Pasindu Peiris and Shrian Samuel stamp EZY Racing’s dominance in Colombo Night Races

Sri Lanka’s young driving sensation Pasindu Peiris and riding wonder child Shrian Samuel – both in their debut appearances for the black and red team – exhibited their superior skills in motor racing when they stamped EZY Racings dominance in the most-looked-forward-to driving and riding events of the night at the Colombo Night Races 2011.

Pasindu driving his EZY Mitsubishi ER 9 (Evolution 9) in the SL GT up to 3500 CC Category and Shrian riding his EZY Suzuki ER-Z (Suzuki GSXR), entertained over 100,000 people in a rare display of championship skills, reaffirming their supremacy in their respective categories.

EZY Racing, Sri Lanka’s most famed motor racing team, went into this race with four new additions to their lineup. Apart from strengthening the team with 23-year-old Pasindu Peiris who is the current gravel champion, EZY Racing also debuted Shrian Samuel and the young Gunawardane Brothers, Aaron and Jaden.

Nine-year-old Jaden and eight-year-old Aaron, sons of legendary Shane Gunawardane, are the current champion and runner up riders in their category and have successfully gone on to beat many grown up riders in every race they have participated in.

EZY Racing’s night was given a great start by Shrian Samuel who took part in three motorbike events and stamped his dominance when he won all three events with ease. The entertaining rider who was oozing with confidence displayed a spectacular show of riding as he managed to entertain the large crowd with his dances while on the bikes.

Shrian’s dominance was such that in the most sought after motor bike event of the night, the open event, he had more than half a lap lead over his closest competitor. The little kids of EZY Racing, Jaden and Aaron, also showed that they were much more than kids when it came to biking by finishing second and third respectively in their events, putting on a great show of courage and skill.

EZY Racer Sajaad Zuhair was also placed third in the SLH up to 1600CC category which was won by Dilan Seneviratne in his Tuned i Chip special Honda SiR closely followed by Ashan Silva.

However, the icing on the cake was laid by Pasindu in his pet event, SL GT up to 3500CC category, which was considered to be the crowd favourite. Pasindu, who dominated the qualifying day by being the fastest on the grid, was more than a second faster than his closest challenger Darin Weerasinghe in his Subaru STI 10, closely followed by the ever-flying Ashan Silva in his Evolution 3.

The race as anticipated got off to a flying start with Pasindu pulling a good lead from both Darin and Ashan. Coming out of turn 5 in the main straight opposite Cargills, Pasindu had a momentary scare when his vehicle went sideways and almost out of control.

He managed to take control of the situation successfully and defended his lead from Darin and Ashan, who were in close pursuit of the STI 10. In Lap 3 Ashan managed to overtake Darin and gave a stiff challenge to Pasindu when he first overtook Pasindu when exiting turn 3 out of Duke Street. However Pasindu held the inner line and was able to gain the lead into the very next corner by out breaking Ashan.

The flying Ashan was able to take Pasindu on again in the main straight, passing Galadari in lap five of the race. With five more laps to go and having relinquished his lead, Pasindu had to dig deep to bring out his never-say-die skills.

With the race picking up pace, both Pasindu and Ashan had a race of their own by managing to lap many other competitors. Pasindu hung onto Ashan’s tail for the next three laps, when during the penultimate lap, Pasindu tasted success when he managed to go past Ashan Silva, who momentarily lost control and swayed away, thereby conceding the lead to Pasindu who went on to take the chequered flag. The race was a fitting tribute to EZY Racing’s night of glamour where they hosted 250 top corporate delegates and sponsors in a VIP lounge in international style, a first ever in Sri Lankan motor racing history.

“I am very happy to have won the very first race with my new team EZY Racing. It is a very nice feeling to win the super car race which is the fastest race in Sri Lanka, with all of Sri Lanka’s best drivers participating in it. So to be the winner out of 22 cars is a very special feeling. There was a lot of preparation that went in for this race by the team. That was what motivated me to put my best out there today. We can say it was a perfect weekend as we managed to grab the pole position on qualifying day and then go on to win the race. Although we were on pole we did anticipate a stiff Challenge from Ashan. We should say that everything went according to plan, other than the 3 laps that I fell behind Ashan. I had to put every effort to gain the race lead at the end and am very glad that I was able to do it for the team in my very first appearance for them. I am already very comfortable with the team and they have put in every effort to ensure that I don’t feel a newcomer in here,” said a jubilant Pasindu after the race,” said a jubilant Pasindu after the race.

Team Principal/ CEO of EZY Racing Shafraz Hamzadeen who was seen hosting special invitees in the ER party and the EZY Racing lounge was truly delighted.

“This was definitely a perfect night. On one hand we had our partner sponsors and potential sponsors. On the other hand we had our best drivers and riders putting forward their best efforts. When we announced our lineup for the Colombo Night Race, we did mention that we had the strongest race team. Both Pasindu and Shrian proved it by winning the best events of the night in the Super Car and Open Bike category. We also had the little kids Jaden and Aaron putting on a show of entertaining riding when they proved that age didn’t matter, but all that was required was skill. Sajaad also put in his best efforts by taking us to the podium in the SLH 1600 category. So we did show a large crowd what the Black and Red team is capable of.”

Hamzadeen, who reiterated the fact that they put in a lot of preparation for this race, thanked the entire team which included their performance partners Auto Force, Tuning partners Tuned I Chips, their support crew of over 50 people and their drivers for the commitment and dedication to provide the best result for the team.

“Pasindu’s and Shrian’s efforts were definitely the icing on the cake for us. Pasindu was simply outstanding. We always knew that Ashan was a potential threat as his car was better suited for this track. Having said that, Pasindu did drive the wheels off his ER9 especially after conceding the race lead. We all knew that Pasindu would not let Ashan off the hook and he did prove it. Shrian on the other hand was simply entertaining.

We all know that he is the best rider the country has. Unfortunately his work commitments do not allow him to participate in a full calendar year of racing as he lives overseas.”

Hamzadeen went on to say that their fans were given a glimpse of the 2012 line-up of their drivers and riders. “As a team, we will be much stronger in 2012. With Pasindu, Shrian, Jaden and Aaron joining us, I believe EZY Racing will be the team to look out for the 2012 season in both motor biking as well as motor riding.”

With the 2011 season coming to a closure and the team finishing the year on a very strong note, EZY Racing looks forward to the 2012 season with optimism.