FAIRUZ FAUZY SECURES PODIUM AT NURBURGRING’s MAIN RACE ON SUNDAY

Fairuz Fauzy determinedly secured a podium finish in last Sunday’s Main Race at the World Series by Renault Formula 3.5 Nurburgring Race Meeting, finishing 3rd after championship contenders Korjus and Wickens. Despite facing engine issues that constantly beleaguered his drive throughout the weekend, Fairuz kept a steady pace and strategised with his engineer, Brian Ireland, and mechanics to perform a perfect pit stop to keep him ahead of the rest of the pack on Sunday. The last few laps of the race also saw Fairuz making mature judgement calls to allow Wickens to pass rather than meet him shoulder-to-shoulder, and risk compromising his own drive and Wickens’ championship chase. The Lotus-Renault GP test and reserve driver was quoted as saying: “Being back in Nurburgring for this World Series F3.5 meeting certainly brought back wonderful double-podium memories of 2009. Saturday’s Race was truly challenging, as I had to constantly adjust to the engine setback and ensure that it will still be in shape to make a successful run in Sunday’s Main Race. It certainly paid off well, as the engine held on and worked with my driving style to secure a podium finish for MOFAZ Racing. After a year away from competitive racing in 2010, I have had to work extra hard to regain my form and I am grateful that things panned out well for us this weekend.” MOFAZ Racing’s Team Principal, Haji Fauzy: “The Nurburgring Race Meeting is a great opportunity for Fairuz to get back into form and sharpen his racecraft in a different scenery. Earlier this year, Fairuz undertook official season testing for the team at Barcelona and showed some promising times. We have been keen to see how much he has developed over the last few months, in terms of driver development especially, and the podium finish certainly was the icing on the cake for us!”.   MOFAZ Racing’s Commercial Director, Ferhan Fauzy: “It’s great to finally see the Malaysian flag waving above the podium again, something we’ve missed for more than a year now. It will definitely motivate the team further, and spur us on to secure more victories and podiums”. The World Series by Renault Formula 3.5 will be moving to Budapest within the fortnight, when it will shake, rattle and roll the Hungaroring Circuit between the 1 – 3 July 2011.