It was an outstanding show by Malaysian duo, Zen Low and Fairuz Fauzy, when they collected vital points for the team today during the second race of the GT Asia Series Season Opener held at Korea International Circuit. Both drivers put on a great show, despite pressure from some of the best GT drivers from around the world.
Zen started the race for the team, eleventh on the grid and was immediately on pace managing to avoid the accident at turn one and gaining three position as he got to turn two.
“I had a good start, then there was an accident at turn one and I saw everything, so I managed to avoid them and gained about three or four positions by the next turn.Â
“Then I had the same Bentley I was fighting with yesterday, right behind me, so we had a nice battle for a couple of laps. Then at one of the turns I braked a little too late and lost the corner to him. From there I could only stay behind him and when the pit-window opened, handed the car over to Fairuz in P8” said Zen.
The team then lost precious seconds in the pit during the stop as the seatbelt was stuck between the seat and the roll-cage as Fairuz was being strapped in. It was a stressful situation that cost the team one position.
Zen continued, “the issue with the belt during the pit-stop cost us ten seconds and by the time Fairuz left the pit, we were in P9 and the Bentley that was ahead of me earlier had opened up a further gap.Â
It became a tough chase for Fairuz as he also had to conserve fuel. So with the Bentley 23 seconds ahead and a McLaren 25 seconds behind, it was a pretty safe position in P9.Â
From there, Fairuz put in consistent laps all the way until the second last lap when, Frank Yu in the Aston Martin, who was ahead began to slow down and Fairuz was able to overtake him on the last lap for eighth.
“It was a very clean race for me. Zen made up a few positions at the start but then during the pit-stop we had problems with the seatbelt and lost about 10 seconds. By the time I went out of the pit, Karl Vernay’s Bentley that was ahead of us had opened up a bigger gap. I pushed to catch him but he responded so in the end all I could do was to just maintain a steady pace to finish in the points.  It was not the best results but the objective to finish in the points was reached”, said Fairuz after the race.
He continued, “It was our first race of the season, the next race is Okayama and we have learnt a lot from this race, so that we can make improvements and do a lot better to target for a higher finish.” Zen ended, “It was not such a bad weekend for our first outing and we are looking forward to the next race”.
The GT Asia Series continues with Rounds 3 & 4 at the Okayama International Circuit this 26-28 June
2015.
Aylezo Competizione is a Sporting Administration and Technical Team with over 30 years of combined
International race experience in some of the Region’s most renowned Series.
In 2015 Aylezo Competizione acts as the Technical Partner for a newly established team, OD Racing, in their first participation in the GT Asia Series. Aylezo Competizione will also partner with EcoTint, Prince Lubricants, Jonnesway, GoPro and Shark Helmets for their participation in both GT Asia and Asian Le Mans Series.
GT Asia Series will travel to six countries at seven Asian circuits beginning with Korea International Circuit on 15-17 May. The Series will then head to two Japanese races – at Okayama Circuit on 26-28 June and Fuji Speedway on 17-19 July, to Malaysia at Sepang Circuit for its first ever three-hour endurance race on 14-16 August, then to Shanghai Circuit, China on 25-27 Sept before ending the season at Buriram Chang International Circuit, Thailand on 23-25 October.
The Series continues with a non-Championship round held at the legendary Guia Street Circuit, Macau on 20-22 November.Â
The three round Asian Le Mans Series will run during the FIA World Endurance Championship weekends in Fuji, Japan on 9-10 October and in Shanghai, China on 30-31 October. The Series will then make its final stop in Sepang, Malaysia on 19-20 December 2015.
