A breakneck evening with Fairuz Fauzy in RV Damansara

The man was here to enjoy some coffee and answer a few questions, plus we got to see up-close the new Lotus Evora S!

A few weeks after the stunning results of a massive comeback finish at the 2015 KL City Grand Prix GT Cup race, the hoopla surrounding his podium finish in second place still hadn’t died down one bit. Fairuz Fauzy was surely the most wanted man in town with interviews and media appearances lined up around the clock. But on this day, all he wanted to do was to just kick back in our lounge and serve up some light banter, at the same time allowing us the chance to admire up-close his latest set of wheels parked inside our Valeting Hall.

He must have been asked this a thousand times already, but what did he really think about his mind-blowing results after starting off about last from the grid during the race:

I probably didn’t expect that I could finish at the front, but being an eternal optimist, my target to finish on the podium was still possible in my mind, really. Looking at the race lap time of 40 plus minutes, it was enough for me to make up the difference and chalk up an unbelievable comeback by most measures. So yeah, most certainly I am extremely proud and happy with the results. It’s a great boost for my confidence and our overall team spirit moving forward.

With such stellar performance with the Lamborghini Huracan which he’d never even tested or driven before, did he think he’d have won the race with his preferred Gallardo if the crash hadn’t occur during qualifying:

To be honest, I felt like we had the perfect car capable of winning the GT3 class. With regards to the Huracan, it wasn’t the ideal setup for me or even the best car available to me, but at least we made up a few places with the last minute package provided by the Lamborghini team. It was definitely a wonderful outcome, such a blessing indeed, and I’m grateful to all parties involved for the successful race. But overall, in terms of speed the Gallardo would have been faster, especially around the corners, mainly due to the different compounds of the tyres. Whether or not i would have won.. well I’ll let you answer that for yourself!

We also wondered what caused the crash during qualifying, was it a technical problem or issues of the race track itself:

We had a problem with the gearbox from day one and looking at the data showed that the rear gearbox jammed up and pushed me straight into the wall. I wished it didn’t happen, but we would be missing out on this good story with its dramatic twist of events, don’t you agree?

His thoughts and feelings on this being the first ever street race in Kuala Lumpur and whether he saw himself participating again next year:

Thanks to the organiser, it turned out extremely well especially when planned over such a short period of time. There had been some negativity as well when it came to having a street race in the city that undeniably affects a lot of people. Nevertheless, in the future, education to the public much earlier in advance will help people prepare and navigate the road closures during those few days.

You know, street circuits are a completely different thing as we’re bringing the race to the city. People are coming out to the streets to watch the race in a wide open environment, and there’s bound to be a different set of risks and new challenges to look at. Next year I expect to see many more sponsors and corporate partners getting involved, and with an anticipated 1.2 billion viewers worldwide, it’s only going to get better and better. Looking forward to it for sure!

Fairuz is currently racing full time and attached with OD Racing Lamborghini for the GT Asia challenge this year. We wanted to know how promising the season was looking for him:

I think we have been on a progressing uptrend with improving performances over the season. In Korea we had some problems with the gearbox and we have been working on enhancing the reliability aspect of the car. In Yokohama and Fuji, we finished P7 although we had the opportunity to finish P4 if not being pushed by a back marker, but it’s a racing incident, and that’s part and parcel of racing.

Many fans wanted to know what his current personal daily driven car was:

The new Lotus Evora S! Thanks to Lotus Cars Malaysia for their generosity in allowing me to be their brand ambassador with one of my favourite exotic racers around. Check it out in the photos!

So what’s his next dream car that he can’t wait to get his hands on:

The Pagani Huayra.. an absolute beauty, a true beast on the road!

Being a race driver and an avid car enthusiasts, we finished by asking if he ever had time to take care of his own cars:

I certainly wished I had more time to personally tend to my car. And in most cases I do because I actually enjoy it, getting down and dirty brings me closer to my car! On some evenings here at RV, you might even catch me hosing it down at the Auto Bath Bay.

For more serious work though, I leave it to the professionals. The work of auto detailing is a complex one that requires skills, patience and experience. The team at REGAL VALET performs a high level of service day in and day out, so I think my car is in good hands!

Thank you Fairuz for your time and good luck for the rest of the season!

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