Entertain race enthusiasts with daredevil driving:
Mudith and Sajaad dominate Pannala for EZY Racing
EZY Racing, who recently signed up a historic partnership with
Crocodile as their official clothing partner, had a 'crocodilian'
weekend with their drivers Mudith Maddumarachchi and Sajaad Zuhair
entertaining the crowds with a dazzling display of racing during the
Speed 2011 held at the Pannala Circuit which is considered the most
technical circuit in Sri Lanka.
Defending Rally Champions EZY Racing, who began 2011 by setting the
Kandy streets on fire by dominating the Kandy Night Race in March, went
into the race at Pannala to finish the season on a strong note. Mudith
Maddumarachi, who joined the racing team in 2011 to represent them in
the Standard Mini category, did well to qualify 3rd on the grid during
Saturday's qualifying round.
EZY racer Sajaad Zuhair leading the race from start to finish in
his EZY Honda |
Ace Driver Sajaad Zuhair, who has been a dominant figure for this
glamorous race team, provided the ideal qualifying result when he
finished pole in the SLH 1600 category in his EZY Honda ER 6, ahead of
Ashan Silva and Dinesh Jayawardane.
Ideal start
Mudith provided the ideal start for EZY Racing on Sunday when he
displayed the prowess of his driving in the Standard Mini Class where he
started third and managed to overtake both drivers in front of him to
win his particular class. Mudith received a standing ovation especially
for his overtaking manouver on race leader Azlie Irshad, which was a
daring move on the final lap of the race.
'It was a true reflection of the skills of Mudith. We have always
believed in Mudith's capabilities and felt that he was somewhat
unfortunate in the past races. This victory will certainly give him
added confidence and we are sure that this would reflect positively in
his future races", said a delighted Team Principal/CEO, EZY Racing,
Shafraz Hamzadeen.
With one victory in the bag, all eyes were focused on Sajaad Zuhair
who was on pole position in the SLH 1600 which was considered the
hottest event for the day.
Sajaad who had a wonderful start to the race, was soon given a stiff
challenge by Dinesh Jayawardane who started 4th on the grid and managed
to come out of turn one in 3rd position, in hot pursuit of Ashan Silva.
Dinesh who was displaying his true mettle was able to outbreak Ashan,
going into turn 6 and was in hot pursuit of race leader Sajaad Zuhair.
The next 5 laps saw the best motor racing, that Sri Lankan motor racing
fans would have experienced for a long time as Dinesh presented all his
skills in a bid to overtake Sajaad who held his cool all throughout the
race to convert his pole position to a race victory.
Mudith Madumarachchi doing a lap of honour after winning his
class in his EZY Mini ER 1 |
This definitely was true racing as Dinesh on two occasions managed to
pull himself side by side along Sajaad's car but had to let go of the
throttle as Sajaad held the inner line.
Best races
After the race, a jubilant Sajaad went on to say: "This definitely is
one of the best races I have driven. I thought Dinesh drove at his
absolute best and it took a lot of effort to keep him behind.
I was very determined to win this race as it was important that we
finished the season on a high note. Ever since my topple in April at
Foxhill, we have been working very hard to prepare the ER6 with the
correct settings. Today the car responded beautifully. It handled itself
much better and most importantly, it had the pace which we lacked in the
races leading upto this. This victory reflects the hard work all of us
have put in".
The SLH 1600 event winner in the 2010 Foxhill Super Cross, recorded
his first race win since he dominated the race during the Kandy Night
Race in 2011.
Sajaad further went on to say that the teams efforts of putting him
into a race dominating position was what motivated him during a tough
phase where he was without a race win after a heavy toppling incident in
April.
EZY Racing, who have become a dominant figure in the motor racing
arena almost had another championship in the bag when 2010 Rally
Champion Shafraz Junaid, who was participating in his inaugural year in
Formula racing almost won the championship when he finished on equal
points with 'The King of Formula Racing' Dinesh Jayawardane.
Dinesh who had a mechanical issue and had to retire from the race
early, saw Shafraz who started 4th on the grid fighting his way up to
2nd place with Ashan Silva going on to win the race. Dinesh was
eventually classified as the Championship Winner in the Formula 1600
Class by virtue of him having more race wins in a season.
True indication
"We were very focused in going into this race", said Hamzadeen. "The
weekend was definitely a true indication of the tremendous strides we
have made in our racing. We have been having concerns in the past about
our circuit performance although we have been dominating the rally
racing arena. Our team has put in dedicated hours working on our cars,
skills, temperament and also fine tuning skills. The fact that Sajaad
was able to lead from start to finish and Mudith succeeding with some
brave overtaking to win the race, is altogether very encouraging for us.
As far as we are concerned we did most things right this weekend.
Therefore the result indicates our improvement out there.
We still feel that we can improve further and will continue to work
on our cars to make them better and suited to a variety of different
circuits, as well as be competitive in all other formats", said
Hamzadeen.
With the circuit racing calendar coming to an end and with only one
more rally to conclude the season, EZY Racing have a strong chance to
bag the championship for the 3rd consecutive year.
The team now shifts their focus to the final rally to be held in the
vicinity of the Pelwatte Sugar Plantation where they intend supporting
their championship winning drivers Rizvi Farouk and Shafraz Junaid who
are jointly lying 2nd in the drivers' championship, with all necessary
resources to win the Championship yet again. |