A1 Team Malaysia will field Fairuz Fauzy for the second round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport which will be held in Chengdu, China this coming weekend. Aaron Lim has been selected to participate in the ‘rookie and developing nations’ practice session at the beginning of the race weekend.
Fauzy will return to the driving seat of the Malaysian car as championship leader, following two superb performances in the Sprint and Feature races at the season opening event in Zandvoort, Netherlands in October. A victory in the first of the two races, backed up with a second place finish catapulted the team to the top of the leader board. A1 Team France is tied on points for the lead, but with victory in the Feature race and only a third place finish in the Sprint race for the European rivals it is Malaysia that has the edge in the nation versus nation battle of A1GP.
Lim will have his first chance to sample the power and handling of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car in China. The 23 year old driver has been part of the Malaysian team since the Mexico City round of the Series in 2006 and competed in each event of the 2007/08 calendar, assisting the team with preparations for the race weekend and gaining valuable race driving experience.
This season Lim will be behind the wheel of the new Ferrari-powered race car, with more horsepower under his right foot than he’s ever enjoyed before and the new experience of carbon brakes under his left foot. The limited testing available to the team has resulted in Lim having to make his debut in the car at the start of the race weekend. However the youngster has been able to drive the car, although only in a virtual world. Lim travelled with Fauzy and chief engineer, Alan Mugglestone, to Modena, Italy, last month, where they were able to drive the A1GP simulator. For Lim this was his first opportunity to sit in the cockpit of the new car, learn the instruments layout and experience the power and handling of the car in a simulation environment. Last week Lim was able to sit in the actual A1 Team Malaysia car, but this was only to have a seat fitting ready for the Chinese A1GP event.
Lim says of rejoining A1 Team Malaysia for another season, “I’m very proud to be part of A1 Team Malaysia and to have the opportunity to drive a race car bearing our national flag. I can’t wait to get in the new car and have some track time in it. After trying it out in the virtual world, I just want to experience the real thing!”
Fauzy says of returning to the cockpit after his first round success, “We had the best start that we could have hoped for in Zandvoort and now we need to show consistency. I’m pleased that Aaron will be assisting the team with his feedback and early weekend experience of running at the track. We have a very strong team and will be aiming for more success next weekend.”
The second round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport takes place from 7 – 9 November at the Goldenport circuit in Chengdu, China.
