Brands Hatch: Team Malaysia preview

A1 Team Malaysia heads to the Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent, England this weekend for the final round of the third season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. In September 2005, A1 Team Malaysia made its debut alongside 24 other nations for the first-ever A1GP race weekend at Brands Hatch. This season the venue will host the final event of the third season of the A1GP series. Fairuz Fauzy will be back in the Malaysian car this weekend as the main driver and Aaron Lim will join him as the team's rookie driver.

As part of the build-up to the final race of the season, all of the 22 nations in A1GP made a pit stop in London's Regent Street last Sunday. The A1GP race cars were laid out in grid formation along one of London's prime shopping streets, giving fans the opportunity to get up close to the cars. To signal the start of the day, one of the 550bhp Zytek engines in the A1GP machines was fired up, giving the crowd a genuine feel for the atmosphere of A1GP. A1 Team Malaysia and driver Fairuz Fauzy were present at the event and chatted on stage with A1GP commentators John Watson and Ben Edwards before taking time to meet fans and sign autographs.

The A1GP spectacle now moves from Regent Street in London onto the historic Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent for the final round. The 3.7km Grand Prix configuration of the circuit that the A1GP cars race on is the longer, more technical version of the track taking the cars out into quick sections of track through a forested area. Brands Hatch is one of the greatest race tracks in the world for both drivers and spectators. Paddock Hill Bend, with its blind entry over a crest, the fast Dingle Dell chicane, the mix of corners and probably the fastest one in the entire Series, Hawthorn Bend, are both a joy to watch and to drive.

Fauzy's last visit to Brands Hatch was last season, but he only drove in the first practice session. He was the first Malaysian ever to compete in the series when he represented Malaysia in the Sprint race at the debut of the Series back in September 2005. This year he will drive in both the Sprint and Feature races, with Aaron Lim taking up rookie duties.

Looking ahead to the weekend Fauzy commented, "I'm really looking forward to going to Brands Hatch, it's a great driver's circuit with lots of challenges. I did the rookie sessions there last season, raced for the team at the Series' debut and have driven here in my early racing career, so it's a track that's quite familiar to me.

We will need to work hard to hone the setup in the practice sessions; there are plenty of other teams who have extensive experience of the circuit so we know it will be a tough weekend. We're a tightly knit team with plenty of fight in us, and we're ready to do battle on track!"

A1 Team Malaysia Chief Executive Jack Cunningham commented, "A1 Team Malaysia has had a tough season and we've not had the results that we've wanted or needed, but we had a good points haul in Shanghai and we hope to score again at Brands Hatch this weekend with Fauzy at the wheel. I think it's a fitting venue for the last round and we're going to be looking for a successful conclusion to our season."

The tenth round of A1GP competition at Brands Hatch marks the end of the third season in which over 22 teams have travelled around the globe showcasing the unique A1GP Series, which pits nation against nation. The Brands Hatch race weekend starts on Friday 2 May with the two races on Sunday 4 May.

-credit: malaysia