Fariqe Hairuman: a frustrating beginning

By Dave Brockman:
17 April 2004

Fariqe Hairuman For Team Petronas Syntium Proton, Thruxton bought a mixed result. The high point was a front row start for Shaun Watson-Smith, as the experienced South African refused to be tricked by Jason Plato's games as they crossed the line at the end of race one, but things didn't run as smoothly for Fariqe Hairuman.

Still, he wasn't letting the weekend's events get him down, and when we spoke with him recently he had a big grin on his face despite the setbacks.

"Unfortunately we got some problems with the car and the engine at Thruxton, " he told us. "But at least now I know more about the BTCC and how it works. Everything was running well except the car!"

Everything was running well except the car!
Fariqe Hairuman

Over the winter the Malaysian tested at many of the UK's circuits, but nothing can fully prepare you for your first BTCC race. We asked Fariqe what he thought of the action and who his main rivals would be.

"There was some good racing. There are so many strong drivers, especially James Thompson and Matt Neal. I'm still new in motorsport - I've only been racing for four years - and they've been in it for a long time. It's hard for me to get to the levels of top drivers like them, but I will try to at least get into their rhythm."

Proton have built two all-new Impians for 2004, and although they have racked up hundreds of miles in testing, the opening weekend has raised questions over their reliability.

Fariqe's car picked up a misfire early in race one, forcing him to also miss the second race while the team changed the unit. The third race was no better, with another problem forcing him out. "I noticed that I got a lot of smoke coming into the car, so I came into the pits and when the team opened the bonnet there was a fire! We think there was an oil leak, which is frustrating but it can be fixed."

Now the championship moves onto Brands Hatch in Kent, one of the circuits where Hairuman trained over the winter. "I'm much more confident there," he commented. "At Thruxton I was only in the car for a few hours, but I've done a lot of driving at Brands Hatch actually, I'm looking forward to it and hoping that I have a good weekend."





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