Deheragoda and Junaid felicitated after impressive performance at APRC

Friday, 21 November 2014 11:53 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Motor Racing Association (MRA) together with the Ceylon Motor Sports Club felicitated race-car driver Dinesh Deheragoda and co-driver Shafraz Junaid, for their exceptional performance at the recently concluded Asia Pacific Rally Championship 2014, at an event held recently.

Speaking at the event held in Colombo, Dinesh Deheragoda thanked his EZY racing team and sponsors for the support he received during the championship while adding that he looked forward to even better results at the upcoming race in Thailand. The one-time circuit racer claimed that he did not always have a passion for this brand of racing and needed an initial push to even try his hand at it. “It has been a long road in my road-racing career. Initially I was not interested in rally racing but after I was exposed to it the first time, I never looked back,” he stated. Deheragoda also spoke about his experiences in the international circuit where certain truths about Sri Lankan standards in rally racing had been revealed. “International standards are extremely high. Foreign tracks are very different as well. They are more technical and they proved to be a big challenge but now I feel our Sri Lanka’s presence has been noticed even in the international circuit.” Deheragoda’s co-driver Shafraz Junaid said that a lot of thought and preparation goes into running international races while he commended his team’s efforts in making the dream of competing in the international arena a reality. He also spoke about the initial challenges they faced as a team, claiming that the Malaysian race was a true baptism by fire. “The first race in Malaysia was a bit difficult and we realised where we were falling short. I put a lot of time into research and I felt that during the race in Japan, we really managed to click,” he stated. The EZY team was the smallest team in the championship but the relatively inexperienced team managed to put on an impressive show to gain some much needed recognition and valuable exposure.