Ready to show that the streets of Kuala Lumpur can be converted into an interesting street circuit, the inaugural 2015 KL City Grand Prix was set to wow the spectators with the first ever KL City Cup race. Somewhat similar to the GT Asia racing series, the KL City Cup features a number of classes like the GT3, GTM and GT4.
The battle for the top spot will be fought mercilessly across the 3.2km street circuit as the 16 top drivers slug it out between each other and at the same time being extra careful from getting too close to the barriers. But before the race even took place, Afiq Yazid driving the Huracan Super Trofeo and Josh Hunt in the SLS AMG GT3 were forced to abandon the hopes of even racing in the KL City Cup due to car-related problems.
The same issue almost haunted star driver Fairuz Fauzy as he badly damaged his Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 in a crash during the qualifying session. Almost hitting a dead end, a ray of hope appeared in the form of Lamborghini Italy loaning him the new Huracan race car for the race.
But things were not going to be easy for him in the race as the car change meant that he would have to start from the back of the grid. However, the former Formula 1 test driver did not give up that easily and clawed his way from the back to third place with 10 laps to go.
A stroke of much needed luck also came in the form of some mechanical issues for Adrian D’ Silva in the Ferrari 458 GT3 which had allowed Fairuz to overtake him and claim the second place. Should the race be held longer, he just might have a chance in chasing race leader Naoki Yokomizo also in the Huracan Super Trofeo.
But Yokomizo had a strong command in the race and comfortably took home the race win followed by Fairuz soon after. “It was an amazing finish for me. My car did not give me any problem. The track was bumpy but I love it. The crowd response was great too,” said Yokomizo.
“In the race, I was not pushing and only drove like 70-percent as I just don’t want to have any problem with the car. It’s a great result for me,” said Fairuz.
Coming in third overall was Craft-Bamboo’s Frank Yu from Hong Kong in the devilishly loud Ford GT3. A crowd’s favourite, he had also clinched the top spot in the GT3 category, followed by D’ Silva in the 458 GT3.
