Longyou, China : Sri Lanka’s first ever International Motor Racing Team EZY Racing will be entering the Chinese leg of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship 2015 with great hopes of bettering their 2014 success where they achieved their first ever podium finish in the Asia Cup Segment by finishing 2nd in Rally China.
The Sri Lankan based team who have emerged as a strong contender in the 2015 season, together with their dominant partnership with Japan based Cusco, have been a frequent visitor on the podium since they kicked off their campaign in New Zealand earlier in 2015. EZY Racing who signed up 3 time Junior Asia Pacific Rally Champion Mike Young who was in his very first year in the senior levels of Rally Racing, have ever since been a strong contender for the Asia Cup of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Fresh from a recent visit to Sri Lanka to meet his Sri Lankan counterparts, the 22 year old Young arrived in China brimming with confidence. “China has always been a tough Rally. Last year it was even tougher as we had to fight the wet weather as well. We are hopeful that the weather would stay clear and give us a chance to go for it (race win) on the weekend” said Young.
Japanese automotive parts manufacturer Cusco who have engineered many cars for over a decade to produce champion drivers are expected to bring in further upgrades for Young’s Cusco EZY Racing Subaru, as the Cusco EZY Racing team looks to provide Young the necessary support to take leadership in the Asia Cup segment of APRC. Young currently stands second in the Asia Cup classification, behind Japanese driver Hitoshi Takayama. Young who is currently leading the production cup ahead of Indonesian driver and former production world Rally Driver Subhan Aksa, will be looking to provide the Sri Lankan based racing team their very first glory internationally by winning the production cup for the Sri Lankan team.
EZY Racing’s Founder Shafraz Hamzadeen who has developed this team to its current level of competitiveness, stated that Mikes skills along with Cusco’s engineering capabilities have transformed his team to become front runners in the International Racing arena in just their second year. “I have always believed in doing the basics very well. That’s precisely what we have done in International Motor Racing. In our first year in International Motor Sports we realized the gap that we had and that the only way we could address this was by forming partnerships with the right stakeholders. That’s where Cusco and Mike (Young) came in. It wasn’t easy at the beginning as this was something new to every one in APRC including us. However we have been consistent with what we want and the partnership has grown into a great team. The results of the basics are now beginning to unwind. Hopefully by this weekend we will have taste our very first FIA Championship when Mike will enable Cusco EZY Racing Subaru to win the production cup” said Hamzadeen.
Young who recently promised to give the Sri Lankan team more glory while addressing his Sri Lankan fans will be hoping to repeat his success in Japan in September where he won EZY Racing their very first race. “We see the MRF team introducing the Skoda R5 in China this weekend. This will make catching up with them an impossible task. Our aim as usual is to be the best of the rest and be as close to the Skoda Team. We are hopeful of having a podium finish in China and take the championship of the Asia Cup to India where it would be decided. It would be nice to have the EZY Racing fans over in India to support us all the way” said Young.
Young who is currently ranked 3rd in the Asia Pacific Standings will be hoping to secure the runner up position of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship this weekend. “Gaurav (Gill) has unfortunately experienced reliability issues with his car that has helped us gain on him. We are hoping to be up there this weekend and hopefully benefit from any potential challenges the MRF Skodas could have. To be honest it’s impossible to continuously beat the MRF Skodas in every stage. To do that we will have to drive 110% in every stage which is an impossible task and even if I do it, it means risking everything which wouldn’t be worth the risk’ stated Young .
Commenting on his team’s success this season, Hamzadeen commended the efforts of Cusco who have put their hearts and souls into providing his team with a perfect car. “We have learnt a lot through this partnership with Cusco. The key components of our learning revolved around the designing, engineering and managing of a race car both pre and during season. Their professional approach on every one of these aspects have encouraged us to extend our partnership to Sri Lanka as well to help our drivers prepare their cars prudently. What’s going for us this season is the reliability that Cusco has put into our car. This reliability has ensured that we have to date had zero mechanical issues and a 100% podium finish , every time we completed a rally. A phenomenal success rate for a team that runs from a fraction of the budget of any front runner” commented the founder of the Black and red race team.
EZY Racing’s Rally China updates will be posted live on their fan page www.fb.com/ezyracing for over 270,000 fans from across Asia.
