Dilan provides strong start to EZY Racing

EZY Racing’s newest driving sensation Dilan Seneviratene, proved his worth by thrilling a massive crowd in Pannala, Sri Lanka’s only purpose built race track, at the Speed 2013 round 1, as he went on to win the SLH - upto 1600CC category after being 3rd on the grid, and then provided Ashan Silva driving a Mitsubishi Evolution 9 a stiff challenge in EZY Racing’s Mitsubishi Evolution 5, a car that hit a race track for the first time.

EZY Racers Sajaad Zuhair in his ER6 and Dilan Seneviratne in his ER 11 lined up at the start of the SLH 1600 event.

Speed 2013, the very first motor car racing event of the year, was a much anticipated race weekend as Seneviratne, who missed out on the SLH upto 1600CC championship by a couple of points in 2012 after having lead the entire season, was driving for his new team with refreshed hope.

The black and red team went into the weekend with a strongly knit ‘Tarmac Team’ comprising of Seasoned campaigner Sajaad Zuhair, Dilan Senevirate and the Wonder Kids Aaron and Jaden Gunawardane who rode totally new motor bike classes.

The crocodile dressed team showed no signs of rust in the first race for 2013, when Colombo Night Race pole sitter Sajaad Zuhair, went onto set yet another dominant time to lock the front position of the grid in his EZY Honda ER6, pushing 2012 Speed Champion and National Tarmac Champion Ashan Silva to 2nd place on the grid. Seneviratne too did an impeccable run in his EZY Honda ER11 to position himself 3rd on the grid as the trio finished, qualifying under 1 minute 3 seconds, with just a 100th of a second apart from each other. In the much looked forward SLGT event, Seneviratne qualified 2nd in the grid driving his EZY Mitsubishi Evolution 9 also referred to as the ER 10, over a second behind a flying Silva who was driving a Mitubishi Evolution 9.

The SLH 1600CC event started with Zuhair Controlling the race pace from the front as he pulled a comfortable gap from Ashan Silva who was under heavy pressure from Seneviratne who was well positioned in his ER 11 to attack Silva’s 2nd place. Unfortunately in Lap 3, coming out of Turn 3, Zuhair experienced a broken Axle and had to pull over.

Seneviratne decided to up his speed and fill the shoes of his team mate by making the race winning move on Silva. Seneviratne, then went to control race pace and win the race with Silva having fought hard to gain the race lead. In the SLGT upto 3500CC event, many expected Silva to run away from the rest of the group.

Dilan Seneviratne on his way to win the SLH 1600 event

However, Seneviratne had other plans as he got off the line in a stiff hunt of Silva’s race lead. In Lap 3, coming out of Turn 2, Seneviratne managed an impeccable exit to take the lead from Silva by keeping the inside line into Turn 3, stunning the entire crowd who didn’t expect such a move from the ER10. Silva immediately fought back hard and in trying to overtake Seneviratne in the same place in lap 5, but this time from the outside ran wide.

However in Lap 7, a charged Silva this time managed to regain the lead. Seneviratne from there onwards decided to secure his 2nd place as the ER 10 was racing for the first time since it was manufactured.

A jubiliant Seneviratne went on to say “What a weekend it was. Although I was a little disappointed with the qualifying run yesterday in SLH 1600, I was extremely pleased with the time I set in SL-GT, considering it was my first run at Pannala in this event.

I came in for race day today with a lot of confidence and wanted to pull off something special in SLH, which I did by starting 3rd on the grid and going on to win. It was very unfortunate that Sajaad (Zuhair) had to retire. We could have had a much stronger finish for the race if not.

However, I was more thrilled with the SLGT event and the great fight I gave Ashan Silva, after taking the lead in lap 3 and having led the race for 4 laps, ending up finishing second eventually in my first proper outing in this event.

Considering the unfortunate incident that occured in the Colombo Night Race where right off the start I ran into a stalled front running car, I take great encouragment out of todays performance as my confidence level with the car will definitely improve”

EZY Racing was given yet another podium by 11 year old Jaden as he fought back having fallen into last place following an incident on track to finish 3rd in the Motor Cycles 125CC Racing Class.

“I should say today’s performance was the result of a lot of hard work that was put in the by the drivers, riders and the crew for the last 2 months. It was unfortunate that Sajaad (Zuhair) couldn’t complete the race. After having held a dominant lead for the 2nd consecutive race, retiring out of it always provides a hollow feeling.

Dilan Seneviratne leading the race in lap 4 for the first time in his very first rafe in the SLGT event.

Knowing Sajaad, I know his hunger to win and prove himself will only get higher and am sure he will come with great hunger for the next race. As for Dilan, we always knew his capabilities. That’s why we signed him on and provided him the opportunity to run in SLGT where he has never run before.

The commitment of his is such that it was evident in his very first race where he went on to take the race lead before finishing in 2nd place. This provided an enormous level of satisfaction for us, especially because we all know that he will only get better with races to come. In the SLH, I was confident that he was going to gain a place or two today.

His mental approach was great, and the fact that Sajaad retired clearly would have inspired him to win the race for the team. All in all, I believe it was the perfect start we could have for the season” said Shafraz Hamzadeen, CEO/ Team Principal of EZY Racing.

EZY Racing, in their 4th year of racing are growing to become a household name in motor racing with a strong fan base closing in on 30,000 fans.

The race team intends on decorating their race with the faces of their fans in celebration of this milestone. More insights into EZY Racing can be accessed through www.fb.com/ezyracing