PM HANDS OVER JALUR GEMILANG TO TEAM MERITUS

Meritus Racing will compete in two support races in the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix – the Formula BMW Pacific and the GP2 Asia Series.

“I wish the team all the best for the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix next month and also in their future races,” said the honourable Dato Seri Ahmad at his office here today. “It is good that a Malaysian team have earned world wide recognition for their successes in motorsports.”

The team, who have won 32 Asian titles in the past 12 years, including the last six Formula BMW Pacific Championships, have a tradition of unearthing talented drivers who have gone on to race in the pinnacle of motorsport sports.

India’s Narain Kartikeyan and Japan’s Takuma Sato starred for Meritus before finding success in F1. New Zealand’s Earl Bamber and Malaysia’s Jazeman Jaafar also started their careers with Meritus and they are seen as the next big talents in motorsports.

Malaysia’s only Formula 1 driver, Alex Yoong, has had a long relationship with the team and drove for them in the opening rounds of this season’s GP2 Asia Series, which is also known as the F1 Development Series.

Many of the current batch of Formula One drivers, including world champion Lewis Hamilton, graduated from the GP2 Series. The Meritus team is the only Asian outfit granted a license to compete in the GP2 Asia Series.

Meritus Racing have worked hard to raise the standard of local motorsports with their keen eye for talent spotting young drivers and the development of race engineers and mechanics.

This can be seen from their all-local backroom staff in the Formula BMW Pacific as well as the Formula V6 Asia which the team have dominated for the last three years.

Firhat said: “I would like to thank the honourable Prime Minister for taking time out from his tight schedule to hand over the Jalur Gemilang to us.

“I know Meritus Racing will be inspired by his support for a Malaysian team and this will spur us on as we compete in our home race, the Malaysian Grand Prix next month. Thank you and see you all at the Malaysian Grand Prix in April.”

With exactly a month before the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix, the Meritus team are in the midst of finalising their driver line-up.