25/04/2007
NEWS STORY
The second season of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport reaches its finale this weekend, returning to the place where it all began in September 2005, Brands Hatch race circuit in Kent, England. A1 Team Malaysia made its debut alongside 24 other nations for the first-ever A1GP race weekend. This season the venue hosts the final event of the second year of A1GP competition and is expected to attract a strong crowd to witness the thrills and excitement of this unique motor racing series.
The Malaysian team scored a fifth place finish in the Feature race at this track and since then has always been a front-runner in the Series. With 10 top ten finishes from the 20 races completed so far this season, two fastest race laps, three pole positions, three victories and over 2000 km of hard A1GP racing, Team Malaysia has been a team to watch.
Brands Hatch is one of the greatest racetracks in the world, both for drivers and for spectators. Paddock Hill Bend, with its blind entry over a crest, the fast Dingle Dell chicane, the mix of and probably the fastest corner in the Series – Hawthorn Bend, are both a joy to watch and to drive.
Alex Yoong, driving for the team in the Sprint and Feature races, will represent A1 Team Malaysia and alongside him will be Aaron Lim, a young up-and-coming racer who will drive in the Friday morning rookie session, an hour of practice reserved for emerging motorsport talent.
Yoong has driven at the track in British F3 and in the Champ Car series, but has only driven the longer, Grand Prix circuit in an A1GP car last season.
Yoong says of the Brands Hatch weekend, "This is one of the tracks that holds a special place in a drivers' heart as it is such a challenge and a joy to drive. There's everything a driver wants from a track: changing elevations and cambers, very fast straights and sweeping corners, blind entry to corners, smooth chicanes, it's got the lot. It's not easy to get right, so that makes it all the sweeter when you put in a really quick lap. I think it's a fitting venue for the last round and I'm going to be looking for a successful conclusion to our season."
Lim adds, "I've heard so much about this track and everyone says what a fantastic track it is to drive, so it's going to be very exciting for me. I think quite a few of the other drivers in the rookie session might know this place so that won't make it easy for me to show my potential, but that's okay. I'll concentrate on the needs of the team, preparing the car for the two big races, but I'm sure I'll enjoy having a taste of this historic circuit."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, comments, "We've made significant progress with the team again this season, and more so in the last two race weekends, so we go to Brands Hatch with high hopes of continuing this trend, and ending our season on a high note. We've a great team of people, who have worked tremendously hard throughout the season, so that it would be a superb end to our second year of A1GP if we can record two strong points finishes at this UK track. Not much was expected of us when we were last here – in fact, one commentator said 'Team Malaysia, only here to make up the numbers." Well things aren't quite what that commentator expected – we will be working to prove him even more wrong this weekend."