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A1 Team Malaysia is
revving up for the new season with the new car “build” set to start next week.
Malaysian mechanic, Shanker Ramachandran, will leave his idyllic island hideaway
in Penang on Sunday and will travel to the UK to start
preparing for the new season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
Ramachandran has enjoyed relaxing at home
in the break between seasons, but is keen to be back racing again next month.
Before the first race in Mugello, Italy, in September, the 33 year-old
and his colleagues need to have everything ready. Ramachandran will head to
Bognor Regis in the South of England to start working alongside the other A1GP
teams at the technical production facility there. With a new car being
introduced for this season Ramachandran and mechanics from other teams will
receive comprehensive training on the unique features of the new car.
This induction will be followed with a
series of seminars at the A1GP Technical Centre at Silverstone Circuit, with
mechanics from each of the nation’s teams being given training in three aspects
of the car; gearbox, electronics and parts maintenance, all of which are
supplied by companies new to the Series and all of which have specific technical
knowledge requirements.
The car “build” will continue for the
following three weeks in preparation for the A1 Team Malaysia
shakedown and first test session at Donington in the second week of September.
Ramachandran will use this time to familiarise himself with the car and build
his knowledge of all its component parts.
Ramachandran says of heading to the
UK, “It seems so long since I was
enjoying the frenetic, adrenalin-pumping pit lane in A1GP and I’ve really missed
it. It’s a much slower pace of life at home and as much as I love working on my
new house and seeing my family, I’m addicted to A1 Team Malaysia and
working on the car of our national team.
“I’m really looking forward to this
season. The new car will present a new challenge on a number of different
levels. There will be lots of new parts on the car and different procedures, so
it’ll be a learning curve for all of us, but I think there’s always more to
learn, so it’s one of the attractions of working in motor racing. We’re heading
off to some new venues this season, so I’ll visit countries that I haven’t seen
and I’ll enjoy that as well. But above all this, I just love going
racing!”
Ramachandran, one of three Malaysian
nationals working trackside with A1 Team Malaysia has
been with the team since the start of the Series.
A1 Team Malaysia will be back out on track at the first
round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, in Mugello, Italy, from 19 – 21 September.
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