KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4 2008): After 10 intense rounds, veteran driver Faidzil Alang and his protégé Syafiq Ali have two races to decide the inaugural winner of the Asian Touring Car 1500 Max Series.
The showdown between the two Team Proton Axle drivers will take place at Chengdu Goldenport Circuit, China, this weekend with just eight points separating them at the top of the standings. Faidzil leads with 115 points after an exciting match-up in Thailand last month gave him the edge.
Faidzil, a father of two and the oldest driver on the grid at 37, was supposed to play a supporting role in assisting the up-and-coming Syafiq. However, he has used all his experienced and guile to score more podium finishes than his teammate.
“What an intense season and it all boils down to this weekend’s races. It’s just an amazing achievement for our team, who were only formed earlier this year,” said team Principal Alex Yoong.
“Faidzil has done brilliantly in the series and has a great chance of winning the title. We didn’t put ant restrictions on our drivers as we wanted both to challenge for the title.
“There are no team orders and Faidzil has shown his mettle with some great drivers. Syafiq has been a little unlucky as he had a few problems with his car but has still managed to keep in touch with his older teammate.”
Alex, Malaysia’s only Formula 1 driver added: “It is going to be another tough weekend as the Toyotas, Hondas and Mitsubishis will be giving us a run for our money.
“It would be nice if one of our drivers could seal the championship and take a race win or two.”
For the uninitiated, the 1500Max is a competition for normally aspirated cars below 1599cc, such as the Honda Jazz, Peugeot 206, Toyota Vios, Proton Neo, Suzuki Swift, Chevrolet Aveo and the like.
Regulations ensure equality between the different makes while a strict power to weight ratio has been worked out, so that all cars will have an equal chance of winning. This will ensure that nobody can gain an advantage and will keep the action close and exciting.
