Rizvi Farouk crowned champion at Rally Racing

RALLY RACING: Rizvi Farouk burned the muddy and slippery grounds of Sevanagala to be crowned the new 'king pin' of Sri Lanka Rally Racing last Sunday. Farouk who represented EZY Racing, drove his EZY Subaru WRX - STI VIII. He entered the rally with a slim chance of winning the championship, having missed out on the first Rally in Pelwatte due to business commitments. However, he did everything right through sun and rain to win the Sevanagala Rally 2009 which was jointly organised by the MRA and CMSC.

Experienced Farouk, co-driven by 20-year-old Jamal Hussain were made to fight hard after conceding 14 second lead to championship leader Dinesh Deheragoda in his Mitsubishi Evolution X at the completion of the first three stages in day one. The dawn of day two saw a hungry and aggressive Rizvi Farouk in full throttle, driving superbly to win 3 of the 4 stages held. Having the fastest time in 3 stages, second fastes time in 3 other 3 of the 4 stages held. Having the fastest time in 3 stages, second fastest time in 3 other stages and having third fastest time just once in the 7 stage Rally, gave Farouk an easy 1.45 minute lead in his EZY Subaru over second placed Ashan Silva in his Honda Civic.

"It was indeed a great feeling to be crowned the new champion for rallying in Sri Lanka. The fact that I was able to do it without participating in the first race shows how well my car was performing. I had great support from my navigator Jamal as well as the team in achieving this feat and would like to thank all of them", said Farouk after winning the championship.

Although Farouk was assured of winning the race at the start of the final stage, his championship rested heavily on his EZY Racing team mate Shafraz Junaid co-driven by namesake Shafraz Hamzadeen in his EZY Subaru WRX SlimTop Special. Shafraz Junaid who was placed 4th overall, by then had to gain 5 seconds to beat ace driver Dinesh Deheragoda to gain the 3rd position. By then Junaid who was given stiff competition by Riyaz Farouk and Dinesh Jayawardane had just 11 seconds between achieving 3rd place from 6th place. This required Junaid to spur his efforts, or else run the risk of even missing out on 4th place and slipping down to 6th.

The pressure of delivering, made him drive a blistering run, not only to close in on the 5 seconds to help his team mate, but also to get the best results ever on a stage personally. Junaid's final drive through the sugar canes was second best only to Farouk as he fought his way through mud and tar to beat the much more powerful machines of the others. The blistering run ensured that Junaid displaced Deheragoda for third place thus helping team mate Rizvi Farouk win the championship. Shafraz Junaid finished 2nd Runner up in the overall Championship for 2009. Commenting on the results, Junaid said "coming into the final race in Sevanagala, Shafraz (Hamzadeen) and I had a fair chance of winning the championship. Halfway through the race I knew our car was heavily under powered against the cars in front.

"We placed the waiting game and were consistent till the final stage. We were able to be 4th overall in the 6 previous stages.

Starting the final stage I needed to accelerate to catch Dinesh (Deheragoda) and that's what I did. I am really happy for Rizvi (Farouk). He drove fantastically and richly deserves the championship. I am also thankful to all my team members at EZY racing for the wonderful job they did in winning the team championship".

Sri Lanka's only computer manufacturer EZY, who decided to sponsor motor racing and powerful cars in order to depict the power of the computers they manufacture, entered racing for the first time this year. Just like the success they have faced in their sales in computers, the EZY team which named themselves EZY Racing for Motor Sports have won the championship in their inaugural year, thus showcasing their prowess in this field as well.

"We always knew we had the best drivers on the grid. We had a good mixture of experience and youth and our team was willing tho go the extra mile to ensure the team's success. I am so happy for Rizvi (Farouk) and Shafraz (Junaid) because they proved how powerful and strong our racing team is. Rizvi is a great driver and I personally believe that he is definitely the best the country has got in this form of racing. Shafraz has always shown that he was the best rider the country had and this season showed how skilled a driver he is. Our commitment for racing will continue and we hope we will be able to come up with an even better performance next season. hopefully 1st and 2nd since we finished 1st and 3rd in the overall championship. I also wish to thank all at the boys at Subaru, for the wonderful job they did with our cars", said Shafraz Hamzadeen, Chief Executive of EZY Holdings who was also the co-driver for Shafraz Junaid.