Singapore to field team for A1 Grand prix
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Team Singapore will for the first time send two local drivers to compete in the October season of the A1 Grand Prix, and the 2007/2008 season is likely to include Singapore as a venue.
A1 Grand Prix is the World Cup of motor racing and countries compete in it, unlike F1 where the battle is among car manufacturers.
The A1 Grand Prix rolled off last year with a roar, captivating fans with its country vs country theme.
Pride and passion ruled as teams battled it out.
As the competitors will be using similar cars, the performance of teams will depend more on the ability of drivers.
So a small country like Singapore, with a relatively young motoring heritage, will not be handicapped.
And that is why Team Singapore hopes to fly the Singapore flag high when the new season begins in October.
Denis Lian, Team Singapore's A1 race driver, said: "Malaysia would be a very nice target to aim for. Alex Yeung last year did very, very well, finished top 5 for Malaysia. He won one race and came in second a couple of time. It would be a very tall order for us to emulate that but it would be something obviously to aim for."
Partnering veteran racer Denis Lian is 22-year-old rookie Hafiz Koh. He said: "Right now we are looking forward to the test in Silverstone. Once the test takes place, we can identify our strong points and weak points among the drivers and even among the crews."
The US$10m funding for the team comes from private investors.
And come National Day, the publicity machine for the team will crank into action in Singapore.
Krishna Ramachandra, Team Singapore's national seat holder for A1 Grand Prix, said: "We are actually getting an A1 car from London. It is scheduled to arrive in the next few weeks and we will be launching the car. I think it would be quite an impressive event and Singaporeans will get to see, touch and smell the car."
And it's not just the feel of the car that Singaporeans can look forward to.
They might also see the cars racing right here in Singapore.
David Clare, Chief Operating Officer for A1 Grand Prix, said: "We only race in countries where we have teams, that means that every race is a home race and from that perspective Singapore would make an excellent location and we would be interested to explore that."
The 2007/2008 season is likely to include Singapore as a venue, with either a street or track circuit. - CNA/ir
maybe oneday i oso can join
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i also want to drive
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I bet my last dollar Heng@ will be wishing he were part of the action.
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Motor Racing: Team Singapore to compete in ‘World Cup’
SINGAPORE: Come October 1, 2006, Singapore will be sending a team to take part in the A1 Grand Prix, the ‘world cup’ of motorsport.
Founded only two years ago by the crown prince of Bahrain, Pince Maktoum, the competition pits country against country, with national drivers racing in equal machinery.
They will all be racing the Lola V8, with same engines - therefore victory comes down to the driver, the race strategy and the consistency of the engineering team.
Singapore driver Hafiz Koh tells Prime Time Morning about his preparations for the race of his life, “A lot of gym training, a lot of running to build up the stamina, a lot of mind training.”
Koh is undergoing a special license course for the competition while practicing staying focused, “You tend to get very tired and lose your focus…so you want to be able to multi-task and at the same time focus on your job”.
For team manager Krishna Ramachandra it is all about getting a good team together, “It was like a dream of both of ours, to get A1 into Singapore. And we now have many able bodies behind it to make it real”.
Team Singapore will compete in 13 races in cities such as Amsterdam, Beijing, the Czech Republic, Dubai, Durban, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mexico City, Sydney, Shanghai and Wellington. -
Woohoo, Singapore finally has its own motorsport team.
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any one knows when and where is the launch for the team and car???
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And the team launched their car at the Shangri-La hotel yesterday evening. Read about it in today's papers.
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Wow, that's cool.
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one ugly paint job... the cresent moon and stars are so ugly... they look like alien crafts -
is tat a toy car?
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lol wtf... its a buaya car... want see urs?Originally posted by sgboy2004:is tat a toy car?
closest to a buaya car
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mi won't be surprised that Sin will build a race track in no time...maybe at Kranji area
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Who's funding the team?
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We're starting 16th for today's Sprint Race at Sepang. Alex Yoong starts 7th but we're still ahead of Indo's Mikola, and faster than last year's pole time!
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Finished 11th, not a bad result when only 1 car retired. Our mid-race pace was pretty swift.