Debutant Fahmi Ilyas to Race with E-Rain Racing

20/1/2009


After just two years in karting, Fahmi Ilyas became the first Malaysian to confirm his participation in this year's Formula BMW Pacific season. The 16-year-old lad from Kuala Lumpur confirmed his spot on the grid after signing his debut season with Team E-Rain on January 12.


"I am very happy and excited to start the season. This is a transition year for me so it very important to do my best. I have already begun my testing and it has been great working with the team members," said Ilyas.


A product of the Petronas Formula Xperience, Ilyas is eager to strut his stuff this season but greatness as usual does not come easy.


"I have raced in the PFX cars but the cars have been powered down for teaching purposes. I'm however getting used to the race setting and I am eager to go faster and faster. However, I'm learning a lot from every lap and am trying cut down my mistakes," he added.


But as Ilyas learns the car, he will also attend his first year at the Regents Buiness School in London beginning February 1 and will travel back for test session and races. "I definitely have my work cut out for me between racing and school but I am ready and I have also set a personal goal of winning the championship this year".


Team boss Hongsik Jeon says, "We are very happy and honored to have Fahmi, our first Malaysian driver in our team. Ever since the first session he has been improving tremendously and it shows that he is a fast learner. He started clocking times in the region of 2.17s but consistently gets faster. By the end of his second test session in the car, he was clocking 2.12s on used tyres".


Formerly known as the Formula BMW Asia, the Formuls BMW Pacific has incorporated more countries from this region including Australia and New Zealand besides China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, India and the Middle East.


A1 Team Malaysia's Aaron Lim, Iru1 Motorsports Racing team boss Nik Iruwan Nik Izani, Super Taikyu driver Johan Adzmi and Malaysia's most promising Formula 1 prospect Jazeman Jaafar made their mark in the series before venturing further in their racing careers.


The Formula BMW Pacific features an ultra-modern standard specification race car and a comprehensive training and intensive support programme for drivers to kick-start their life goal of becoming a Formula 1 driver. In 2007, Jazeman took the title and is currently awaiting the start of his second season in the Formula BMW Euro Series scheduled later this year.