30/03/2008
NEWS STORY
Qi-Meritus.Mahara heads to the fourth round of the GP2 Asia Series in Bahrain next week in confident and determined mood. The Bahrain circuit poses unique challenges with a mixture of very fast and very low-speed corners and a 1km long straight.
Luca Filippi (car Nr 27): "I am eager to get back in the car to erase the bad memory of not being able to score points at the team's home race in front of our team's fans. I am ready for the next leg of the series in Bahrain as we know our team's true potential and I want to keep on pushing and show what we can really achieve. I won here in GP2 with the main series. It is a good memory and I can do it again in front of the many spectators and guests who will be attending from places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the whole of UAE as well as the visitors who will cross the causeway from Saudi Arabia. I am looking forward to the challenge. The dust is likely to play an important role over the course of the weekend but it will be interesting to see how this affects the track and in turn the tyres and engine. Either way I know that I will be giving it my best shot and am excited about getting back out on track".
Hiroki Yoshimoto (Car Nr 26): "It will not be my first visit to the region. I know the track in Bahrain, because I drove here in 2005. The racing conditions are more pleasant than in Malaysia. It is less humid. In any case, since our first race in Dubai where the team scored ten points we are confident we can add to that tally in Bahrain. I am very confident with the progress of the Qi-Meritus.Mahara team. For all of us, to be racing again with F1 will be another unique experience which we have been looking forward to with anticipation since the race was announced on the championship calendar".
Speaking for the team Raad S. Abduljawad, Team Chairman, Qi-Meritus.Mahara commented: "We are looking forward to race at the Bahrain Grand Prix as the team races under a Saudi license. The team has plenty of potential and is in a determined mood to record a strong result in Bahrain and fight at the front for our fans."
Peter Thompson, president and team founder, Qi-Meritus.Mahara: "We were very disappointed after Malaysia, but the main thing is that we understand what happened and we can now work on correcting the basis for this race. We are looking forward to good results in Bahrain for the fourth event of the season even if the high temperatures are likely to pose a challenge, as although it will be lower humidity than Malaysia and track temperatures should be high. Another problem could be inconsistent grip while the track cleans up from the sand surrounding the circuit."