he will
drive in both the Sprint and Feature races, with Aaron Lim taking up rookie
duties.
Looking ahead to
the weekend Fauzy commented, “I’m really looking forward to going to Brands
Hatch, it’s a great driver’s circuit with lots of challenges. I did the rookie
sessions there last season, raced for the team at the Series’ debut and have
driven here in my early racing career, so it’s a track that’s quite familiar to
me.
We will need to
work hard to hone the setup in the practice sessions; there are plenty of other
teams who have extensive experience of the circuit so we know it will be a tough
weekend. We’re a tightly knit team with plenty of fight in us, and we’re ready
to do battle on track!”
A1 Team
Malaysia Chief Executive Jack
Cunningham commented, “A1 Team Malaysia has had a tough season and we’ve not had
the results that we’ve wanted or needed, but we had a good points haul in
Shanghai and we
hope to score again at Brands Hatch this weekend with Fauzy at the wheel. I
think it’s a fitting venue for the last round and we’re going to be looking for
a successful conclusion to our
season.”
The tenth round
of A1GP competition at Brands Hatch marks the end of the third season in which
over 22 teams have travelled around the globe showcasing the unique A1GP Series,
which pits nation against nation. The Brands Hatch race weekend starts on Friday
2 May with the two races on Sunday 4 May.
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