07/04/2009
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Malaysia will field Fairuz Fauzy (right) as the principal driver for the next round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, which will be held at the new Portuguese race venue in the Algarve. Up and coming driver, Aaron Lim, will take his regular role as rookie driver for the practice session at the start of the race weekend.
Fauzy will make his 21st start at the sixth round of the 2008/09 season when he lines up on the grid for the Sprint race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao. This season he took his first A1GP pole and race win, both earned at the opening round in Zandvoort, Netherlands. This season the team has accumulated 32 points from Fauzy's 10 starts and lies seventh in the World Cup of Motorsport standings.
The previous round of the series was held in Kyalami, South Africa, six weeks ago where the team took home a single point. Fauzy says of his return to the driving seat for the next round, "I'm pleased to be back in the driving seat for another A1GP race weekend. It's been a long break between races, but it's the same for us all.
"I'd like to be adding to the points tally that we have so far this season, particularly after the disappointment of South Africa. I had a good grid position for the Feature race but it didn't turn into a good points finish. I've had to live with that for too long; I'm keen to be back at the front for the Malaysian team."
The long break has not been a time to relax for Fauzy, with preparations starting in earnest for his summer programme of racing in the World Series by Renault. He has completed three multi-day test sessions in Jerez, Valencia and Barcelona, with a strong pace throughout each day.
Aaron Lim is pleased to be driving again with A1 Team Malaysia, saying, "I've missed not being around our team over the last few weeks, although they've kept me busy with appearances which have been good fun. Due to the tech problems we had in South Africa, I didn't manage to have many laps at the Kyalami circuit so I'm hoping that I'll be able to make up for this at the Algarve track. It's a new circuit, but there have already been F1 cars testing there, so I reckon it should be a good facility."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia concludes, "The driver pairing we have run at all events so far this season returns for this race weekend and we're looking forward to regrouping and building on the experiences we've had together. Both Aaron and Fairuz have kept busy, keeping their fitness levels high, and I know they will both be fully prepared for the A1GP weekend ahead."
The A1GP Algarve, Portugal, race weekend is the first major single-seater motor racing event to be held at this track. It takes place from 10-12 April with a full schedule of races which will provide plenty of entertainment for the spectators.