Lotus storm Putrajaya to kick off F1 countdown

PUTRAJAYA: The normally serene atmosphere in Putrajaya was broken by the high revving sounds of a Formula 1 car as Team Lotus kicked off the one-week countdown to Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix yesterday. It was the first time the demo was held in the administrative capital of the country and drivers Jarno Trulli and Heiki Kovalainen took turns to steer their Lotus T128 machine on the main street in front of Palace of Justice.

The show starts: A Team Lotus car roaring past spectators in Putrajaya yesterday.

And it is not just about hyping up the annual race taking place this weekend as the Malaysian-backed Team Lotus also chose to announce the expansion of the AirAsia Team Lotus Driver Development Programme. A joint initiative between AirAsia and Team Lotus aimed at discovering bright, young talents with the passion and drive to excel in motorsports, the programme will have seven recruits from all around the world instead of two the previous year.

The seven ranging from ages 12 to 19 are Formula BMW world series champion Alexander Rossi of United States, Daim Hishamuddin of Singapore, Tanart Sathienthirakul of Thailand, Matt Parry of United Kingdom, Max Klinkby-Silver of Denmark, Senna Iriawan of Indonesia and Malaysian Weiron Tan. Team Lotus chief executive officer Riad Asmat said they want to give young drivers from Asia and around the world the chance to develop their talents and to help them achieve their goals to become Formula 1 drivers.

“Through Team Lotus in Formula 1 and Team AirAsia in GP2, we have the perfect platforms to provide aspiring world champions with a clear route to the very top and with AirAsia as our key partner in the programme, we have a team of people to call on whose core philosophy is about making dreams come true. “The programme mirrors their Formula 1 counterparts with the same physical and mental training to ensure their race preparation is perfect. The rigours of driving a Formula 1 car are immense and the earlier a driver can learn the work ethics needed to succeed the more likely he will be successful when he goes in,” said Riad. Besides the live demo and the meet and greet sessions with Trulli and Kovalainen, the public had the opportunity to go on the kart and pocket bike rides. which were free for all.

-thestar online.