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| Sunday, 25 January 2004 |
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Dilantha Malagamuwa drives at Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2004 by RANJAN ANANDAPPA Eurocars (Pte) Ltd - a member of the IWS Holdings has taken a giant step forward in the field of motor racing in Sri Lanka as they will sponsor ace motor racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa at the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2004. The racing competition comprises 11 rounds thrilling driving by top racing drivers all over the World and the first stage is to be held in Sepang, Malaysia and thereafter in Thailand, China, Korea, Indonesia and Maccau from March to November 2004. It is an historic occasion for motor sports in Sri Lanka as it is the first time that a Sri Lankan Company is sponsoring a professional Sri Lankan motor sports driver at an international meet. The sponsorship runs up to a colossal sum of Rs. 55 million all inclusive and the sponsors Eurocars (Pte) Ltd. hopes that other companies too would support to promote the sport in the future. The Minister of Lands and Land Development Dr.Rajitha Senaratne, who was present at the occasion struck a cord for motor racing when he said that Dilantha Malagamuwa is more popular in Japan than in Sri Lanka due to his racing skills, and would have easily have found sponsors for the race in Japan. But this would have deprived him from carrying the Sri Lankan identity, the national flag, the minister observed. "During the two decades of war it was sports that kept the national flag fluttering, mostly cricket after the World Cup win that gave the country some respite and international recognition and not the politicians", said the minister. "Motor sports could also be developed upto international standard and we could find many avenues in the international racing arena and we could find many drivers like Malagamuwa", added the Minister. The Chief Executive Officer of Eurocars (Pte) Ltd. Chaminda Perera said that it is an historic event for motor sports in Sri Lanka as for the first time a company has come forward to sponsor a professional Sri Lankan motor sports driver to participate at such a motor racing meet. He hoped that the experience of Dilantha Malagamuwa in the racing circuit could bring credit to the country. The champion racer Dilantha Malagamuwa said that it was a dream come true after 13 years of racing and he was confident in putting Sri Lanka in the International Motor Racing map. "The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2004 is the fastest and most exciting single-make racing series in Asia. The competitors all drive technically identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars with 390 bhpand race tuned suspension. This means it is pure racing, with the drivers skill, talent and experience being the decisive-factor in their success", echoed the chairman of the company Arthur Senanayake. |
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