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Friday, 5 August 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
EZY Racing's Sajaad Zuhair
Sri Lanka’s first ever Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) accredited rally will kick off this weekend in the Eastern Province where EZY Racing will be represented by Sajaad Zuhair and 2011 National Rally Champion Shafraz Junaid.
Both drivers will also be co-driven by international co-drivers which includes EZY Racing’s international team’s co-driver Malcolm Read, who will be making his debut on Sri Lankan tracks. He will bring much-needed experience into the partnership with Zuhair, who will be making his maiden appearance in gravel rallying.
Speaking at a press event held yesterday at the Hilton Colombo, Kiwi co-driver Read expressed his excitement at being able to be a part of Sri Lanka’s first APRC accredited rally event and claimed that a lot of preparation had gone into Saturday’s event.
“We’re obviously quite excited about this event and I’ve been going through some pacenotes in preparation as well. This is the first time Sajaad and I will be partnering up so a lot of work will have to go into communication,” he said.
Read will also need to prepare for the weather conditions in Sri Lanka, having come to the country from much cooler climes. He stated that having to race for two days in these conditions with all the safety gear on would be a big challenge that he was not completely unprepared for.
“Conditions are similar in Malaysia around this time and we’ve raced there but it will certainly be a challenge,” he added.
Zuhair, who also spoke to the media at the event, claimed that Rally Sri Lanka would be great for local drivers who needed to get used to the rules and regulations of the APRC in order to compete abroad and in FIA-sanctioned events. He also said that events like this would put Sri Lanka on the racing map and would encourage the APRC to look closer at Sri Lanka as a venue.
“Sri Lanka has been conducting races in a very different format to the one used internationally. This means that our drivers are not aware of the proper regulations when they participate in international events. This is the first time Sri Lanka is holding races according to those regulations and the more we organise these sorts of races the better accustomed our drivers will be to the way international races are held,” Zuhair added.
Zuhair is currently in his maiden season in the fastest class in the country, the SLGT 3500CC category and will partner with Read today and head to the races. Junaid’s co-driver will be APRC co-driver Sean Gregory.
Organised by the Southern Motor Sports Club, Rally Sri Lanka will see around 25 competitors tackling 200 km of gravel stages. Rally Sri Lanka will run according to the FIA Special Stage rally format which will see 10 special stages with a Super Special Stage at the Oluvil Harbour on Friday. The recce will take place on 4 August followed by the shakedown and Super Special Stage on 5 August.
