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Zhuhai (China), 4 November 2007 – The 2007 Asian Touring Car Series season drew to a close this weekend at the Zhuhai International Circuit, China on Sunday with the final two rounds of the series. Spearheading the PETRONAS Syntium Team’s challenge for rounds 9 and 10 was Malaysian Mohd Fariqe Hairuman who was on Sunday crowned as the new 2007 Asian Touring Car Series Champion. Despite suffering a retirement in the final race, his second place finish in round 9 on Saturday was enough to secure the PETRONAS Syntium Team driver the points to claim the championship crown.
The result also marks another milestone for the young Johorian who apart from being the first Malaysian to win the Asian Touring Car Series title, Fariqe is also the youngest Asian ever to win the crown and the second youngest in the world to win a major Touring Car series title. The 24-year old came to the season finale round at Zhuhai with a strong lead over championship rival Masaki Kano of team Engstler motorsports. Knowing that he required a strong result for the championship fight, the Malaysian was intent on getting himself a good start position, which saw him qualify second fastest with a time of 1:46.512 behind pole sitter Franz Engstler, making his return to racing for the round.
Though he conceded the position to the Russian in the fourth lap, the fight between the pair remained close. However, two laps later, Fariqe locked his tyres into the first corner which forced him into the gravel and an early retirement. Despite his premature exit from the race, a retirement for championship rival Masaki Kano meant that Fariqe had secured enough points to take the 2007 Asian Touring Car Series title.
David Wong, Team Principal: “As a team, it is not difficult to hire the best drivers to win races and championships. For us, we hand-picked Fariqe as a young school boy back in 2001 and groomed him from scratch. Today, after 6 years, he is an Asian Champion. For me, it is a milestone and an achievement of a lifetime.
When I reflect the days Fariqe as a young schoolboy and today as one of Asia’s best drivers, it’s unbelievable! He is only 24 years old now and he has a fantastic racing career ahead of him. Fariqe and the team have done a tremendous job this whole season and we have managed to come away with the title, which is fantastic!
I am also proud that Fariqe has marked another milestone by becoming the first Malaysian ever to win the Asian Touring Car Series title! On top of that he is also the youngest Asian ever to take the crown as well as the second youngest in the world to win a major touring car title! That in itself is quite an achievement and I must say that he has grown and matured into a strong driver.
The teamwork and level of commitment from everyone has been unquestionable and getting the title today is as much a testament to them as it is to the driver. On that note, I would like to thank PETRONAS, BMW, AFOS, Richard Lester, Mike Briggs, Roberto Ravaglia, Gen Suzuki, Andy Poon, the crew and everyone who has helped Fariqe and make this possible.”
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Fariqe Hairuman (driver)“What an amazing weekend! It was a really good outing for the team. I have to first of all thank my team principal David Wong and everyone on the team for doing such a fantastic job, not just this weekend but for the entire season! Everyone has worked really hard from getting the BMW ready for the start of the season all the way through to the final race this weekend.
It has been a truly great season overall. The race this weekend itself was really interesting and a lot of fun. I knew it would be a tough battle and I really enjoyed the duel with Romanov in the first race on Saturday and in the race today. It was really close between us for the first half of the race. I made a mistake trying to avoid a spin and ended up in the gravel trap!
For sure I did not want to end the season in this way! Nevertheless, it was a really good clean race and I really enjoyed it. I am absolutely delighted with the result and there are just no words to describe how I feel right now! Getting the title after three seasons in the championship is such a massive achievement for me personally, but it has not been an easy ride from the get go.
I could not have done it without the support and encouragement from everyone who has made this possible! I am grateful to my team principal David Wong, PETRONAS, my mentors, the entire crew, the engineers and everyone who has helped make this a reality!”
Zhuhai (China), 4 November 2007 – The 2007 Asian Touring Car Series season drew to a close this weekend at the Zhuhai International Circuit, China on Sunday with the final two rounds of the series. Spearheading the PETRONAS Syntium Team’s challenge for rounds 9 and 10 was Malaysian Mohd Fariqe Hairuman who was on Sunday crowned as the new 2007 Asian Touring Car Series Champion. Despite suffering a retirement in the final race, his second place finish in round 9 on Saturday was enough to secure the PETRONAS Syntium Team driver the points to claim the championship crown.
The result also marks another milestone for the young Johorian who apart from being the first Malaysian to win the Asian Touring Car Series title, Fariqe is also the youngest Asian ever to win the crown and the second youngest in the world to win a major Touring Car series title. The 24-year old came to the season finale round at Zhuhai with a strong lead over championship rival Masaki Kano of team Engstler motorsports. Knowing that he required a strong result for the championship fight, the Malaysian was intent on getting himself a good start position, which saw him qualify second fastest with a time of 1:46.512 behind pole sitter Franz Engstler, making his return to racing for the round.
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The afternoon race saw Fariqe make the most of the start to defend his position against Engstler’s Russian teammate Andrei Romanov in third. Though the battle between Fariqe and Romanov continued for much of the 12 lap race, the Malaysian successfully defended his position through to the chequered flag to record a podium finish in second. Starting from sixth in a reverse starting grid order for round 10 on Sunday afternoon, Fariqe had already moved up the order to fourth by the first lap. On lap 2, Fariqe was up to second with Romanov following him in third.Though he conceded the position to the Russian in the fourth lap, the fight between the pair remained close. However, two laps later, Fariqe locked his tyres into the first corner which forced him into the gravel and an early retirement. Despite his premature exit from the race, a retirement for championship rival Masaki Kano meant that Fariqe had secured enough points to take the 2007 Asian Touring Car Series title.
David Wong, Team Principal: “As a team, it is not difficult to hire the best drivers to win races and championships. For us, we hand-picked Fariqe as a young school boy back in 2001 and groomed him from scratch. Today, after 6 years, he is an Asian Champion. For me, it is a milestone and an achievement of a lifetime.
When I reflect the days Fariqe as a young schoolboy and today as one of Asia’s best drivers, it’s unbelievable! He is only 24 years old now and he has a fantastic racing career ahead of him. Fariqe and the team have done a tremendous job this whole season and we have managed to come away with the title, which is fantastic!
I am also proud that Fariqe has marked another milestone by becoming the first Malaysian ever to win the Asian Touring Car Series title! On top of that he is also the youngest Asian ever to take the crown as well as the second youngest in the world to win a major touring car title! That in itself is quite an achievement and I must say that he has grown and matured into a strong driver.
The teamwork and level of commitment from everyone has been unquestionable and getting the title today is as much a testament to them as it is to the driver. On that note, I would like to thank PETRONAS, BMW, AFOS, Richard Lester, Mike Briggs, Roberto Ravaglia, Gen Suzuki, Andy Poon, the crew and everyone who has helped Fariqe and make this possible.”
http://www.teampetronas.com/admin/imageLibrary/z09002.JPG
Fariqe Hairuman (driver)“What an amazing weekend! It was a really good outing for the team. I have to first of all thank my team principal David Wong and everyone on the team for doing such a fantastic job, not just this weekend but for the entire season! Everyone has worked really hard from getting the BMW ready for the start of the season all the way through to the final race this weekend.
It has been a truly great season overall. The race this weekend itself was really interesting and a lot of fun. I knew it would be a tough battle and I really enjoyed the duel with Romanov in the first race on Saturday and in the race today. It was really close between us for the first half of the race. I made a mistake trying to avoid a spin and ended up in the gravel trap!
For sure I did not want to end the season in this way! Nevertheless, it was a really good clean race and I really enjoyed it. I am absolutely delighted with the result and there are just no words to describe how I feel right now! Getting the title after three seasons in the championship is such a massive achievement for me personally, but it has not been an easy ride from the get go.
I could not have done it without the support and encouragement from everyone who has made this possible! I am grateful to my team principal David Wong, PETRONAS, my mentors, the entire crew, the engineers and everyone who has helped make this a reality!”
