05/10/2005
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Malaysia, with its two drivers Alex Yoong and Fairuz Fauzy, is heading to Germany for the second race weekend of the new motor racing series, A1 Grand Prix.
The season opener at Brands Hatch attracted the strongest crowd seen at the circuit since it had hosted Formula One races in the 1980s and this unique Series certainly lived up to expectations with exciting racing, and teams representing 25 nations racing hard, with spectators and television viewers around the world cheering for their home country.
The team's attentions are now focused on the German round of the A1 Grand Prix series at the Eurospeedway circuit in Lausitzring, a 14 turn, 4.5 kilometre circuit. The track will be a new challenge for the two drivers, with neither having raced on the road circuit, but they expect their international competition experience to be valuable for their visit this weekend.
Yoong says, "I visited Lausitz in 2003, but I was racing on the Superspeedway oval in Champ Cars. I'm looking forward to returning and experiencing the road circuit! This is, therefore, a new circuit for me, so it brings new challenges. It will be important to learn the track quickly and find the limits of the car on the twisty circuit. We go into the weekend lying seventh in the World Cup of Motorsport, so I'll be looking to improve on this position for Malaysia."
At Brands Hatch, Alex Yoong and Fairuz Fauzy both took the car out on track in practice, and the two drivers each drove a race, with Fairuz finishing 13th in the Spring race and Yoong crossing the line in fifth place in the Feature race, a strong start for the Malaysian team, in the full spirit of the new series.
Fairuz is looking towards Germany to improve on his performance saying, "My goal this weekend will be to bring home valuable World Cup points, as this Series is focused on the competitiveness of each nation and I want to do well for Malaysia."
Team Principal Jack Cunningham adds, "We had a good start to our season at the race in the UK and I hope we can follow that up with some more good results. Achieving consistent results will be important to us as we strive for the highest possible levels in the Series. Points-scoring positions in every round of the Series is our current goal, and a goal that we think is realistic, at A1 Team Malaysia."
A1 Team Malaysia is one of 25 national teams represented on the A1 Grand Prix grid. The A1 racing cars for each team are identical, presenting a level playing field, and bringing the focus to the expertise of the team and the skill and bravery of the drivers. The Series visits 12 venues through the winter, travelling to the Middle East, Asia, Australia, USA, South America, South Africa and Europe.