Team PSP to launch new car and drivers at Donington
Malaysian BTCC challenger Team PSP will make its first UK appearance of 2004 at Donington on March 16 - with a new Proton Impian racecar and two new drivers. In pre-season testing, on-track performance has been living up to the team's ambitions.
The new drivers, rookie Fariqe Hairuman from Malaysia and seasoned South African touring car campaigner Shaun Watson Smith, have both spent some acclimatisation time on UK tracks in the 2003 car and with their 2004 race cars in the Southern hemisphere.
Shaun said: "We've had three separate test sessions with the new car. It feels fantastic, responds very well to set-up changes and is already a big step forward over the 2003 car."
Fariqe said: "The interest in BTCC in Malaysia is growing fast, especially with a Malaysian car and driver this season. We ran a demo at Sepang recently, which generated a lot of interest. I'm very excited and can't wait to get out onto the track in the UK."
Mike Carroll (Chief Engineer) said: "With our combined resources in Malaysia and the UK I think we've been able to build a competitive new car. I'm pleased with the performance so far, and we have some more developments up our sleeve. For sure, it won't be the definitive race-car on show on March 16 - we'll save that for the first race."
David Wong (Team Principal) said: "Our first two seasons in BTCC have been a very steep learning curve for the team - we started from scratch. We've spent the time building a good team thanks to the motorsport resources of PETRONAS. Towards the end of last season we were in position to move to the next stage of our programme - to build an all-new car and bring in young Malaysian driving talent. The new car and our new drivers have all shown great promise over the winter. This is a big opportunity for everyone in the team to grasp."