May 29-31, 2009 : SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT - MALAYSIA

DAY 1 - May 29th - Red Rooster Racing put forward a very competitive performance in the Formula BMW Pacific Series that took place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Akhil Khushlani, qualified 4th in the race with a time of 2:10.679 on a grid of 14 cars. There are 4 races scheduled for the next two days with each race consisting of 10 laps.

DAY 2 - May 30th – Akhil started 4th on the grid and finished 3rd in the first race of the day. It was a very competitive first race with very intense racing by the top teams. Akhil showed a lot of maturity in the way he drove and was very consistent with his lap times.

In the second race, he started 6th on the grid and had moved to the 5th position with some very inspiring driving when he was pushed by Rio Haryanto of Questnet Team Qi – Meritus. Akhil hit the wall and could not finish the race as his car was badly damaged. The crew at E-Rain racing did an admirable job in putting the car back for the next day after the crash. Haryanto was fined at the end of the race by the stewards for shunting Akhil off the track.

DAY 3 - May 31st – Akhil started 3rd on the gird for the first race of the day. He was up in second place but finally finished in 3rd place. He clocked the fastest time of the race with a very impressive time of 2:11.257, which proved to be the fastest time of the weekend.

In the second race of the day, Akhil started 11th on the grid and finished 5th. He did an impressive job of overtaking 6 cars and was a very exciting race to watch despite the 5th place finish.

Dinesh Reddy, Managing Director, Red Rooster Racing said, “We believe Akhil has what it takes to be the next Formula 1 driver from India after Karun Chandok and Armaan Ebrahim. He is extremely talented and focused youngster with heaps of potential. All we need now is to be able to take him through the different levels of International competition, for he has it in him to reach the pinnacle pretty soon.“

Leelakrishnan, Director said “Overall, we had a very impressive weekend and showed a lot of pace during the races. Akhil consistently was posting very competitive race times and will definitely improve during the course of the season.”

Akhil Khushlani said “I was pretty confident with my preparation for this weekend. In terms of the car, I was very happy with the performance and the grip levels were awesome and it enabled me to carry a lot of speed through the corners. I am sure we can improve in the next few races and get more podiums consistently. I would like to thank Mr. Dinesh Reddy and Mr. Leelakrishnan for this drive and for all the hard work by the team that has gone into this weekend”

The Formula BMW Pacific Series represents a great leap forward in the search for, and the development of racing talents to become future world champions. The series features a line-up of drivers from all corners of the world, including Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa.

** END **