Sajaad completes another hat trick for EZY Racing

Tuesday, 2 September 2014 12:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Team extends 100% win ratio for 2014 with 14th race win for the season Two weeks after the country’s most successful motor racing team made a spectacular debut in the international motor racing arena, where it represented Sri Lanka for the first time in its history in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), EZY Racing’s local motor racing team completed yet another dominant racing weekend when its ace driver Sajaad Zuhair completed a hat trick of wins for the third time in the 2014 season at the Gajaba Supercross in Anuradhapura. Zuhair, who was fresh after his dominance in Minneriya earlier this month, where he unfortunately missed out on a hat trick of victories, was determined to provide his team a successful weekend right from the start. The Black and Red Team were provided a strong start for the weekend when Zuhair occupied the pole position in both events, the SLH 1600 and SLS 1500 events.

“Having not competed in this circuit for two years, we were definitely a little nervous when we entered the qualifying on Saturday. However I was pretty surprised as to how well we were able to adjust ourselves within the short practice run that we got. Earlier in the year the team made a conscious decision of competing in carefully selected races to manage driver and car fatigue, considering the long and multiple championships that are organised in parallel. We therefore missed out on two of the SLADA events. With just two more races to go for the season we felt that we had a mathematical chance of winning simply due to the fact that we have been able to win every race we have competed in the SLADA championship. Therefore it was important that I put in the best laps possible from the start to occupy the pole position as it was the only way we could go on and win, in this circuit,” said Zuhair after completing a ‘double’ pole position qualifying session in his ER 2 and ER 6. Zuhair’s team mate Seneviratne, who was also fresh from a very successful weekend in Minneriya two weeks back, had a nightmare of a qualifying session when he qualified seventh on the grid due to a tyre choice that didn’t suit the circuit. With Sunday’s races providing the thrills, Zuhair provided the iconic motor racing brand the usual start when he went on to win the SLH 1600 event in his ER 6, from Janaka Dias and Damith Weerasinghe who finished 2nd and 3rd. Zuhair then managed to complete a double when his ER 2 took the chequered flag from Missaka Naveen and Indu Samarakoon in the SLS 1500 event. In between Zuhair’s dominance, his team mate and close friend Dilan Seneviratne was involved in a spectacular race which would probably be classified as one of the best races driven by him, where he managed to overcome an ordinary start to overtake 6 competitors within six laps to finish 2nd in his ER 10 competing in the SLGT 3500 CC category. Seneviratne, who occupied the second position on the grid for the SLGT Race 2, got off to a great start to pip pole sitter Ishraq to a goose neck first corner where the two cars unfortunately touched each other, which resulted in Seneviratne’s car spinning out. Seneviratne later on managed to recover and finish 5th taking the chequered flag with a puncture on his front tyre. Zuhair who began the SLH 1600 race 2 in between Seneviratne’s races, was this time around given stiff competition by Janaka Dias who eventually had to settle into 2nd position. “It was a great weekend for the team today,” said Zuhair after the race. “We came here to take maximum points and I am happy to have been able to take them all. I did receive some stiff competition from Janaka (Dias) in the SLH (1600) race 2. However, I was aware that if I could be composed and not do anything silly in the tight corners, I definitely could take the ER 6 to the chequered flag. We had the pace this weekend as we have fortunately had throughout this year. We therefore were confident that we could bring home maximum points.” The Black and Red Team which pioneered the art of professional motor racing in Sri Lanka have been experiencing a very successful year in 2014 where its local motor racing team has won in every race that has been conducted this year. Speaking on the team’s performance, Inceptor and CEO of the team, Shafraz Hamzadeen stated that his team’s performance at Anuradhapura was a true testimony of the fact that the team has got a very complete motor racing package in place. “Earlier this year we decided to segregate ourselves into three different areas of motor racing and thereby focus on the segregated areas better. So we formed three teams, one for local rallying, one for circuit racing in Sri Lanka and one for international racing. Although the circuit team had challenges especially in the ER 10 project, initially our patience and focus had started paying rich dividends. This year has been about sustainable development for us a team. The fact that we have a 100% winning ratio speaks volumes of our team’s success. Sajaad was simply brilliant yet again today. He managed to overcome certain uncertainties of the track very quickly and managed to get about his work as usual. Winning 14 races in a year is no easy task. That too, having a EZY Racing will be next seen providing back to entertainment to a fan base closing on a 100,000 on www.fb.com/ezyracing, when they participate in Japan and in Katukurunda on parallel weekends, hopes to conclude the local motor racing season in a successful manner.”