HAIRUMAN WINS THE DAY IN ATCS

5 May 2007

It was a good start to the season for the Petronas Syntium Team driver, Fariqe Hairuman, who scored an emphatic win on home ground in the Asian Touring Car Series.

The 24 year old led from pole to finish, leaving his competitors behind him by a good 18 seconds.

“It was my first time winning here in Sepang in the Asian Touring Car Series and it feels good. I have to thank my team and sponsors for giving me this opportunity” said Hairuman (left).

“I did not really get a good start, I was still getting used to the car, with it being a left hand drive and no it wasn’t lonely being ahead, it gave me the chance to get used to the car” he added with a smile.

Flanking him on the podium was Singaporean driver Melvin Choo and Hong Kong native, Danny Stacy Chau after a hard fought battle throughout most of the race.

Choo’s battle was with the ever present challenge brought on by the Hong Kong driver Cheung Chi Sing (below left). While Cheung made a few mistakes, he regained himself to close in on Choo.

But as luck would have it, on lap 16, fatigue pushed Choo to make a mistake allowing Cheung to overtake only to have his suspension fail on him. Choo (above right) forged ahead to claim second spot.

“It was a very tiring race. I was fighting off fatigue toward the end of the race and if Cheung did not go off I would not have been able to get this position” said an obviously exhausted Choo.

Danny Stacy Chau held on to his position from the relentless pursuit of Malaysian Eric Yeo (right), “he is like a tiger charging behind me” said Danny during the Press Conference.

The day ended with the Asian Touring Car Series and the battles will continue on Sunday at Sepang International Circuit, beginning at 10.30am with Round 2 of the series, followed by two Formula BMW Asia and Porsche Carrera Cup races and the Grand Race of the Formula V6 Asia.

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AFOS Background

The Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) is recognised as Asia’s premier motorsport event comprising the FIA-sanctioned Asian Touring Car Series, Formula V6 Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Formula BMW Asia.

Sepang Circuit plays host to the season opener of the Asian Festival Of Speed. The event will then take the teams to six outstanding Asian circuits, including the Sentul Circuit Indonesia, the newly built Chengdu Circuit in China, the Shanghai International Circuit, the famed Autopolis Circuit in Japan, the Zhuhai International Circuit in China and the infamous Guia street circuit in Macau.

AFOS is organised by Motorsport Asia Ltd and runs annually from March to November visiting 7 different venues throughout Asia bringing the event live to more than 300,000 spectators. AFOS also captures wide media coverage reaching an audience of over 230 million viewers in over 65 countries and is regularly featured in over 200 publications around the world.

Motorsport Asia Ltd was established in 1996. Being the region’s leading, fully integrated motorsport focused company, Motorsport Asia Ltd is on the cutting edge of developments in the motorsport business through its extensive network of international expertise, combined with regional know-how.

Motorsport Asia Ltd aims to develop Asian motorsport as well as offering spectators and television audiences the chance to enjoy the most talented Asian racing stars in action. To these ends, Motorsport Asia Ltd owns the commercial and intellectual rights to the Asian Festival of Speed championships and events. In addition, Motorsport Asia Ltd owns all terrestrial and satellite television rights of AFOS worldwide.

ATCS Information

The Asian Touring Car Series race format features 3 x 30 minutes un-timed practice sessions, followed by a half-hour Qualifying session and one 20-laps race on Saturday and one 20-laps race on Sunday.

The Asian Touring Car Series is the most exciting tin-top racing in Asia that brings together the talents of drivers from Europe with the best touring car drivers in Asia in one action packed race weekend. The series provides a vital link between the spectators, the vehicles and manufacturers, as cars used are similar to road-going cars, allowing the spectators to have a familiarity to the race vehicle.

Motorsport Asia, the company behind AFOS racing weekends which include the Formula V6 Asia, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Formula BMW Asia, is the region’s leading motorsport outfit. This age-old partnership marries tin-top racing action with the most exciting race event weekend in Asia.