Nabil Jeffri gets his first stint at Lotus Racing
2010-09-03 12:18:25 Author: admin Source:
Less than a month ago, Nabil Jeffri got probably the biggest break on his racing career when he received a call from Lotus Racing's team principal Dato' Tony Fernandes for a test role with the new Formula One team. Jeffri did not quite believe it at first, but the call was legitimate and Fernandes made a press announcement to affirm his status on the team. Jeffri was selected from his exemplary performance in the Formula BMW Pacific series and being an outstanding member of the AirAsia ASEAN Driver Development program.
Fast forward to present day, Jeffri began his first stint at Lotus Racing's aero test facility in Duxford and became the youngest ever test driver for an F1 team at a tender age of just 16 years. He conducted a day of aero testing on a T127 at the Duxford runway, along with supportive team mates; reserve driver and fellow Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy and team driver Heikki Kovalainen, who were there to lend an advice or two. In addition, Jeffri also had a hand in performing pitstop routines.
A rather satisfied Jeffri commented, “I have had an incredible day, one of the best days of my life, and I want to thank Lotus Racing, Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne for giving me the chance to drive their car. I have to admit that the first time I went out it was pretty scary – everyone told me the acceleration would be unbelievable, and the braking would be so much greater than anything I’ve ever experienced, and it took a while to get used to that, but Heikki and Fairuz gave me some advice on how to settle in to it."
"It’s such an honour to have had this opportunity, and it’ll be a long time before the excitement wears off, but I’ll keep on working hard to one day join Heikki, Fairuz, Jarno and the rest of the F1 grid, and with the support of people like Tony and Lotus Racing, I’ve got a great chance of doing so,” he added.
On hand to oversee the test was the team's technical head Mike Gascoyne who was more than satisfied with Jeffri's first run on a T127, “I’m delighted that Nabil has done such a good job and I’d like to thank him for the work he put in. Aero testing is an important part of the ongoing development of the car, and it’s great that we can give an opportunity to someone as young as Nabil to help us take another step forward."
Of course, Fernandes also kept a close watch on the whole proceedings. “When I first offered Nabil the chance to drive our car he couldn’t tell if I was joking or not, but I was very serious about giving a young Malaysian the chance to step up to the big time. He’s repaid my faith in him and has performed incredibly well, and that’s a source of real pride for me as he proves what I’ve always believed – keep dreaming, work hard to achieve what other people tell you is impossible, and your dreams will come true."
"I suspect Nabil will head back to Malaysia with his head spinning from everything that’s happened to him, but now he can say he’s driven an F1 car, and that will set his sights at the very top for the rest of his life. Congratulations Nabil – you’re a superstar!” he added.
