Fairuz Fauzy, one of the two regular drivers for A1 Team Malaysia, topped the time sheets in the official pre-season test at Silverstone circuit in the UK today. Posting the fastest time of the 19 nations represented on track, Fauzy beat the car of reigning champion, A1 Team France, driven by Nicolas Lapierre, by 0.121 seconds.

The two-day event is the first, and only, opportunity for the A1GP teams to test against each other in preparation for the first race of the season and A1 Team Malaysia showed that their performance at the end of the inaugural season is set to continue into the second year of competition.

Fauzy said after his return to the A1 Team Malaysia cockpit, "I enjoyed being back behind the wheel of the A1GP car and being out on track against rival nations. The team finished last season with the best possible finish at Shanghai, taking victory at the final event. I've picked up where Alex finished with another leading performance, which is great for the team."

I was a little surprised to find that I was the fastest driver today, as I thought we could have gone quicker. I didn't want to push too hard, as there is another day to go. I think we have an excellent crew who work well together and when you have this camaraderie and teamwork it can produce the success that we've achieved today - I'm sure we will have successes in the forthcoming season of A1GP racing."

Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, adds, "We've surprised a few of our rivals today with the pace that we've set at Silverstone. My thanks go to all the guys in the team who've pulled together to get the A1 Team Malaysia back on track for this test, and shown that they have all the skills and experience to put Malaysia in the spotlight of international motorsport this winter. Special thanks to Fairuz, who has shown again that he is a talented driver – our team is fortunate indeed to have Alex and Fairuz."